The government has announced that there are currently 1,386,150 registered allopathic doctors and 751,768 practitioners in the AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) system of medicine, resulting in an estimated doctor-population ratio of 1:811. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, informed the Rajya Sabha that the country has a total of 74,306 postgraduate seats and 118,190 MBBS seats. The minister explained that assuming 80 percent of registered practitioners are available, the estimated doctor-population ratio stands at 1:811.
To address the increasing demand for medical professionals, the government has implemented several measures, including the establishment of new medical colleges by upgrading district and referral hospitals. A total of 131 out of 157 approved new medical colleges are already functional. Additionally, the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has seen approval for 75 projects aimed at upgrading government medical colleges, with 71 of those projects completed. The government has also approved 22 new AIIMS institutions, with undergraduate courses commencing in 19 of them. Initiatives like the Family Adoption Programme and the District Residency Programme have been introduced to enhance healthcare access in rural areas. Furthermore, non-monetary incentives, multi-skilling of doctors, and skill upgradation strategies under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) aim to address the shortage of specialists and improve overall health outcomes.
