NEET in Karnataka — KEA Counselling, Quota & Colleges

15,395MBBS seats in Karnataka

4,400Government seats

10,995Private seats

#1Most MBBS seats in India

NMC MBBS seat matrix for 2026–27. Karnataka also recorded the largest private-seat expansion in the country this year, up 1,150 seats. These figures come from reports citing the NMC matrix rather than from the NMC document itself — treat them as close, not exact.

If You Are From Tumkur, Read This First

The medical college nearest to you cannot be reached through state counselling

Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur

SSMC is a constituent college of Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, which is a deemed-to-be university. That means 100% of its MBBS seats are filled through MCC's deemed-university counselling — not through Karnataka's KEA counselling. There is no state quota in it at all.

Practical consequence: registering only with KEA will never get you into the medical college in your own town. You have to register separately at mcc.nic.in for deemed counselling, which has its own schedule and its own fees.

There is no government medical college in Tumakuru district

Karnataka has more than twenty government medical colleges, but none of them is in Tumakuru. For a Tumkur student aiming at a government seat, the nearest options are in Chitradurga, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Mandya, Shivamogga and the two government colleges in Bengaluru.

Shridevi Institute of Medical Sciences is also in Tumkur and is a private college; confirm its counselling route with KEA directly before you plan around it.

We see students lose a year to this. Plan for two separate counselling registrations from the start — KEA for the state quota, and MCC for All India Quota and deemed universities. You can and should do both.

Two Doors, Not One

KEA and MCC counsel different seats

MCC — Medical Counselling Committee

Run by the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Counsels nationally.

15% All India Quota in government colleges
100% of AIIMS and JIPMER seats
100% of deemed-university seats — including SSMC Tumkur
Central universities: AMU, BHU, Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia
ESIC insured-persons seats and AFMC Pune

mcc.nic.in →

KEA — Karnataka Examinations Authority

An autonomous body of the Karnataka government, formed in 2006 from the Common Entrance Test Cell. Counsels within Karnataka.

The 85% state quota in government colleges
Private college seats, including minority institutions
NRI seats
MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH courses (BAMS, BUMS, BHMS)
Not deemed universities — those go through MCC

KEA portal →

Karnataka's KEA has an unusually broad remit. In many states the state authority handles only the 85% government quota. In Karnataka, KEA's own bulletin says it conducts counselling for admission to medical and dental courses for "all Government, Private (Including Minority), NRI and Others seats in the State of Karnataka". That means a very large share of Karnataka's 15,395 seats runs through KEA — which is good news, because your Karnataka rank matters enormously.

Eligibility

Are you a "Karnataka candidate"?

Karnataka does not use a simple domicile certificate. It uses a system of lettered eligibility clauses, and you must qualify under one of them to compete for state quota seats. These are the three that matter to most students.

a

Clause (a) — the common route

You studied and passed in Karnataka institutions for a minimum of seven academic years, any time between 1st standard and 2nd PUC / 12th. You must also have passed either your SSLC/10th or your 2nd PUC/12th in Karnataka.

A student who did all their schooling in Tumkur satisfies this comfortably.

b

Clause (b) — parent's education

You studied and passed both years of PUC or 11th and 12th in Karnataka, and either parent studied in Karnataka for a minimum of seven years.

This is the route for students who moved to Karnataka for higher secondary school.

c

Clause (c) — language and domicile

You and a parent have Kannada, Tulu, Kodava or Beary as mother tongue, a parent was domiciled in Karnataka, and you passed your qualifying exam outside Karnataka. A Kannada language test is required.

The route for Kannada-speaking families whose children studied elsewhere.

Further clauses (d) to (l) cover children of defence personnel, ex-servicemen, central and state government employees, employees of government undertakings, Members of Parliament elected from Karnataka, and All India Service officers of the Karnataka cadre. Clause (d) also covers Kannada-speaking families in specified border taluks of Maharashtra and Kerala.

Check this early, not in August. The wording above is quoted from KEA's own information bulletin, but eligibility is decided by KEA on the documents you produce at verification. If your family's situation is anything other than "studied in Karnataka throughout", read the current bulletin on the KEA portal and, if needed, ask KEA directly — well before counselling opens.

Karnataka-Specific Categories

Reservations that exist only here

These apply only to Karnataka candidates who are eligible for government seats, and each needs a specific certificate obtained in advance.

Rural quota

Requires a rural study certificate from the school or high school attended. KEA's bulletin is explicit: candidates who did not study in rural areas during their school days are not eligible. Directly relevant to many students in Tumakuru district.

Kannada medium quota

Requires ten full academic years studied in Kannada medium, from 1st to 10th standard, with a certificate countersigned by the Block Educational Officer.

Kalyana Karnataka — Article 371(J)

A constitutional reservation for candidates from the Kalyana Karnataka region. Requires a certificate from the concerned Assistant Commissioner, and the correct RD number entered during application.

Supernumerary Quota

KEA's bulletin states that 5% of seats in each college and each course are reserved as Supernumerary Quota.

We have deliberately not published reservation percentages. KEA's bulletin describes these categories and the certificates required, but does not state percentage figures, and the numbers circulating online do not agree with each other. Get the current percentages from the KEA bulletin for your admission year rather than from any coaching website, including this one.

Where The Government Seats Are

Government medical colleges in Karnataka

Roughly 4,400 government MBBS seats across the state. Seat counts below are indicative rather than verified — confirm against the KEA seat matrix published for your admission year.

College	District	Seats (indicative)
Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute	Bengaluru	250
Mysore Medical College & Research Institute	Mysuru	250
Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences	Ballari	250
Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences	Hubballi (Dharwad)	200
Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences	Belagavi	200
Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences	Bidar	200
Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences	Kalaburagi	200
Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences	Hassan	200
Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences	Raichur	200
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College & RI	Bengaluru	200
Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences	Mandya	150
Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences	Shivamogga	150
Chitradurga Medical College & Research Institute	Chitradurga	150
Chikkaballapura Institute of Medical Sciences	Chikkaballapura	150
Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences	Chamarajanagar	150
Chikkamagaluru Institute of Medical Sciences	Chikkamagaluru	150
Gadag Institute of Medical Sciences	Gadag	150
Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences	Haveri	150
Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences	Uttara Kannada	150
Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences	Kodagu	150
Koppal Institute of Medical Sciences	Koppal	150
Yadgiri Institute of Medical Sciences	Yadgir	150
ESIC Medical College Central, not state quota	Bengaluru	150
ESIC Medical College Central, not state quota	Kalaburagi	150

The two ESIC colleges belong to the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, not to Karnataka. Their seats are largely handled through MCC under the insured-persons quota rather than by KEA. Nearest government colleges to Tumkur are Chitradurga, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Mandya, Shivamogga and the two in Bengaluru.

Fees

How MBBS fees are regulated in Karnataka

Fees for professional courses in Karnataka are governed by the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006. A Karnataka Admission Overseeing Committee has the power to act against colleges charging more than the approved amount on seats allotted through KEA.

Historically, private college fees in Karnataka have been settled through an agreement between the state government and the private medical college associations, revised periodically.

We are not publishing fee figures. We could not verify a single current MBBS fee figure from a primary government source, and the numbers circulating on coaching websites vary widely. Get them from the KEA portal for your admission year, or directly from the college in writing. If any institute quotes you a fee without putting it in writing, treat that as a warning sign.

Before You Rely On This Page

What we could and could not verify

Verified from primary sources

KEA's official portal and its stated counselling remit
The eligibility clauses, quoted from KEA's information bulletin
The rural, Kannada-medium, 371(J) and Supernumerary Quota provisions
MCC's remit, from mcc.nic.in
Sri Siddhartha Medical College's deemed-university status, from its own website

Not independently verified

Counselling dates for the current cycle — check the KEA portal
Seat counts for individual colleges
Reservation percentages — not published in the bulletin we read
Whether the clause list applies identically to NEET-UG medical admission as it does to CET
Any MBBS fee figure

This page is a plain-language guide, not an official document. Where it matters, the KEA information bulletin and seat matrix for your admission year are the authority. Last reviewed 11 August 2026. If you find something out of date, please tell us and we will correct it.

Local knowledge is part of the preparation

Knowing which door to knock on is worth marks. We help our students plan both counselling routes, not just the exam.

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