All India Quota (AIQ) is an important component of the postgraduate medical admission system in India, as it enables merit-based competition among medical graduates from across the country for admission to any state. This will be especially beneficial for NEET PG aspirants in planning their counseling strategy to increase their chances of securing the preferred seat.
What is meant by All India Quota?
All India Quota is a national pool of seats for postgraduate medical courses, available to candidates regardless of domicile or state. To put it more simply, 50% of all MD, MS and PG diploma seats in government medical colleges are allotted under the All India Quota. This means that the candidate is allowed to apply for admission to a government medical college in any other state under this category, regardless of where he or she graduated from.
The remaining 50% seats are known as state quota seats, which are governed separately by the respective state authorities and are available only to candidates who satisfy the domicile criteria of that state.
Development and background
The AIQ system originated from a Supreme Court directive in 1986 on equal opportunities in medical education. Initially, states could fill only 25 percent seats from the All India Quota. However, to facilitate better movement of students and allow a merit-based admission system, the AIQ was expanded to 50 percent in 2009. AIQ has been instrumental in ensuring a level playing field for states with limited medical infrastructure compared to states with significant numbers of government colleges.
AIQ Consulting
The Medical Consultative Committee (MCC), functioning under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is responsible for conducting AIQ counselling. MCC completes the entire process online through registration and payment of fees, choice filling and locking, seat allotment and then reporting to the institute about the exercise of AIQ counselling.
MCC also conducts counseling for seats in deemed universities, central universities, ESIC medical colleges and AFMS institutes; However, these differ from the original AIQ process.
States and institutions included in AIQ
All India Quota (AIQ) is an admission process offered by government medical colleges in almost all states of India except Jammu and Kashmir, which has its own admission system based on domicile. Some colleges, such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), conduct their own counseling and will have their own role in admissions to medical colleges through their own testing system, but all educational institutions will be based on eligibility for the NEET PG entrance exam.
Importance of All India Quota
All India quota plays an important role in promoting national unity within medical education. It provides students from small states or rural backgrounds an opportunity to study in the best government medical colleges in the country. It allows students from metropolitan cities to immerse themselves in the health care challenges faced by different regions and learn how it impacts public health.
By creating mobility and exposure, AIQ can also promote better distribution of economically disadvantaged medical professionals across the country. Finally, AIQ has worked overtime to reduce regional disparities in the training and skills of the national health workforce.
(This article is written by Gaurav Tyagi, Medical Counselor, Career Expert
