Govt working to level number of medical UG, PG seats in 4 yrs: Health min

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government was working to equal the number of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats within four years so that all MBBS graduates can pursue PG courses

Mansukh Mandaviya
Press Trust of India Gandhinagar
2 min read Last Updated : Feb 11 2023 | 11:22 PM IST

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the government was working to equal the number of undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats within four years so that all MBBS graduates can pursue PG courses.

Speaking at the 11th annual conference of the Global Association of Physicians of Indian origin (GAPIO) here, he also invited healthcare professionals from the Indian diaspora to invest in research and open hospital chains in the country with "assured business."

More than 70 countries will sign hospital-to-hospital, country-to-country and country-to-hospital MoUs at the 'Heal In India, Heal By India' expo to be held in April-May this year, he said. "When we open a dispensary, we also need doctors. Eight years ago, India had 51,000 MBBS seats. Today, we have 1,00,226 under-graduate seats, and post-graduate seats grew from 34,000 to 64,000," the minister said. "We have set a target to make the number of MBBS UG and PG seats equal so that all our doctors get the opportunity to enrol in PG courses and get the best healthcare education," he added. Under the 'Heal in India' initiative, the plan is to "invite the world to India" and offer "affordable and quality healthcare, wellness and traditional medicine," the minister said. The process has begun, and Gujarat is the best destination for medical travel, said Mandaviya. "If you want to work in the health sector and want to build hospital chains, then I want to give you assured business. If you have a 50-100 bed hospital and get affiliated to Ayushman Bharat, you will get assured business and opportunity to serve the public. If you want to run it commercially, you can do so under the Ayushman Bharat scheme," he said. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said while India has successfully come out of the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are greater challenges ahead in the healthcare sector due to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

"The way forward is to provide innovative solutions which are also cost-effective and can be availed of by all sections of society," he said. Dr Anupam Sibal, President of GAPIO, said it provides a platform to Indian-origin doctors practicing anywhere in the world to share their knowledge and exchange ideas.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Quarterly Starter

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

Save 46%

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online

  • Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :CentreMBBS

First Published: Feb 11 2023 | 11:22 PM IST

Next Story