The Supreme Court of India on Monday asked the state governments to offer 15% seats of medical colleges to the Union government.

Moreover, the apex court has directed the states to fill seats as per merit.

The move is expected to generate meritorious medical professionals and trim down corruption in the country.

It should be noted that some state medical colleges in the country had declined to offer seats for Centre’s quota of 15%.

Confirming the apex court’s ruling, ADN Rao, the counsel for a candidate, who was denied the seat despite qualifying for the all India medical examination, said: “As per the Supreme Court’s direction, states will have to offer 15% of the total seats (for undergraduates) through the Centre. The vacant seats will have to be filled against the candidates who have qualified for the all India medical tests.”

Moreover, in its directive, the apex court had also recommended states and the Union government to conduct a single exam for MBBS.

At present, both states and Union government conduct separate tests for MBBS.