75,000 new seats in medical colleges: PM Modi’s promise to aspiring doctors
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that 75,000 new seats will be added in medical colleges across the country in the next five years to meet the growing demand for healthcare professionals.
The PM made this promise in his address to the nation on Independence Day.
The Prime Minister also said that his government has increased the total available seats to around one lakh in the last decade. He said that adding 75,000 more seats will reduce the pressure on lakhs of candidates who spend a lot of money to prepare for the exam. He said that this will also prevent aspiring medical professionals from leaving the country and taking admission elsewhere.
He said, “In the last decade, we have increased medical seats to around one lakh. (But) today, about 25,000 youth go abroad for medical education every year. Therefore, we have decided that 75,000 new seats will be created in the medical sector in the next five years.” According to the health ministry, the number of medical colleges in the country has increased by 88 per cent since the BJP came to power in 2014. There were 387 before 2014 and that has now increased to 731, the government said. Also, the number of seats for postgraduate medical courses has also increased by 133 per cent, from around 31,000 in 2014 to over 72,000 now.
The prime minister also said his government would increase the number of hospitals and health infrastructure; in June, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the country’s health budget has been increased from Rs 79,221 crore last year to over Rs 90,000 crore for 2024/25. Medical college seats have been in the news in the last few weeks and months following the controversy over the conduct and results of the NEET-UG exam. The NEET-UG exam is a qualifying exam for admission to undergraduate courses for prospective doctors. In June, a controversy erupted over the awarding of full marks to 67 students and ‘grace marks’ to 1,563 students.
It also emerged that question papers were leaked at some centres in Patna and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, following which several appeals were filed in the Supreme Court.
The CBI was also tasked with investigating a national racket of leaking question papers.
