Over 3,500 posts vacant in AIIMS-Delhi: Minister in RS

More than 20,000 faculty and non-faculty positions are vacant across 23 All-India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the country, according to an official data presented in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Responding to a Rajya Sabha question, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shared AIIMS-wise staffing data for 2025-26. The numbers highlight deep human resource gaps.

Even the flagship AIIMS-Delhi has over 3,500 unfilled posts. But the situation is more acute in newly established campuses like Madurai, Bathinda, Rajkot and Bilaspur.

For instance, AIIMS-Madurai — still partially functional — has just 49 of 183 sanctioned faculty posts filled.

Among non-faculty positions, only 43 of 911 are staffed. AIIMS-Rajkot has only 76 of 183 faculty posts filled, while Bilaspur has just 126 of 217.

Institutes under construction such as AIIMS-Awantipora, Jammu & Kashmir, Darbhanga in Bihar and Rewari in Haryana show negligible appointments. Awantipora has zero filled faculty posts out of 94 sanctioned.

In his written reply, Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said recruitment is a “continuous process” and that the government has taken steps to speed up appointments.

“Provision has been made for engagement of retired faculty at the level of Professor, Additional Professor and Associate Professor, on a contract basis, in new AIIMS, up to the age of 70 years from Institutes of National Importance (INIs) and Government Medical Colleges (GMCs),” the Ministry reply stated.

“Visiting Faculty Scheme has been formulated to allow Professors, Additional Professors and Associate Professors, who are holding academic positions in government institutions within India or academic institutions outside India, to be the visiting faculty in new AIIMS for teaching purposes,” it added.