Centre to set up 157 medical colleges, prioritise backward districts, says MoS health

The Centre has decided to set up at least 157 new medical colleges to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country, Union minister of state for health and family welfare Bharati Pawar has said, claiming that the government will give priority to backward states while setting up the new colleges.

"The Central government has given a priority to backward districts for setting up the new medical colleges. We are establishing 157 new medical colleges,” said Pawar. “The government will also increase the number of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) to 22 from six. These are time-bound projects,” she added.

However, the unavailability of land in some states has become a roadblock for the Centre’s plan of setting up new medical colleges, admitted the Union minister, adding that the Centre was looking for ways to overcome land hurdles in such states.

Prioritising backward states while setting up the new medical colleges will not only address the issue of poor health infrastructure in such states, but also provide aspiring medical students the opportunity to pursue a career in medical science without having to relocate to other states.

“But in many states, these projects are facing issues. Work stops for a period of one-two years in some states due to land related issues. But this is not the case in Maharashtra," Pawar told PTI on December 31 in Aurangabad.

In July last year, Pawar had told the Parliament that there were a total of 558 medical colleges in India with 83,275 MBBS seats and 42,720 PG seats. In 2021, a total of 38 medical colleges were approved by the Centre. Tamil Nadu got the highest share of 11 medical colleges, while Uttar Pradesh got nine of these 38 colleges.

She said the Union government was sanctioning facilities with funds to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country but some issues persisted. The Centre will set up the new medical colleges in three phases.