How many doctors available in India? Health Ministry gives response

New Delhi: India has 13,86,150 registered allopathic and 7,51,768 registered AYUSH doctors available in India, the Union Minister of State for Health Smt Anupriya Patel informed the Parliament recently.

Referring to the information provided by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Ministry of AYUSH regarding the number of registered allopathic and AYUSH doctors, the Minister further informed that assuming the availability of 80% registered practitioners in both the allopathic and AYUSH systems, the doctor-population ratio in the country is estimated to be 1:811.

These details were provided by the Minister while responding to the questions raised in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. In Rajya Sabha, Parliament member Smt. Sunetra Ajit Pawar sought to know from the Health Ministry whether there was a shortage of medical professionals and lack of medical education in the health services sector.

She also sought details of the steps being taken to increase the number of medical professionals and improve the quality of medical education, the manner in which the Government proposed to tackle shortage of health workers, especially in rural areas, and the steps being taken to promote research and development in the health sector and the results achieved so far.

Also Read: Altogether 13,86,136 allopathic doctors registered with State Medical Councils across India: Health Ministry

In the Lok Sabha, the Minister was answering the questions raised by Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi, who sought the details of MBBS doctor-population ratio in the country. Further, he sought to know whether any steps had been taken by the Government to improve the MBBS doctor-population ratio in the country, whether the Government has taken any steps to initiate compulsory internships for MBBS and MD doctors in the rural areas, and whether the Government had plans to lower the number of child malnutrition and undernutrition cases in the tribal areas of the country. 

The MoS Health, in response to these queries, informed, "As per information provided by National Medical Commission (NMC), there are 13,86,150 registered allopathic doctors. The Ministry of AYUSH has informed that there are 7,51,768 registered practitioners in the AYUSH system of medicine. Assuming that 80% of registered practitioners in both the allopathic and AYUSH systems are available, the doctorpopulation ratio in the country is estimated to be 1:811."

She further informed, "The government has increased number of medical colleges and subsequently increased MBBS seats. There is an increase of 101.5% in Medical Colleges from 387 before 2014 to 780 as of now. Further, there is an increase of 130% in MBBS seats from 51,348 before 2014 to 1,18,190 as of now and increase of 138.3% in PG seats from 31,185 before 2014 to 74,306 as of now."

Govt Measures to Increase Doctors in the Country: 

As per the Minister, the following measures/steps are being taken by the Government to increase the number of doctors/medical professionals in the country:

 Centrally Sponsored Scheme for establishment of new medical college by upgrading district/ referral hospital under which 109 new medical colleges are already functional out of 157 approved medical colleges which includes five medical colleges in the State Chhattisgarh.

 Centrally Sponsored Scheme for strengthening/ upgradation of existing State Government/Central Government Medical Colleges to increase MBBS and PG seats.

 Under “Upgradation of Government Medical Colleges by construction of Super Specialty Blocks” of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) scheme, a total of 75 projects have been approved, of which 66 projects are complete.

 Under the Central Sector Scheme for setting up of new AIIMS, 22 AIIMS have been approved. Undergraduate courses have started in 19 of these.

 DNB qualification has been recognized for appointment as faculty to take care of shortage of faculty.

 Enhancement of age limit for appointment/ extension/ re-employment against posts of teachers/Dean/Principal/ Director in medical colleges upto 70 years.

Measures by NMC to Improve Quality of Medical Education: 

The MoS Health further informed that the following steps are taken by the NMC to improve the quality of medical education for MBBS students:

 Regulations/Guidelines are revised from time to time to match with the international standards of medical education in the country.

 Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) curriculum was introduced since 2021-22 and revised from time to time.

 Mentor-mentee programme was introduced to foster teacher student relationship and individual attention.

 Family Adoption Programme (FAP) was introduced since 2021 and made mandatory from AY 2023-24 to promote communication skills and longitudinal health perspective.

 Periodic monitoring to review suitability and availability of required material and faculty by use of modern technology to reduce human intervention.

Incentives/Honorarium Provided to Encourage Doctors to Practice in Rural and Remote Areas: 

The Minister informed that the following types of incentives and honorarium are provided for encouraging doctors to practice in rural and remote areas of the country:

 Hard area allowance to specialist doctors for serving in rural and remote areas and for their residential quarters so that they find it attractive to serve in public health facilities in such areas.

 Honorarium to Gynecologists/ Emergency Obstetric Care (EmoC) trained, Pediatricians & Anesthetist/ Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS) trained doctors is also provided to increase availability of specialists for conducting Cesarean Sections in rural & remote area.

 Special incentives for doctors and incentive for ANM for ensuring timely ANC checkup and recording, incentives for conducting Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health activities.

 States are also allowed to offer negotiable salary to attract specialist including flexibility in strategies such as “You Quote We Pay”.

 Non-Monetary incentives such as preferential admission in post graduate courses for staff serving in difficult areas and improving accommodation arrangement in rural areas have also been introduced under NHM.

 Multi-skilling of doctors is supported under NHM to overcome the shortage of specialists. Skill upgradation of existing HR is another major strategy under NRHM for achieving improvement in health outcomes

NMC Measures to Promote Research and Development in the Health Sector: 

MoS Health Smt.Patel informed that the steps taken by NMC to promote research and development in the health sector and the results achieved are as follows: 

 Promotion of multi-disciplinary research, encouraging collaboration across medical, Biomedical, and allied health sciences.

 Capacity building programs and workshops conducted across medical colleges to enhance faculty research skills, proposal writing, and publication ethics.

 Integration of research methodology training into the postgraduate curriculum to build research competencies from an early stage in medical careers.

 Encouragement for medical colleges to set up Institutional Ethics Committees (lEC) to promote ethical research practices.

 Collaboration with national research agencies like ICMR, DBT, and DST to foster collaborative research projects, especially in areas of public health importance and emerging health challenges.

"There has been a greater emphasis on research addressing regional health challenges, disease burden, and healthcare delivery innovations, with enhanced faculty involvement in funded research projects supported by national and international funding agencies. This has led to an improved research culture in medical institutions, where more institutions have established Research Cells and are actively engaging in clinical and public health research," further informed the Minister.

She also informed that the Family Adoption Programme (FAP) has been incorporated into the MBBS curriculum to provide equitable healthcare access to rural population. 

The FAP involves medical colleges adopting villages, and MBBS students adopting families within these villages. "This innovative approach takes young medical students directly to rural households, offering them first hand experience of the real-world challenges faced by families in diverse socioeconomic environments. Moreover, NMC has approved District Residency Program where the second/third year PG students of medical colleges are posted in district hospitals for a period of three months to enhance healthcare facilities at District/Rural level," informed the Minister.

She further said that the Government has prioritized addressing malnutrition through Mission Poshan 2.0, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme aimed at improving nutrition content and delivery. It focuses on maternal nutrition, infant and young child feeding, and the treatment of severe and moderate malnutrition. Key activities include community mobilization, awareness advocacy, and events like Poshan Maahs and Poshan Pakhwadas to educate people on nutrition. The Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) provides fortified nutrition to children, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls to meet dietary requirements, with an emphasis on quality protein, healthy fats, and micronutrients. The program promotes the use of millets to improve diet diversity and tackle anemia.

"National Health Mission, implements the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health, and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy to address malnutrition and improve health outcomes. Key initiatives include Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres for treating severely malnourished children, the Anaemia Mukt Bharat strategy for combating anaemia, the Mothers' Absolute Affection (MAA) Programme to promote breastfeeding, Lactation Management Centres to support breastfeeding mothers, and National Deworming Day to reduce soil-transmitted helminths. Additionally, Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days provide maternal and child health services and raise awareness about nutrition," she added.

Also Read: India's Doctor-population ratio of 1:811 better than WHO standard, says JP Nadda in Lok Sabha