The parliamentary panel on 19 March decided against the increase of medicos serving in Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), despite of having a shortage of doctors and specialists.

A parliamentary panel has said there has been no periodic revision in the intake of medical officers and specialists by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), despite a shortage. In a Committee of Estimates report on the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, the defence ministry has said that although the annual intake from the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) is 130 (105 males, 25 females), a sanction for an intake of 140 exists since 1999.

The committee noted that "there has been no periodic upward revision in the sanctioned intake from the AFMS". The actual annual intake from the AFMC was only 130 as against the sanctioned intake of 140 since 1999, it added. The ministry has also informed the panel that the proposal to enhance the annual intake from AFMC to 150 is under consideration. The committee said the government had also approved the augmentation of manpower of the AFMS by 10,590 in three phases and that the third phase was under process.