NCISM withholds 2026-27 recognition from 61 Ayurveda colleges over gaps

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), the regulator for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Sowa-Rigpa education, has withheld recognition for the 2026-27 academic session from 61 Ayurveda colleges across India for failing to meet its standards, according to Ayush Medical Association national spokesperson Dr Rakesh Pandey, in remarks reported by Tuesday, 13 October 2026. He said 12 of the colleges are in Madhya Pradesh, and that recognition has been granted to 494 of the country's more than 600 Ayurveda colleges. The lapses cited include refusal to allow inspections, shortcomings in hospital inpatient and outpatient services, and too few teaching staff. A report about a week earlier had put the number of colleges awaiting recognition at 56, showing that the list has been changing as the Commission works through the session's approvals.

The Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) is one of the most popular routes into a medical career after NEET-UG for students who do not get an MBBS seat. Every year thousands of students choose Ayurveda colleges, many of them private. Recognition from NCISM is what allows a college to admit students for the session and makes its degree valid for registration as a practitioner. A college without recognition cannot legally take in a new batch.

The Commission's action is part of a wider push to raise standards in Ayush education. Its inspections look at whether colleges have the faculty, the attached hospital, and the patient load that the regulations require. Ayurveda teaching depends heavily on clinical exposure in the college hospital, and a college with empty wards or too few teachers cannot train doctors properly. NCISM has also warned colleges that they risk losing recognition if they do not use Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance, a step meant to show that the teachers on their rolls are actually present.

For students and parents, the timing matters. The action comes while counselling is in progress. Students choosing colleges in Round 3 and in state rounds should check that a college appears on the current list of recognised institutions before paying fees or reporting for admission. The figures have shifted from week to week as colleges comply and are cleared, so the latest official list is the safest guide.

Short-term: Colleges on the withheld list cannot admit new BAMS students for 2026-27 unless they fix the shortcomings and win recognition; students in counselling have fewer seats to choose from in affected states.

Long-term: Stricter checks could push weaker private colleges to invest in faculty and hospitals or close, which may improve the quality of Ayurveda graduates but also reduce seat numbers in some regions.

Who is affected: BAMS aspirants and their families, private Ayurveda college managements, current students at colleges under scrutiny, State counselling authorities, and patients who rely on Ayurveda college hospitals.

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