Speciality-wise data of doctors not available: Health Minister tells Parliament

New Delhi: The specialty-wise data of doctors across the country is not available with the Union Health Ministry, the Union Minister of State for Health Smt. Anupriya Patel informed the Rajya Sabha recently.

When asked about the availability of specialist doctors in India, the MoS Health informed that as per the information provided by the National Medical Commission (NMC), there are 13,86,150 registered allopathic doctors.

However, she added that the "Specialty-wise data of doctors in the country is not available."

The MoS Health informed this while responding to the queries raised by Parliament member Shri Satnam Singh Sandhu, who asked about the total number of specialised doctors available in the country, specialty-wise data such as the number of cardiologists, oncologists, neurologists, nephrologists, pediatricians, etc.

Further, the also sought the details of the number of specialized doctors available in Government and private hospitals and the details of new medical colleges and postgraduate medical seats added in the last five years to increase the number of specialized doctors and also asked the Minister whether the Government has any incentives or policies to encourage doctors to take up specialization in critical fields where there is a shortage.

While she could not provide the details of specialty-wise data of doctors, she provided the details of new medical colleges and postgraduate medical seats added in the last five years.

As per the data provided by the Minister, during the academic year 2020-2021, 4,983 PG seats and 19 medical colleges were added, during the academic year 2021-2022, 4,705 PG seats and 48 MBBS colleges were added, during the academic year 2022-2023, 2.874 PG medical seats and 55 MBBS medical colleges were added, during the academic year 2023-2024, 4,713 PG medical seats and 45 MBBS colleges were added and during the academic year 2024-2025, 4,186 PG medical seats and 74 MBBS colleges were added.

"The NMC has developed Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER) to standardize postgraduate education. Guidelines for competency-based postgraduate education programs in various specialties, including MD in General Medicine and DM in Critical Care Medicine have been developed. NMC has recognized PG degree in Traumatology and Surgery as one of the qualifications to appear in NEET-SS 2024 for the M.Ch. specialists in Neurosurgery, Vascular surgery, plastic surgery and Reconstructive surgery. Furthermore, doctors attend international seminars, conference in health sector to increase their professional skills and knowledge on latest treatment protocols and medical advancements. The duration of study leave to pursue higher studies/research work has been increased to 36 months for CHS officers," the MoS Health further informed.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that India has 13,86,150 registered allopathic and 7,51,768 registered AYUSH doctors available in India.

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