The TOP 10 medical colleges of India 2012

India Today has released the results of its annual survey of the best Indian colleges 2012. In the second part of a series, we bring you the top 10 medical colleges, as per their findings (for the list of top 10 engineering colleges, click here).

One of the leading magazines in the country, India Today has prepared a list of the best colleges in India for this year.

Using data from the Internet, various published reports and the Association of Indian Universities Handbook, the publication partnered with global marketing and advertising research company Nielsen to draw up a list of over 1,500 colleges.

Faculties from leading institutes across the country rated all but their own colleges and universities on the basis of reputation, quality of academic input, student care, infrastructure and job prospects; those that figured high up in the rankings also had to submit factual data to figure in the list.

In the following pages, we bring you the top 10 medical colleges from across the nation.

In tenth place is the Institute of Medical Sciences, Varanasi.

Although, it started functioning as the College of Medical Sciences in 1960, it was upgraded to Institute of Medical Sciences in 1971.

Currently, it admits 84 MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ), 50 BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery), 60 BSc Nursing and 60 BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) students annually.

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Next is St John's Medical College, Bangalore.

Established in 1963, it currently admits 60 students annually for the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) course based on a national entrance exam, and 30 post-graduate students across the various medical specialties.

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Coming in at eight is the University College of Medical Science and Research Centre, New Delhi.

It was established in 1971 and admits 150 students to its MBBS course each year.

Of these, 85 per cent of the seats are allotted to top scoring DUMET (Delhi University Medical Entrance Test) candidates and the remaining 15 per cent to those who score high marks in the AIPMT (All India Pre Medical Test).

As for the post-graduate programme, the university currently admits 100 students annually, comprising candidates who are top scorers in the Delhi Post Graduate Medical Entrance Test (DUPGMET) and All India PG Entrance Exam (AIPGEE).

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The Madras Medical College, Chennai nabs seventh place.

Initially established in February 1835 as a hospital, it is one of the oldest medical colleges in the country. It is worth noting that the very first batch of students graduated only in 1852, two years after the institute was granted the status of a college in 1950.

In 1957, it was affiliated to the University of Madras.

The MMC currently has over 40 academic departments offering varied courses in anatomy, neurology and anaesthesia, to name a few.

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In sixth place is Grant Medical College, Mumbai.

Established in 1845, it is also recognised as one of the oldest medical colleges in the country.

The college admits only 200 students to the undergraduate course and around 100 students across various post-graduate courses per year.

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Slipping down three places from 2011 is Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi.

The institute was established in 1956. Admission to MAMC is enabled through the Delhi University Medical Entrance Test (DUMET) conducted by Delhi University.

It admits 180 students annually, of which almost 75 per cent are in-state candidates.

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Inching up one place from last year is the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune at Number Four.

Established in 1948, admission to the institute is based on an objective entrance exam, which is conducted at 28 centres across the country.

The exam is followed by an interview, after which 130 top scoring students are selected for the MBBS course. Students from AFMC must serve in the medical services wing of the Armed Forces for at least seven years post their completion of MBBS.

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Third place goes to the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, up from Number Seven in 2011.

The institute was established on January 1, 1823 as Ecole de Medicine de Pondichery by the imperial French government in India to train French students.

However, in 1956, the government of India took over the administration from the French and named it Dhanvantari Medical College.

It was renamed in 1964 as a tribute to the late Jawaharlal Nehru who'd laid its foundation stone in 1956.

JIPMER has 28 academic departments and annually caters to 100 undergraduates, 75 post-graduates and 10 doctoral students per year.

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The Christian Medical College, Vellore is runner up in the India Today list for 2012.

Established in 1900, it conducts more than 110 courses which include MBBS, nursing, allied health sciences, many post-graduate medical specialities, plus distance learning courses and PhD programmes.

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And maintaining its top spot since 2003 is the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Established in 1956, AIIMS operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India.

It enrolls 77 undergraduate students every year, including five international students who are nominated by the Government of India from SAARC nations.

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