AIIMS PG Seat Matrix 2026: 3,300 Seats, Institute Wise Distribution and Category Wise Breakdown

AIIMS PG 2026 covers postgraduate medical admissions at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and other Institutes of National Importance (INIs) through two centrally-conducted exams: the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET) for MD, MS, and MDS programmes, and the INI Super Specialty (INI-SS) for DM and MCh super-specialty programmes. Both are administered by AIIMS New Delhi. The 2026 cycle offered over 3,300 postgraduate medical seats across 23+ INIs in two completed sessions, with the January 2027 session now open for registration.

• 1,581 PG seats were available under INI-CET July 2026 across 23 Institutes of National Importance.
• The INI-CET January 2026 session offered 875 seats in MD, MS, MDS, and 6-year DM/MCh programmes.
• 887 DM and MCh super-specialty seats were available under INI-SS July 2026 across 80 courses.
• AIIMS New Delhi has the highest intake with 192 seats in the July 2026 session — the most among all participating INIs.
• Seats follow central reservation norms: OBC-NCL 27%, SC 15%, EWS 10%, ST 7.5%, plus 5% horizontal PwBD reservation.
• The INI-CET January 2027 session (815 seats) is upcoming — registration is open until October 13, 2026 and the exam is scheduled for November 1, 2026.
• Unlike NEET PG, there is no AIQ vs. state quota split in AIIMS PG — all seats are centrally administered with no domicile or state preference (except specific provisions at NIMHANS).

AIIMS PG Seat Intake 2026: Overview

AIIMS PG admissions in 2026 follow a two-tier structure. INI-CET covers MD, MS, MDS, and integrated 6-year DM/MCh seats, while INI-SS covers 3-year DM and MCh super-specialty seats at premier Institutes of National Importance. There is no All India Quota versus state quota division — every seat is filled through centralized merit-based counselling conducted by AIIMS New Delhi.

The 2026 cycle includes two completed sessions and one upcoming session:

The July session consistently offers higher seat counts than January because more departments open their full intake in the July batch. In 2026, the July INI-CET had 1,581 seats against January’s 875 — a difference of 706 seats. Students who missed the July 2026 session can apply for the January 2027 session, which offers 815 seats through INI-CET.

Participating Institutes of National Importance (INIs) in AIIMS PG 2026 include:

• AIIMS campuses: New Delhi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur, Rishikesh, Nagpur, Mangalagiri (Guntur, AP), Gorakhpur, Bathinda, Kalyani (WB), Bibinagar (Hyderabad), Jammu, Rajkot, Madurai, Bilaspur (HP), Deoghar, Darbhanga, Vijaypur, Raebareli
• PGIMER Chandigarh — Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
• JIPMER Puducherry — Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research
• NIMHANS Bengaluru — National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
• SCTIMST Trivandrum — Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology

Institute-Wise AIIMS PG Seat Intake 2026

AIIMS New Delhi leads all participating institutes with 192 seats in the INI-CET July 2026 session, followed by PGIMER Chandigarh at 134. Seat counts vary significantly between sessions — AIIMS Kalyani, for example, offered 114 seats in January 2026 but just 21 in July 2026, reflecting department-level faculty and infrastructure readiness. Always verify the latest seat position from the official AIIMS examinations portal before submitting counselling choices.

Seat counts listed as "As per official matrix" should be verified at aiimsexams.ac.in for the specific session. Figures shown for July 2026 and January 2026 are sourced from official seat position notices (Notice No. 50/2026 dated April 13, 2026 for the July session).

Key observation — AIIMS Kalyani seat drop: AIIMS Kalyani’s intake fell sharply from 114 seats (January 2026) to 21 seats (July 2026). This is one of the largest session-to-session swings in 2026 and directly affects the closing rank for Kalyani in the July counselling. Always download the updated seat position PDF before finalising your counselling choices.

How Many Seats Are in AIIMS PG 2026?

The combined AIIMS PG 2026 cycle offers over 3,300 seats across two completed sessions — covering broad-specialty PG (INI-CET) and super-specialty (INI-SS) routes. A third session (INI-CET January 2027) adds another 815 seats, bringing the academic year total above 4,000 seats.

The higher July seat count reflects that most AIIMS departments designate July as their primary PG intake batch. The INI-SS July 2026 final seat position covered 80 DM and MCh courses across all participating INIs. Notably, AIIMS New Delhi’s INI-SS July 2026 matrix was revised to add one seat each in MCh Neurosurgery (AIIMS Gorakhpur) and DM Neurology (PGIMER), demonstrating that the final seat count is not static — revisions can happen right up to counselling.

Compared to 2025: The July 2026 INI-CET total of 1,581 reflects incremental growth from newer AIIMS campuses (Bibinagar, Rajkot, Raebareli, Darbhanga, Vijaypur) expanding their department-wise faculty. This trend is expected to continue in 2027 as these campuses mature.

AIIMS PG Seat Matrix: Category-Wise Distribution 2026

AIIMS PG seats are reserved under central government constitutional norms applicable to all government institutions. The OBC-NCL, SC, ST, EWS, and PwBD categories apply uniformly across all AIIMS and most INIs, with two exceptions: PGIMER Chandigarh does not apply EWS reservation to certain courses, and NIMHANS Bengaluru has domicile-specific seats for Karnataka and North-East candidates in Psychiatry.

The PwBD reservation is horizontal — 5% of seats within each vertical category (UR, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, EWS) are sub-reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities, not added on top. A separate 5% Rural Area Service (RAS) horizontal reservation applies at most AIIMS for candidates who have completed internship/service in a notified rural area per AIIMS-specific norms.

EWS seats are carved out from the UR pool following the 103rd Constitutional Amendment. Students claiming EWS reservation must present an income certificate from a Tehsildar or SDM confirming annual family income below ₹8 lakh from all sources, along with non-possession of agricultural land and urban property beyond the prescribed limits.

Key exceptions in 2026:

• PGIMER Chandigarh: No EWS reservation for its DM/MCh (3-year) courses or MD Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR).
• NIMHANS Bengaluru: Domicile-specific Psychiatry seats for Karnataka and North-Eastern candidates; EWS does not apply to NIMHANS super-specialty admissions.

AIIMS PG Seats for Foreign National / Sponsored Category

Unlike NEET UG or NEET PG where NRI and OCI seats form a separate quota, AIIMS PG (INI-CET and INI-SS) does not maintain a traditional NRI quota. AIIMS New Delhi and select other INIs maintain a small Foreign National (FN) and Sponsored category with supernumerary seats — seats that are over and above the regular intake and do not reduce available seats for regular Indian candidates.

Indian citizens — including those holding OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cards, PIO status, or NRI status — are not eligible for the Foreign National category. They must compete in the regular INI-CET pool. NRI-sponsored Indian candidates must apply under their applicable regular or reserved category — there is no separate NRI-sponsored quota at the AIIMS PG level.

The number of FN/Sponsored seats is very small — typically 1–2 seats per specialty at AIIMS New Delhi — and is published alongside the regular seat position in each session’s official notice at aiimsexams.ac.in. These seats are primarily used by government-to-government academic exchange agreements and ICCR scholarship candidates.

How AIIMS PG Seat Matrix Affects Cutoff

The seat matrix is the single biggest factor driving INI-CET and INI-SS cutoff ranks. More seats mean a more relaxed closing rank; fewer seats drive the cutoff higher. Understanding the seat matrix before the counselling choice-filling window is essential for making informed decisions.

• Session-wise seat count: The July 2026 INI-CET had 1,581 seats against January’s 875. This means the closing rank for July 2026 was more relaxed for most institutes and specialties. Students who narrowly missed a seat in January 2026 had a significantly better chance in July 2026 at the same campus — without any change in their score.
• AIIMS Kalyani example: AIIMS Kalyani’s drop from 114 seats (January 2026) to 21 seats (July 2026) directly tightened the July closing rank for Kalyani by a large margin. The same pattern works in reverse — if Kalyani restores its January 2027 intake, the rank cutoff will ease again.
• Specialty scarcity at flagship institutes: Highly competitive specialties at AIIMS New Delhi — Radiodiagnosis, Dermatology, and Pediatrics — often have only 2–4 seats per category per session. A single additional seat in such a specialty can shift the closing rank by several thousand positions.
• INI-SS super-specialty tightness: DM Cardiology, DM Neurology, and MCh Neurosurgery at AIIMS New Delhi historically close within the top 10–30 national ranks, driven by 1–2 seats per category per session. When AIIMS revised the July 2026 INI-SS matrix to add one MCh Neurosurgery seat at AIIMS Gorakhpur, it created an entirely new allotment opportunity for Gorakhpur.
• Newer campus expansion effect: As campuses like AIIMS Bibinagar, Rajkot, Raebareli, and Darbhanga grow their faculty, they add seats each year. This progressively eases the cutoff for those campuses and reduces pressure on established AIIMS.

Practical strategy: Download the full seat matrix PDF from aiimsexams.ac.in before choice-filling. Compare category-wise seat availability — a specialty that closes tight in the UR category may still be accessible in OBC-NCL or SC. Cross-check INI-CET and INI-SS matrices separately as they are released on different dates.

List of Courses and Seats under AIIMS PG 2026

AIIMS PG 2026 admits students to two programme types — broad-specialty PG through INI-CET and super-specialty through INI-SS. The table below outlines the course types and approximate seat distribution for the July 2026 combined cycle.

Within MD, the highest-seat specialties across all INIs are preclinical departments — Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, and Community Medicine — followed by clinical specialties including General Medicine, Paediatrics, and Anaesthesiology. Competitive clinical seats (Radiodiagnosis, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Ophthalmology, ENT) are fewer in number and see much tighter cutoffs.

MS seats are concentrated in General Surgery, Orthopaedics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, and Otorhinolaryngology (ENT). MDS seats are available primarily at AIIMS New Delhi and cover Conservative Dentistry, Orthodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Periodontology.

INI-SS super-specialty DM disciplines (3-year) with the largest seat pools include Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, and Endocrinology. Major MCh disciplines include Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, and Urology. The INI-SS July 2026 covered 80 distinct DM and MCh courses across all participating INIs.