Centre to double medical seats by 2021

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The Centre is planning to double the number of medical seats in undergraduate and postgraduate courses to achieve a target of 80,000 MBBS and 45,000 PG seats by 2021, health ministry officials said.

The officials said the plan has been mooted to ensure a doctor-patient ratio of 1:1,000 against the current fraction of 1:2,000.

The ministry of health and family welfare is targeting additional 38,431 seats in the MBBS and 22,806 seats in the PG streams by 2021, representing a rise of 92.45 per cent and 102.75 per cent respectively.

The target is 80,000 MBBS seats and 45,000 PG seats by 2021, the officials said at the meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee on health chaired by health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here on Monday. The meeting was called to discuss the scenario of medical infrastructure.

At present, there are 41,569 MBBS seats in the 335 medical colleges across India and 22,194 PG seats. However, most of these seats and medical colleges are concentrated in the southern and western states with the central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh barely getting any share in medical infrastructure.

Ministry’s latest data shows that 66 per cent of the 335 medical colleges and 69 per cent of the current MBBS seats are located at present in the Southern and Western states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa.

Eastern India, comprising Bihar and West Bengal, which feature among the five most populous states, have 10 per cent just 9 per cent MBBS seats.

Common med. entrance tests from 2013

The proposed common exams for admission to MBBS and MD courses all over the country will be held from the next academic session, health ministry officials said.

The officials told MPs at the Consultative Committee Meeting on Health that the proposed common tests, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduate (NEET-UG) and Postgraduate (NEET-PG) medical courses, have been notified for commencement from 2013-14.

The common entrance tests for admission to MBBS and MD courses have been notified on February 25, this year for commencement from academic year 2013-14 they said. The NEET for admission to UG courses would be conducted by the CBSE and the NEET for PG courses would be carried out by the National Board of Examinations, they added.