By 2020, over 85,000 MBBS seats in country

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 13

The Central Government has approved an ambitious plan to increase medical education infrastructure by adding seats at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

According to top Health Ministry officers, by 2020-2021, there will be 85,525 MBBS seats across medical colleges in the country and 46,558 postgraduate seats.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

That would mark a significant increase over the available seats at both UG and PG levels before 2014-15. The numbers then were 52,000 MBBS and 30,000 PG seats.

So far, the addition in the undergraduate education has been 16,125 MBBS seats between 2014-15 to date. Corresponding raise at the PG level has been 8,500 seats.

Sources said the UG seats expected to be increased by the upgrading of 58 district medical hospitals into colleges will be 5,000. The scheme is under implementation with targets to be met by 2020.

The recent Union Budget carried an announcement of upgrading 24 district government hospitals as medical colleges. Between 2014 and now, 10,000 MBBS and 8,058 PG seats have been increased in the existing medical colleges.

The country has one doctor for 1,630 persons, whereas the recommended World Health Organisation ratio is  one doctor for every 1,000 persons.