Medical seats up 98% since 2014: Nadda

Health Minister JP Nadda announced on Friday that the increase in medical colleges and the expansion of MBBS and postgraduate seats will lead to a significant rise in the availability of doctors in the healthcare system.

Addressing a press conference on the 100 days of the Modi government’s third term, Nadda noted an 8.07 per cent increase in medical colleges, from 706 in 2023-24 to 766 in 2024-25.

“There has been a 98 per cent increase in medical colleges, from 387 in 2013-14 to 766 in 2024-25. Over this period, 379 new medical colleges have been established, bringing the total to 766 (423 government and 343 private colleges),” he said.

Nadda further highlighted a 6.30 per cent increase in MBBS seats, from 1,08,940 in 2023-24 to 1,15,812 in 2024-25. He also pointed out a 5.92 per cent increase in postgraduate medical seats, rising from 69,024 in 2023-24 to 73,111 in 2024-25. Over the past decade, the number of PG seats has increased by 127 per cent, up from 31,185 in 2013-14.

Nadda also mentioned a significant advancement in the last 100 days: the launch of the U-WIN Portal, developed for digitising vaccination records of pregnant women and children under the Universal Immunisation Programme. The portal is operational on a pilot basis, and as of September 16, 6.46 crore beneficiaries have been registered, 1.04 crore vaccination sessions have been conducted.