Bhubaneswar, May 27: The state government is hopeful of getting at least 100 additional MBBS seats this year.

The Medical Council of India team that had visited the state in January is believed to have agreed to increase 100 more seats at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur. The new seat count at the institute would thus go up from 150 to 250.

"The council's team has finally agreed to increase the seat at the MKCG. It had been a long-standing demand from our side, and we had done everything to ensure that we fulfil the criteria for the seat increase," said a senior official at the directorate of medical education and training. The final confirmation will come by end of June, he said.

The state would also retain the 100 increased seats that had been added to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack last year taking the number to 250.

The college had got 100 provisional seats for the last session. However, the hopes are bleak for the VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Burla from where the council team has "returned unimpressed", said a source.

The state government had been trying hard to increase the medical seat from 150 to 250 at the MKCG and VSS medical college since 2013.

The efforts till date have been futile as every time the council refused to increase seats on the pretext of poor infrastructure and inadequate teachers.

"This time, we improved the infrastructure and filled up the vacancies," said the senior official, adding that the directorate was waiting for the official notification to make the announcement.

The total number of MBBS seats in the state is 900, which is far less than the number of aspirants.

As many as 35,000 students appear for the All India Pre Medical Test every year. Besides, five medical colleges are being set up in Koraput, Balangir, Puri, Balasore and Baripada with 100 seats each.