A total of 80,448 MBBS seats are available in medical colleges in the country at present. The number of medical postgraduate seats is 40,408 which is little more than half of the MBBS seats available. This information was shared by Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan in the Lok Sabha today.
Questions were asked by Chandra Sekhar Sahu and Dr Pritam Gopinathrao Munde on whether the government proposes to enhance MBBS and PG seats in equal numbers in medical colleges in the country and whether NITI Aayog has also recommended any proposal to the government in this regard.
The Minister replied that enhancement of MBBS & PG seats is dependent on availability of adequate faculty and infrastructure as per prevalent regulations of MCI. Among the various steps taken by the government to increase the seats, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, are establishment of new medical colleges attached with district/ referral hospitals in underserved districts, enhancement of maximum intake capacity at MBBS level from 150 to 250 and upgradation of existing State Government/Central Government medical colleges.
The government has also decided to give relaxation in the norms for setting up of medical college in terms of requirement for faculty, staff, bed strength and other infrastructure.
The ratio of teachers to students has also been revised to increase the number of PG medical seats.
Replying to the question on whether NITI Aayog has recommended any such proposal to government, the Minister said, "The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare consults with various stakeholders including NITI Aayog to augment the number of medical seats in the country. The suggestions of NITI Aayog received from time to time are duly considered."
On March 4, Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey had informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 533 medical colleges are offering MBBS courses in the country, which 261 medical colleges under private management.
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