47 MBBS seats still vacant in Karnataka: KEA opens one last round, deposit due today by 4 pm

By TUF News Desk · Published 12 November 2026 · 3 min read

Fact-checked against 2+ independent sources · Editorial policy

Forty-seven MBBS seats in Karnataka still have no takers. The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has opened one more round to fill them, and the first deadline is today: candidates must pay a Rs 25 lakh caution deposit by 4 pm on November 12.

The seats are what is left of the special stray vacancy round. KEA had put 195 medical seats up for grabs in that round, and 148 were allotted. Every dental seat found a taker. The 47 MBBS seats that remain will now go through an extended round, since admissions close on November 13.

How the extended round works

The deposit window opened at 10:30 am today and closes at 4 pm. Only after paying it can a candidate enter options, and option entry runs till 10 am on November 13. KEA will publish the allotment the same day, after 12:30 pm.

Candidates can check the schedule and the seat matrix on the official KEA portal. The authority announced the extra round on X on November 11, a day after the special stray allotment result came out.

Where the vacant seats are

PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Kuppam has the most vacant seats, 25. Bagalkot Government Medical College has 14, and Bidar Medical College has one. Deccan Herald reported that 14 of the 47 seats are in government medical colleges, offered under the management or NRI quota.

Seven rounds, and still seats left

The special stray round came after seven rounds of counselling. Karnataka had 12,010 medical seats on offer this year, according to Deccan Herald, and the state has run round after round to fill them. Even so, seats have stayed empty, mostly in the management quota, where fees run high. Private colleges had already started offering fee cuts of up to 50 percent to fill their management seats, Deccan Herald reported earlier this week.

Candidates allotted seats in the special stray round must pay the balance fee by November 13 and report to their colleges by the same date. Anyone taking a seat in the extended round will have even less time, so the documents should be ready before the allotment comes out. Our admission documents checklist covers the papers counselling portals usually ask for.

Medical colleges in Karnataka are largely affiliated to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bengaluru, so most of the 47 seats lead to degrees from that university.

Frequently asked questions

What is the last date to pay the caution deposit for the Karnataka NEET UG extended stray vacancy round?

November 12, 2026, by 4 pm. The deposit is Rs 25 lakh for MBBS seats, and it must be paid before entering options.

When will the Karnataka NEET UG extended stray vacancy allotment be published?

On November 13, 2026, after 12.30 pm, on the official KEA portal at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea/.

How many MBBS seats are vacant in the Karnataka extended stray vacancy round?

47 MBBS seats are vacant. PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research has the most, with 25 seats.

Who can take part in the Karnataka NEET UG extended stray vacancy round?

Eligible candidates who have not yet secured an MBBS seat. The notification, seat matrix and deposit payment link are on the official KEA portal.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: JagranJosh, Deccan Herald