As many as 597 MBBS seats out of 1,800 across 12 government, private and minority medical colleges in Punjab remain vacant after the first round of counselling, according to the tentative vacancy position released ahead of the second round of admissions.Government medical colleges account for 234 vacancies, while private and minority-run institutions together account for 363. Punjab’s 1,800 MBBS seats are split evenly between the two sectors, with five government colleges accounting for 900 seats and seven private institutions making up the remaining 900.Among government institutions, Government Medical College, Patiala, reported the highest number of vacancies at 61, largely due to 30 unfilled open-category government-quota seats. Government Medical College, Faridkot, followed with 59 vacancies, including 38 in the NRI quota, while Government Medical College, Amritsar, reported 29. Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences, Mohali, and ESIC Medical College, Ludhiana, recorded 14 and seven vacancies, respectively.Among private and minority institutions, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), Bathinda, topped the list with 112 vacant seats, followed by Sri Guru Ram Das Institute, Amritsar, with 89, and Gian Sagar Medical College, Banur, and PIMS, Jalandhar, with 64 each. Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, and RIMT Medical College, Mandi Gobindgarh, reported 38 and 30 vacancies, respectively, while Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, recorded 30.Category-wise, open seats accounted for the largest share at 179, followed by NRI quota seats at 167. Scheduled Caste seats had 81 vacancies, Backward Classes 27 and PWD seats 59. EWS seats, applicable at the GMC, Amritsar, GMC, Patiala and GGS Medical College, Faridkot, had four vacancies, while around 80 remaining seats were spread across smaller reserved categories.The AIMSR’s high vacancy count stems from a fee dispute. Government-quota students there must pay the full Rs 64.71 lakh course fee, the same as the management quota, instead of the state-notified Rs 25.22 lakh.