Delhi drops GGSIPU rank cap after 29,153 seats went vacant

More than 29,000 seats at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University-affiliated institutions went vacant over three academic years. Delhi has now removed the rank cap for admissions.

The Directorate of Higher Education notified the change for the 2026-27 admission process and future cycles, pending further orders or the sub-committee’s final recommendations. It allows a wider group of candidates to compete for seats that remain open after regular counselling.

University data shows that 11,916 of 39,398 seats were vacant in 2023-24. Vacancies fell to 8,512 of 40,604 seats in 2024-25, before rising to 8,725 of 42,749 seats in 2025-26.

Registrar Kamal Pathak said many of the vacant seats were at affiliated colleges in Greater Noida, Noida and Faridabad. These institutions reserve 85% of seats for Delhi-category candidates, while applicants and families often prefer colleges closer to the capital.

Delhi has also approved a physical spot-counselling model. Only candidates who report in person on a given day will be ranked in that day’s merit list for available seats. A sub-committee reviewing admissions and affiliation rules has submitted an interim report and will continue work on its final recommendations.