New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said 75,000 new seats will be added in medical colleges across the country over the next five years to address the growing demand for healthcare professionals.
The PM made the promise in his Independence Day address to the nation.
The Prime Minister also said his government had, over the past decade, increased total available seats to nearly a lakh. He said adding 75,000 more seats would decrease pressure on lakhs of candidates who spend a lot of money to prep for the test. It would also, he said, stop aspiring medical professionals from leaving the country to gain admission elsewhere.
"In the past decade, we have increased medical seats to nearly one lakh. (But) today, around 25,000 youths go abroad every year for medical education. Therefore, we have decided that in the next five years, 75,000 new seats will be created in the medical field," he said.
According to the Health Ministry, the number of medical colleges in the country has increased by 88 per cent from 2014, when the BJP came to power. There were 387 before 2014 and this has since increased to 731, the government said, adding there were also an increase of 133 per cent seats for postgraduate medical courses, from around 31,000 in 2014 to over 72,000 now.
The Prime Minister also said his government would increase the number of hospitals and health infrastructure; in June Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the country's health budget had been increased from Rs 79,221 crore last year to over Rs 90,000 crore for 2024/25.
Medical college seats have been in sharp focus over the past few weeks and months after controversy over the conduct and results of the NEET-UG exam, which is a qualifying test for admission to undergraduate courses for future doctors. The controversy broke in June after red flags over the number - 67 - of perfect scores and the award of 'grace marks' to 1,563 students.
It also emerged that the question paper had been leaked at some centres in Patna and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, prompting multiple appeals to be filed before the Supreme Court.
The CBI had also been tasked with investigating a national racket of leaking question papers.
READ | No NEET Re-Exam, "Can't Conclude Sanctity Breached": Court
Eventually, however, the top court ruled out a complete re-test for the 2024 NEET-UG exam, reasoning there is no data to suggest a "systemic breach" or that the "sanctity" of the examination, following two localised leaks of the question paper, had been affected.
Over 23.3 lakh students sat for the May 5 NEET-UG exam, according to the National Testing Agency, the central body that conducts such examinations. Only a small number of these candidates will be selected to fill the limited number of seats, making this a competitive test.
Controversy over the NEET-UG exam triggered a massive political row between the BJP and the Congress-led opposition, with fierce squabbles inside and outside Parliament.