Govt eyes PG route to create 10,000 new medical seats

Govt eyes PG route to create 10,000 new medical seats

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesofindia.com 04.02.2025

New Delhi : After increasing the number of undergraduate (UG) medical seats to approximately 1.2 lakh, the govt is now focusing on increasing postgraduate (PG) seats. Sources said PG medical seats are going to be the focus in fulfilling the budget announcement for adding 10,000 medical seats over the next one year. This will increase avenues for MBBS graduates to pursue a higher degree and to fulfil the rising demand for specialist doctors, said a source. India is well-placed to achieve the WHO recommendation of one doctor per 1,000 population by 2030, according to the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament a day before the Union budget was presented on Feb 1. 

The report said at present, there are 13.86 lakh doctors in the country, which translates into a current availability ratio of 1:1263.

“The WHO standard norm of 1:1000 seems to be attainable by 2030 with a conservative 50,000 doctors being licensed every year till 2030,” it added. Meanwhile, the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC), with a view to enhance quality and uniformity of PG medical education, has decided to constitute an expert committee for each specialty. These committees will be responsible for preparing a model curriculum and developing assessment forms for assessing institutes besides addressing other academic requirements.