Education Budget 2025: Just adding 10,000 MBBS seats won’t fix India’s healthcare crisis, say experts

NEW DELHI: The announcement of 10,000 additional medical seats in India in the next year, made by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday while presenting the union budget 2025, has sparked a debate among healthcare professionals and medical education experts. Several doctors argue that simply increasing MBBS seats without strategic planning may not effectively address the country's healthcare challenges.

During her 8th consecutive budget speech on Saturday, Sitharam said that the country’s medical colleges have seen a 130% increase in medical seats over the last 10 years and the plan to create 10,000 additional seats is part of the government’s aim to add 75,000 more such seats in the next five years.

The overall outlay for various medical institutions under the central government, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh and Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry also increased from Rs 18,013 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 20,046 crore, while the revised estimate for this year also rose to Rs 18.979 crore. Of this, Rs 7,639 has been earmarked for the establishment expenditure of new AIIMSs – up from Rs 6,800 crore and Rs 7,500 crore provided in 2024-25 BE and RE, respectively.

Medical Education: Uneven distribution of doctors

Doctors say that India's healthcare system presents a stark contrast – while metropolitan areas face a saturation of medical professionals, rural and tier-3 areas remain underserved. They argue that simply increasing undergraduate medical seats will not address this imbalance as the country lags in postgraduate opportunities compared to nations like the US and UK, where specialist training aligns with undergraduate intake.

Without expanding PG medical seats, MBBS graduates may struggle with career progression, and gaps in specialist care will persist, leaving the healthcare system underprepared despite a growing number of doctors.

Dr Vikas V, a neurosurgeon at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), said, “Simply increasing the number of MBBS graduates may not resolve this imbalance. However, as overall saturation rises, smaller cities may gradually become better equipped. Despite this, the World Health Organization (WHO) still points out significant gaps in India's doctor-to-population ratio, indicating a broader systemic issue.”

“What India needs is more specialist doctors. …Without expanding PG opportunities, MBBS graduates may face limited career growth, and specialist care will remain insufficient,” added Dr Aditya Sriram at Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Medical College, Chennai.

Sriram further stressed the need for better research and development (R&D) facilities and advanced medical equipment. “Strengthening domestic manufacturing in the medical sector is vital, as India remains behind other nations in R&D.”

He also pointed out that in states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the doctor-to-population ratio has already met or exceeded WHO recommendations. While increasing MBBS seats can help distribute doctors across underserved regions, it does not necessarily address the shortage of specialists — India’s most pressing healthcare need.

Medical Education: State-specific challenges

Dr Keerthy Varman, secretary general of the Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors Association, offers a different perspective. “Tamil Nadu already has more government medical colleges than districts, with some cities having multiple institutions. Producing over 10,000 MBBS graduates annually, the state also has sufficient PG seats. Yet, many doctors struggle to secure government jobs,” he said.

Keerthy suggests that instead of adding more seats in states like Tamil Nadu, the focus should shift to states in North and Northeast India especially Northeast states, where there is a genuine doctor shortage.

He also calls for clarity on the funding. “We need to know whether the central government will fully fund these additional seats or expect states to bear the financial burden.” He highlighted that the stipend for resident doctors is inadequate and funding distribution is disproportionate, noting that Tamil Nadu doctors receive fewer benefits despite their substantial contributions to healthcare.

Dr Suvrankar Datta, president of FAIMA, warns that increasing MBBS seats without proportionally increasing PG seats will create a significant imbalance in India's healthcare system. With AI transforming medical diagnosis and treatment, specialised training is no longer optional but essential. Specialists are crucial to detecting AI-driven errors, as even medical students using tools like ChatGPT sometimes make mistakes.

Without clear pathways for specialisation, India faces the risk of underemployment among doctors and a decline in patient care quality. Datta urged policymakers to expand PG seats and government doctor positions to meet the country’s evolving healthcare needs.

Need for trained medical faculty, infrastructure

Dr Dinesh Kumar, head of medicine at Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), supports the move to increase medical seats but stresses that quality education depends on well-trained faculty. Without adequate teaching staff, increasing seats alone will not lead to better medical training. “This is a good move but good trained manpower is needed which means there should be good faculty for the same. We lack that.”

Brijesh Sutaria, a medical education activist, warns that simply adding 10,000 medical seats without strategic reforms will not be effective. Critical issues such as infrastructure gaps, faculty shortages, lack of well-equipped departments, and excessive fees in private colleges must be addressed. He also calls for reassessing caste-based reservations in PG admissions and implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure proper patient exposure in private institutions.

Medical college living conditions

Sudha Shenoy, a medical education counsellor, raises another often-overlooked issue—living conditions in medical colleges. Many government medical colleges (GMCs) lack proper hostel facilities, forcing students to live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

"It would be better if the budget focused on developing existing infrastructure rather than adding new seats. Simply creating more medical colleges is not enough when current institutions lack adequate teaching faculty, proper hostel accommodations, and basic facilities like clean washrooms."