UG medical seats increased by 75%, PG medical seats by 93% since 2014: Govt

According to the government, the number of undergraduate medical seats has increased by 75% from 51,348 before 2014 to 89,875 presently, and the number of post-graduate medical seats has increased by 93% during the same period.

In response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that Indian students who go abroad to study MBBS and obtain foreign medical qualifications must pass the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination in order to be registered as medical practitioners in India.

The minister said the government has taken several steps to further increase the availability of doctors in the country.

“The number of UG seats has increased from 51,348 before 2014 to 89,875 seats as of date which is an increase of 75 percent. The number of PG seats has increased by 93 percent from 31,185 seats before 2014 to 60,202 now,” Mandaviya said.

EXPANSION OF MEDICAL SEATS

A state-supported scheme for the establishment of new medical schools by upgrading district/referral hospitals, under which 157 new medical colleges have been approved and 71 are already operational, has been implemented to expand the number of seats.

It also comprises a federally funded scheme to reinforce or upgrade existing state or federal medical colleges to boost MBBS and PG seats, as well as a federally funded scheme to upgrade government medical institutions by building super specialty blocks.

Mandaviya added that undergraduate classes have begun in 19 of them.

The government has also approved the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Act, 2021, for rapid development in the number of allied medical seats in the country, and an interim commission has been notified under the Act’s provisions, according to the minister.

(With inputs from PTI)