Maharashtra to get 10 new medical colleges soon, 1000 MBBS seats to be added

Maharashtra- 1,000 MBBS seats will be added to 10 new medical colleges in Maharashtra from the forthcoming academic year. Recently, the Maharashtra government has sanctioned 2,440 teaching posts and 2,040 non-teaching posts for 10 new medical colleges in the state. Additionally, the patient capacity of the state's public hospitals will increase by 4,300 beds, which will include 430 beds in each of these 10 new colleges.

In July 2023, the Maharashtra government approved the establishment of 10 additional government medical colleges in 10 districts at a cost of ₹4,366 crore. These 10 new medical colleges are decided to be set up in Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Buldhana, Washim, Wardha, Amravati, Jalna, Hingoli, Thane, and Palghar districts of Maharashtra. Along with this, the government has also approved 448 posts for each new medical college at an estimated cost of Rs 312.20 crore.

According to the Hindustan Times, a government resolution (GR) has stated “As per norms of the World Health Organisation (WHO) mandating a 1:1000 doctor-to-population ratio, the state government has decided to address the shortage of doctors in the state and ensure timely access to healthcare services by establishing ten new colleges”.

GR further added “The state government is planning to open these colleges from the coming academic year,” said a senior official from the directorate of medical education and research. “This is the first step towards National Medical Council (NMC) approval”.

On the other hand, Sudha Shenoy, a medical admission counsellor also said “We have been waiting for new seats for a very long time. While the government will create teaching and non-teaching staff posts, no one is addressing infrastructural facilities which must be required for the NMC approval. If the government is planning to provide new seats from the current academic year, they need to act fast, otherwise, it will remain on paper like last year”.

Before approving 10 medical colleges, the government had proposed the establishment of 12 medical colleges in the same year during the presentation of the state budget.