More than 12.5 lakh doctors in India, only 3.71 lakh specialists: Health Minister tells parliament
New Delhi: There are more than 12.5 lakh allopathy doctors in the country of which only 3.71 lakh are specialist doctors.
The information to this effect was recently given by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Shri Ashwani Kumar Choubey (MoS Health) during a recent parliament session while giving the details of per capita availability of doctors in India. He stated that of the 12,55,786 allopathic practitioners registered with the MCI or state medical councils, only 3,71,870 doctors are the ones with their specialist/post- graduate qualifications.
As per the data by Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India (MCI) on the number of doctors registered with the MCI itself or the respective state medical councils, the maximum number of doctors are in the state of Maharashtra with 1,88,540 doctors out of the 12,55,786 allopathic practitioners across the country at present. Second, comes Tamil Nadu with 1,48,216 doctors followed by Karnataka with 1,30,698 medical practitioners.
The state of Andhra Pradesh is currently having 1,02,924 doctors. Uttar Pradesh has 84,560 doctors registered while West Bengal has 75,917. Gujarat, Bihar and Delhi have 69,746, 45,795 and 26,685 doctors respectively.
While Madhya Pradesh has 40,171 medical practitioners, Kerala has 65,685. The states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha have 51,685, 14,517, 46,253, 10,020, 16,491, 24,780 registered doctors with the respective councils. Assam is said to have 24,083 doctors in its state.
Meanwhile, lastly, the states reported having less than 10,000 doctors are Arunachal Pradesh with 1179, Goa with 4035, Himachal Pradesh with 3406, Jharkhand with 6837, Mizoram with 118, Nagaland with 147, Tripura 1945, Sikkim with 1414, Uttarakhand with 9348 and Telangana with 7931.
The date further adds that out of the total number of allopathic doctors, 52,666 are registered with the Medical Council of India
Number of Doctors Registered with State Medical Councils / Medical Council of India as on 30th June. 2020
S. | Name of the State | Number of Registered Doctors |
1. | Andhra Pradesh | 102924 |
2. | Arunachal Pradesh | 1179 |
3. | Assam | 24083 |
4. | Bihar | 45795 |
5. | Chattisgarh | 10020 |
6. | Delhi | 26685 |
7. | Goa | 4035 |
8. | Gujarat | 69746 |
9. | Haryana | 14517 |
10. | Himachal Pradesh | 3406 |
11. | Jammu & Kashmir | 16491 |
12. | Jharkhand | 6837 |
13. | Karnataka | 130698 |
14. | Madhya Pradesh | 40171 |
15. | Maharashtra | 188540 |
16. | Kerala | 65685 |
17. | Mizoram | 118 |
18. | Nagaland | 141 |
19. | Orissa | 24780 |
20. | Punjab | 51685 |
21. | Rajasthan | 46253 |
22. | Sikkim | 1414 |
23. | Tamil Nadu | 148216 |
24. | Uttar Pradesh | 84560 |
25. | Uttarakhand | 9348 |
26. | West Bengal | 75917 |
27. | Tripura | 1945 |
28. | Telangana | 7931 |
29. | Medical Council of India* | 52666 |
Total | 12,55,786 |
Note - The other States / UTs do not have their own Medical Registration Council. Hence, their doctors get registration with the Councils of other neighboring States.
* 52666 doctors were registered only with MCI.
In his reply, the MoS Health further informed about the rural-urban distribution of the doctors as per the data and as to how many doctors per 1000 people are specialists, in rural as well as urban India.
He said, "As per information provided by the MCI BoG, 12,55,786 allopathic doctors are registered in the country as on 30th June 2020. Assuming 80% availability, it is estimated that around 10.05 lakh doctors may be actually available for active service. It gives a doctor-population ratio of 1:1343 as per the current population estimate of 135 crores."
Besides, there are 7.88 lakh Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors in the country. Assuming 80% availability, it is estimated that around 6.30 lakh Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors may be actually available for service and considered together with allopathic doctors, it gives a doctor population ratio of 1:825.
3,71,870 allopathic doctors have registered their specialist/post- graduate qualification with Medical Council of India/State Medical Council. It gives a doctor-population ratio of 1:3629 as per the current population estimate of 135 crores. No data regarding rural and urban distributions are maintained Centrally, he informed the parliament.
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