Odisha cabinet nod to amend OMHS Rules, to recruit over 5000 doctors

Bhubaneswar: To address the ongoing shortage of doctors in government hospitals, the Odisha Cabinet has announced to send a requisition to the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) for the recruitment of over 5,000 medical officers including 124 dentists, without delay.

Additionally, it approved the newly formulated Odisha Medical & Health Services (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Rules, 2025, following the decision to amend the Odisha Medical & Health Services (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2017.

The new norms will regulate the recruitment, promotion, and service conditions of medical officers within the Odisha Medical and Health Services (OMHS) Cadre. These rules were created to ensure a fair and transparent process for selecting qualified medical professionals to serve in the state's healthcare system.

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During a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday, the cabinet gave its nod to amend the Odisha Medical & Health Services Rules, 2017. This is expected to make the hiring process more efficient and encourage greater participation from medical professionals.

As per the Odisha TV news report, the main features of the newly amended Odisha Medical & Health Services (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Rules, 2025 are:

1. Candidates for appointment to the Odisha Medical and Health Services Cadre will be selected through a uniform, qualitative and fair procedure of recruitment. The suitability of the candidates will be adjudged on the basis of marks secured in a test, conducted by the Commission.

2. The existing seven grades of OMHS cadre are reduced to six grades by enhancing the number of posts of Super Time Pay Grade from two to 14, Senior Administrative Grade posts from 12 to 45 and abolishing Selection Garde-I to increase promotional avenue.

3. Candidates applying for the base-level posts should possess a valid registration certificate under the Odisha Medical Registration Act, 1961.

4. Provision of three advance annual increments to the candidates with recognized Post Graduate Degrees and five advance annual increments with recognized Super Specialization Degrees in the scale of pay applicable to Group-A (Junior Branch) Medical Officers from the date of joining as such in-service.

5. Fixation of eligibility criteria for promotion of Medical Officers to the next higher grades.

Considering the lack of doctors in government hospitals and other healthcare centres, the cabinet decided to recruit 5,000 doctors to fill the gap and also appoint 124 dentists.

Apart from this, the cabinet also approved the establishment of more medical colleges and additional specialist posts have been created at DHH, SDH & CHC levels.

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