The Medical Council of India, the regulatory body for medical education, has proposed one entrance examination for all medical colleges in the country. This will cover 290 medical colleges, both private and government-run.

Such a move, the MCI says, will do away with the practice of students taking multiple entrance examinations and provide a fair and transparent selection procedure based on merit. At present, some government colleges reserve 15 per cent seats for students from across the country and the remaining 85 per cent seats are filled by students from that particular state on the basis of a merit list.

The MCI proposal for a "single common national entrance" examination was sent to the Health Ministry on June 24, pointing out that Supreme Court rulings have mandated a common entrance test. The MCI wants a common admission criterion to be adopted across the country.

In its proposal, the MCI has said that the examination should be conducted by a national regulatory authority.The MCI wants a common examination on the lines of the All-India test conducted by the Government of India for government-run medical colleges in states for the pooled 15 per cent seats.