New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has become the first IIT in the country to

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has become the first IIT in the country to

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has become the first IIT in the country to

     New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has become the first IIT in the country to introduce postgraduate medical degree programmes accredited by the National Medical Commission (NMC), it said.

     Beginning with the academic session 2026–27, the institute will welcome its inaugural cohort of MD students at the Dr B C Roy Multi-Speciality Medical Research Centre, marking a transformative expansion of the IIT system into postgraduate (PG) medical education.

     IIT Kharagpur is also the first IIT to be set up in the country.

     "India's first IIT is now taking a historic step towards shaping the future of medical education. Our vision is not simply to train specialist doctors but to create an ecosystem where clinical excellence meets engineering ingenuity, artificial intelligence (AI) and translational research," said Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur.

     "We want our medical graduates to be not only outstanding clinicians, but also innovators capable of addressing some of humanity's most pressing healthcare challenges. The inaugural batch of 2026–27 will be pioneers of this new journey," Chakraborty added.

     According to an official statement, admissions for the academic session 2026–27 will take place through the NEET-PG online counselling process, with the programmes available for consideration in Round 2, in accordance with the official counselling schedule, eligibility requirements and seat matrix.

     The inaugural cohort will have the distinction of becoming the first generation of postgraduate (PG) medical students in the history of India's IIT system.

     For the first cohort, the institute is introducing MD programmes in six disciplines, with two seats each in General Medicine, Radiology, Physiology, Pathology, Community Medicine and Biochemistry.

     "Modern medicine is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining diagnostics, advanced imaging is revealing disease in unprecedented detail, biomedical engineering is creating new therapeutic possibilities and digital technologies are extending healthcare beyond traditional hospital boundaries," the institute said.

     "However, medical education and technological research have often evolved along separate institutional pathways. IIT Kharagpur's new postgraduate medical programmes represent an ambitious step towards bringing these worlds together.

     "These are not merely 12 postgraduate seats. They represent 12 opportunities to become founding members of a new academic tradition within India's premier technological education system," it added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)