Chandigarh, Sept. 7 -- After a month's delay, the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, commenced the first round of MBBS course counselling for the 2025-26 session on Friday. This was followed by the BHMS counselling on Saturday. The counselling process is being held for students from the UT pool. The college administration has included an additional three seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation, bringing the total number of seats to 153. This decision follows a Supreme Court order and the Haryana Backward Classes Act, which was extended to Chandigarh via a Ministry of Home Affairs notification in August 2025. The medical college had previously opened its portal for students of the OBC category from August 19 to August 22, marking the first time such an option was available. There are approximately 60 communities listed under the backward classes in Chandigarh. The counselling process was initially halted on August 1 after a Supreme Court order on July 30 mandated a 27% OBC reservation in all educational institutions from the current academic session. GMCH had sought permission from the National Medical Commission to increase the number of seats to accommodate the 3% OBC reservation. While immediate approval was not granted, a note on the seat matrix notice indicates that the OBC reservation is subject to the approval of both the National Medical Commission and Panjab University. Health Secretary Ajay Chagti confirmed that the counselling is proceeding with the inclusion of the 3% OBC seats, in line with the Supreme Court order and the Backward Classes Act. The 27% OBC reservation will be implemented in a phased manner over six years, starting with a 3% reservation this year. The newly updated seat matrix has been uploaded to the college's website....