Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital (GMC Patiala), established on September 29, 1953, is one of the oldest and most prestigious government medical colleges in Punjab and North India — the second-oldest medical college in Punjab and the first medical institution in the former Pepsu State. Named after Maharaja Rajindra Singh, the college was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru himself and has since grown into one of Punjab's premier medical education and tertiary healthcare institutions, producing thousands of MBBS graduates and postgraduate specialists over seven decades of service. Located in Patiala — the cultural and historical capital of Malwa Punjab, seat of the former Patiala State — GMC Patiala occupies a sprawling 105-acre campus on Sangrur Road, housing the academic block, 30,000 sq.mt of academic buildings (including hostels and residential complexes), the Rajindra Hospital, the TB Hospital, and all campus amenities. The campus includes 4 gallery-type lecture halls in the college building and 2 in the hospital (all technology-infused), demonstration halls, a Medical Skills Lab, departmental museums, common rooms for boys and girls, an examination hall, and 5 canteens/4 mess facilities. The AC library has 23,005 books and 33 Indian + 52 foreign journals. The attached teaching hospital — Rajindra Hospital, Patiala — has 1,009 beds and is among the largest and busiest government hospitals in Punjab, seeing thousands of daily OPD visits from Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Barnala, and surrounding districts. The hospital was established in 1954 (before the medical college) and provides a complete range of advanced clinical services. A separate campus — the TB Hospital (Padma Shri Dr. Khushdeva Singh Chest Diseases Hospital) with 121 beds — started functioning on July 25, 1953 and provides specialized pulmonary and TB medicine training. Attached Lady Dufferin Hospital (now Mata Kaushalya Hospital) further expands the training spectrum. Three primary health centres — at Bhadson, Kauli, and Tripuri — are attached for community medicine training. Over the years, GMC Patiala has expanded dramatically from an initial intake of 50 MBBS students to 225 seats today, and its PG program has grown to 144 seats across 24 disciplines. The college also offers B.Sc Nursing, B.Sc Medical (A/P/B), BMLT, BMRIT, BOpt, BOTT, BASLP, D.Pharm, and various diploma programs, plus M.Sc, DNB, and super-specialty (M.Ch, DM) courses. The college has national collaborations with UGC Fellowships, BC Roy national award recipients, and ICMR/WHO/World Bank-funded faculty research. The Principal of GMC Patiala is Dr. Rajan Singla. For MBBS, the NEET UG 2024 AIQ closing rank for General category was approximately 3,784–7,512 across rounds — making GMC Patiala one of the top 2 most competitive government medical colleges in Punjab alongside GMC Amritsar. Punjab state quota cutoffs for General category: approximately 16,000–18,000 (state rank). Annual MBBS fee: approximately ₹38,000–₹1,74,000 (first year; subsequent years progressively lower). Total MBBS tuition: approximately ₹4,50,000–₹8,23,000. Hostel fee: ₹3,200/month. Internship stipend: approximately ₹12,000/month. IIRF rankings: 18th (2023) and 61st (2024) nationally. 100% placement rate for PG students; median PG salary ₹9.79 LPA. The college is approximately 50 km from Chandigarh International Airport.