Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 1: India currently has 13,86,150 registered allopathic doctors and 7,51,768 registered AYUSH practitioners, contributing to an estimated doctor-population ratio of 1:811, the government informed on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, stated in the Rajya Sabha that the country now has 1,18,190 MBBS seats and 74,306 postgraduate medical seats. "Assuming that 80 per cent of registered practitioners in both allopathic and AYUSH systems are actively available, the estimated doctor-population ratio is 1:811," she said.

The government has taken several measures to enhance medical infrastructure, including the centrally sponsored scheme to establish new medical colleges by upgrading district hospitals. Of the 157 approved medical colleges under this initiative, 131 are already functional.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), 75 projects for upgrading government medical colleges with super-specialty blocks have been approved, with 71 already completed. Additionally, 22 new AIIMS institutions have been approved, with undergraduate courses commenced in 19 of them.

The MBBS curriculum now includes a Family Adoption Programme to improve healthcare accessibility in rural areas. Furthermore, under the District Residency Programme of the National Medical Commission (NMC), second and third-year postgraduate medical students are required to serve in district hospitals.

To encourage doctors to serve in remote regions, the government has introduced non-monetary incentives, including preferential admission in postgraduate courses for those working in difficult areas. Accommodation facilities in rural areas are also being improved.

The National Health Mission (NHM) supports multi-skilling of doctors to address the shortage of specialists. Skill upgradation of the existing medical workforce under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) remains a key focus to improve health outcomes, the minister added.