New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved an increase in the retirement age for doctors of the Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service (IOFHS) to 65 years.

"Like other health cadres in the government of India, IOFHS is also faced with a perennial shortage of Medical Officers, thereby hampering the effective delivery of healthcare services on a day-to-day basis and also compromising long-term policy towards improving and standardising healthcare system across the organisation," an official statement said.

Accordingly, the matter was reviewed in its entirety by the Cabinet and considering the shortage of doctors in the IOFHS and to retain skilled and experienced doctors of Ordnance Factory Hospitals, it was decided to increase the retirement age of IOFHS doctors, the statement said.

Ordnance Factories Organisation is a conglomerate of 41 ordnance factories, training institutions, marketing centres, safety directorates and other small offices.

Its medical services consist of 25 hospitals, 39 factory health clinics and 42 estate health clinics. Out of the 25 hospitals, nine are specialist centres.

Being industrial establishment, round-the-clock medical coverage for its workers is a statutory requirement under the provisions of Health, Safety and Welfare of the Factories Act, 1948.