SRINAGAR: The Government of India has more than doubled the number of medical seats for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses over the past decade, citing the need to address the growing healthcare demands of an increasingly populous nation.
According to data presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the number of medical colleges in the country has risen from 387 in 2014 to 780 at present. Undergraduate (MBBS) seats have increased from 51,348 to 1,15,900, while postgraduate seats have grown from 31,185 to 74,306 in the same period.
The sharp rise has been driven by centrally sponsored schemes aimed at expanding medical education infrastructure. This includes the establishment of new colleges by upgrading district and referral hospitals, with 131 of 157 approved new institutions already functional. The government has also strengthened existing state and central medical colleges to boost MBBS and PG capacity.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, 71 of 75 approved projects for upgrading government medical colleges with super-speciality blocks and trauma care centres have been completed. The scheme has also seen the establishment of 22 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Regulatory changes by the National Medical Commission (NMC) have further eased the creation and expansion of medical colleges. These include the removal of mandatory land requirements, reduction in the number of subjects in the MBBS curriculum, and relaxation of faculty norms for PG courses. The government has also recognised the Diplomate of National Board (DNB) qualification for faculty recruitment and raised the retirement age for teaching posts to 70 years.
The government says these measures are designed to rapidly scale up India’s medical education capacity while addressing faculty shortages and regional disparities.
