The undergraduate seats in the government medical colleges in the country is likely to increase to 85,525 while postgraduate seats will go up to 46,558 by 2020-21, a health ministry source said today.
 

According to sources, the number of undergraduate seats in government medical colleges before 2014-15 was 52,000 while the corresponding number for PG seats was 30,000. They said the number of UG seats increased by 16,125 since 2014-15 while it increased by 8,500 for PG seats. The Union Cabinet yesterday approved schemes worth about Rs 14,930 crore to boost the availability of human resources for the health and medical sector, including the establishment of 24 new medical colleges in unreserved areas.

It also approved increasing seats in medical colleges by 2020-21, according to an official statement. The government also plans to set up 248 nursing and midwifery schools. The establishment of 24 new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals will take place by 2021-22. The establishment of the new colleges and increase of MBBS and PG seats would promote affordable medical education in the country, utilise the existing infrastructure of district hospitals and improve tertiary care in the government sector, the statement said.

It has been planned to ensure at least one medical college for every 3-5 parliamentary constituencies and at least one government medical college in the state. "The location of new medical colleges will be selected by the state government within the identified blocks in a challenge mode," the statement had said. The scheme will serve to create additional 10,000 MBBS and 8,000 PG seats in the country, bridge the gap in number of seats available in government and private sector, mitigate the shortage of doctors and medical faculty in India by increasing the number of seats and to achieve the desired doctor- population ratio, upgrade PG teaching facilities in government medical colleges.