The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, has invited applications for admission to undergraduate medical, dental and nursing courses for the academic session 2026-27 under the Ward of Insured Person (IP) quota.
The admission scheme is exclusively meant for dependent children of workers covered under the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme and aims to provide educational support to the families of insured workers.
783 Seats Allocated Across 22 Medical Colleges
According to ESIC, a total of 783 seats have been provisionally earmarked under the Ward of IP quota for the academic session 2026-27. These include 695 MBBS seats, 28 BDS seats and 60 BSc Nursing seats across 22 medical, dental and nursing institutions.
The seats are available in ESIC Medical Colleges located in various states as well as selected state government medical colleges where reservations have been provided for eligible wards of insured persons.
Admissions will be conducted through the centralised counselling process administered by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Subsidised Fee Structure Under Ward of IP Quota
ESIC said the Ward of IP quota is one of its key welfare initiatives aimed at supporting the educational aspirations of workers' families.
Under the scheme, eligible students can pursue professional medical and nursing education at highly subsidised tuition fees. Candidates admitted under the quota will be required to pay an annual tuition fee of Rs 24,000 for MBBS and BDS courses and Rs 10,000 for BSc Nursing courses. No capitation fee or donation is permitted for admission under the scheme.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, the parent must be a registered insured person under the ESI Act and should have been an active contributor to the ESI Scheme as of September 30, 2025.
The applicant must be a dependent child of the insured person, have appeared for NEET (UG) 2026 and fulfil the eligibility criteria prescribed by the National Medical Commission (NMC), Dental Council of India (DCI), Indian Nursing Council (INC), National Testing Agency (NTA) and Medical Counselling Committee (MCC).
Male candidates should not be above 21 years of age as on March 8, 2026. However, the age restriction does not apply to dependent unmarried female wards of insured persons, in accordance with the provisions of the ESI Act, 1948.
Ward of IP Certificate Mandatory
Candidates seeking admission under the quota must obtain a valid Ward of IP Certificate issued by ESIC. The certificate is mandatory for participation in the admission process.
The application process for obtaining the certificate is completely online through the ESIC portal. Applicants are required to submit prescribed details and upload necessary documents, including photographs, proof of age, the NEET (UG) 2026 admit card and other relevant certificates, wherever applicable.
Last Date To Apply
The last date for submission of online applications for the Ward of IP Certificate is June 21, 2026.
ESIC has advised applicants to ensure that the mobile number of the insured person is correctly updated in its records, as the application process involves OTP-based authentication.
After obtaining the Ward of IP Certificate, candidates will also be required to register separately on the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) portal to participate in the centralised counselling process.
ESIC Calls For Wider Awareness
ESIC has urged employers, insured persons, regional and branch offices, hospitals and state ESI authorities to widely publicise the admission process among eligible beneficiaries.
Employers covered under the ESI Scheme have been requested to inform workers about the admission opportunity, display the notification prominently at workplaces and facilitate verification and updating of mobile numbers in ESIC records.
The corporation said field offices have also been directed to organise awareness campaigns and assist applicants in completing the application process within the stipulated timeline.
About ESIC
ESIC is among the world's largest social security organisations and provides a range of benefits, including medical care, sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement benefit and dependants' benefit to workers and their families.
Through initiatives such as the Ward of IP quota, the organisation seeks to expand access to professional education and strengthen social security support for beneficiaries.
