Number of medical colleges doubled in India in 9 years: Mansukh Mandaviya

SHILLONG: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the number of medical colleges in the country has doubled in the country in the past nine years and the government is building one critical care unit in every district in the nation.

Inaugurating a regional cancer centre at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) here, he said that the number of MBBS seats in the country increased from 50,000 in 2014 to 1,07,000 now. The minister also inaugurated a new undergraduate medical college, a new building of a nursing college, eight modular operation theatres and other facilities.

"In the last nine years, the number of medical colleges has doubled in the country. A total of 1,70,000 Health and Wellness Centres have been created across India. We are also building one Critical Care unit in every district in the country," he said while addressing a gathering.

He also laid the foundation stone for a 150-bed Critical Care Block at NEIGRIHMS. "The new facilities at NEIGRIHMS will provide much-needed healthcare services to the people of the Northeast. The central government is committed to improve the health infrastructure in the region,” he said.

"It is our plan to develop NEIGRIHMS as an institute of national importance," said Mandaviya added. While other countries in the world follow a three-layered health system, India boasts of its four-tier mechanism - ASHA, primary, secondary and tertiary services, he said.

ASHA workers played a key role in the country's response to the prevention and management of the pandemic. He also mentioned that a budget of around Rs 64,000 crore for the country, which means on an average Rs 100 crore for every district, has been earmarked for the the next four years.