Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that 75,000 more medical seats will be created in next 5 years. This will help to achieve not just developed nation but also a healthy nation by 2047.

“Around 25,000 youths, every year, go abroad for medical education I get surprised when I hear about them. So, we have decided, 75,000 new seats will be created in the medical line in the next five years,” the Prime Minister said in his Independence Day speech.

Colleges on rise

The Union Health Ministry, recently told the Rajya Sabha that there has been an increase of 88 per cent in medical colleges in the country, from 387 in 2014 to 731 in 2024. MBBS seats went up by 118 per cent from 51,348 in 2014 to 1,12,112 now. There is also an increase of 133 per cent in PG seats from 31,185 in 2014 to 72,627 now, it stated.

Taking note of this rise, he said that Modi said medical seats have been increased to nearly one lakh in the past decade but many from the middle class still go to other countries for medical education and spend “lakhs and crores” on medical education abroad.

Other initiatives

He also emphasised that a developed India of 2047 should also be a healthy India. “Viksit Bharat 2047 should also be a healthy Bharat. And for a healthy Bharat, there is a need to pay attention to the nutrition of today’s children starting now. Keeping this in mind, we have implemented a nutrition campaign for the first generation of Viksit Bharat,” he said.

He further said there has been tremendous progress as far as infrastructure is concerned in the last 10 years and listed projects, such as broadband connectivity, building new schools in villages and forest areas, construction of hospitals in far and remote areas, setting up Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and work on medical colleges, among others.

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