Through concerted efforts of the Government, there has been a significant increase of 87% in MBBS seats and a massive 105% increase observed in PG seats in the last eight years, says Union Health Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya stated while reiterating the government’s commitment towards bringing a drastic paradigm shift in education in the country.

He further said, “Since 2014, several steps have been taken to ease the access to quality education in the country for the younger generation”.

He was also hopeful that with this momentum and coordination among stakeholders, we will be able to create a holistic ecosystem of education in the country.

The Union Health Minister said, “Since the Modi government came into power, concerted efforts have been taken to train and improve the affordability and accessibility to quality education for our students.”

The Union Health Minister further said, “There is a paradigm shift from input-based to outcome-based approaches and reforms under the Modi government. Consequently, we now have 648 medical colleges in 2022 with a whopping 96% increase in the number of Government Medical Colleges (GMC) alone and a 42% increase in the private sector, since 2014. At present, out of 648 medical colleges in the country, 355 are government and 293 are private. MBBS seats have also seen a massive 87% increase from 51,348 in 2014 to 96,077 in 2022. Similarly, PG seats have observed an increase of 105% from 31,185 seats in 2014 to 63,842 in 2022.”

He said that with a vision to create 10,000 MBBS seats in Government Medical Colleges (GMC), 58 colleges across 16 states have been approved with an increase of 3,877 MBBS seats. Similarly, to increase PG seats, 72 medical colleges in 21 states/UTs have been approved in Phase I, with an increase of 4,058 PG seats. To create 4,000 PG seats in the GMCs, in phase II, a total of 47 colleges have been approved with an increase of 2,975 PG seats.

Emphasizing on correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable and reliable tertiary healthcare, Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was launched. The program targets establishment of AIIMS like institutions and the upgradation of existing GMCs (by establishing super-speciality blocks) in a phased manner. 22 new AIIMS and projects for the up-gradation of 75 Government medical colleges were taken up under the scheme.

Parallelly, reforms are ongoing in the sectors of Nursing Education, Dental Education and Allied and Healthcare professions. A new National allied and Healthcare Professions Act 2021 has also been enacted. Similarly, on the lines of the NMC, the Dental Council of India, and the Indian Nursing Council are also being reformed through new legislation.