20% more seats added to medical education in past four years, says President Kovind

NEW DELHI, MAY 4: There is a good news for the healthcare sector as in past four years as many as 20 percent new seats have been added to the medical education in the country. President of India Ram Nath Kovind has said that with an increase of 20 percent the number of undergraduate medical seats has gone up to 67,352.

In the past decade with a rapid expansion of healthcare services, various stakeholders have been demanding to increase the medical seats to cater to the rising demand. The President while speaking on the Centenary Celebrations of Medical Education programme of Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore said, “In India we have 1.47 million undergraduate engineering seats, but only 67,352 undergraduate medical seats. And about 20 percent of those seats were added in the past four years. As a country and a system, we need to address this gap quickly.”

emphasizing on the need to have more doctors and other related healthcare professionals, President said that one of the principles that I referred to earlier is the principle of quantity – of filling the gap in healthcare professionals in our country. There is urgent need to do this, and to reform medical education so as to create room for more colleges and more medical graduates.

The CMC is also among the leading medical institutions in the county doing high-quality research. Speaking about its achievements, he said, “A range of research takes place at CMC. Recent research on the rotavirus vaccine, hepatitis, malnutrition, bio-engineering and stem cells underlines your commitment to research that is relevant to India’s health needs.”

“I understand clinical training in your hospital is complemented by placements in villages and underserved areas. This is commendable. Please keep it up. Doctors need a sharp mind – but much more than that, they need a warm heart,” President added.