Expanding Medical Education Infrastructure in India: A Government Initiative

In a recent statement to the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health, Prataprao Jadhav, highlighted the government's significant efforts to expand the medical college infrastructure across India. This initiative aims to make medical education more affordable and accessible for aspiring students.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been actively implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at establishing new medical colleges linked to existing district and referral hospitals, particularly in underserved areas and aspirational districts lacking government or private medical colleges.

So far, the government has approved a total of 157 new medical colleges nationwide. Additionally, existing state and central government medical colleges have received support to upgrade their facilities, leading to an increase in MBBS and postgraduate seats.

As a result of these initiatives, the availability of MBBS seats has increased by 151.18%, from 51,348 in 2013-14 to 128,976 currently. Similarly, postgraduate seats have seen a rise of 172.63%, from 31,185 to 85,020, reflecting a commitment to enhancing access to medical training.

Moreover, the fee structure for MBBS courses varies between states and institutions, governed by state fee regulatory authorities. The government is dedicated to making medical education more affordable while preventing commercialization. To this end, fees at government medical colleges are subsidized, and there is a 10% reservation in undergraduate and postgraduate seats for economically weaker sections.

Guidelines issued under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, outline fee determination for 50% of seats in private medical institutions. However, these guidelines are currently under judicial review.