The Centre is revealed to have granted its consent for an additional 3,700 MBBS seats to be introduced in Government medical colleges, besides attempting to increase the number of MBBS graduates within the next five years.

Union Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad is revealed to have expressed his concerns to chief ministers of states, calling for an increase in the retirement age of faculty in medical, nursing, dental and other related colleges from 58 to 65 in a view to address the shortage of teachers and their increasing preference towards private sector.

“Currently, there are 37 government medical colleges with 1,000 beds where the MBBS intake will be up by 100. That means 3,700 additional MBBS seats at one go,” Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad noted to Deccan Herald.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) reveals that in all there are 303 colleges for studying, of which more than 50 percent are being operated by either by a private trust or a society.

It is highlighted that even if 100 private medical colleges are granted the permission to increase the number of their MBBS seats by another 100, it will obviously reflect an addition of 10,000 MBBS seats.

Moreover, the Centre is in a bid to encouraging large private hospital groups like Apollo or Fortis or Max to start with their own colleges to address the same.