A glance at Indian medical colleges established in 2021

The prolonged Covid-19 pandemic and now Russia and Ukraine war, all highlighted the need to increase the number of medical colleges in India, read here to know about the medical colleges established in 2021.

If the unprecedented experience of the Covid-19 pandemic was not enough to highlight the need to upgrade the health care infrastructure of the country, here comes the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has brought a spotlight on the issue that many Indian students go abroad to study medicine as it is not easy to get a medical seat here and if one manages to get a medical seat in private colleges, it is mostly unaffordable for a middle-class family.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said multiple times that his government is intending to provide at least one medical college at each district and for this the Centre government is working with the state governments under a central scheme ‘Establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals’ to provide medical colleges at district levels.

Out of 157 new approved medical colleges since 2014, 70 are fully functional

The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on December 10, 2021, "The Ministry of Health and family welfare administers a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for ‘Establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals’ with preference to underserved areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing Government or private medical college. This step will help to improve the healthcare delivery system in these areas. Under this scheme, the Government of India has approved the establishment of 157 new medical colleges in three phases. Out of these, 70 medical colleges have become functional to date."

New AIIMS under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana

In August 2003, Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) was announced to address imbalances in the availability of tertiary care hospitals and improve medical education in the country.

Under this scheme, as many as 22 new AIIMS (All India Institute Of Medical Science) have been approved and out of these, six AIIMS at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh are already fully functional. In another seven AIIMS, OPD facility and MBBS classes have started while in five more institutes only MBBS classes have started, as per the government statement on May 19, 2021.

Govt inaugurated many new medical colleges in 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated many new medical colleges in 2021 across the country. 11 medical colleges were inaugurated in Tamil Nadu and 9 in Uttar Pradesh. He also laid the foundations of four district medical colleges in Rajasthan.

Now, after many Indian medical students have been evacuated from Ukraine, the demand for more medical colleges in India to stop the migration of students abroad has come into the light. Recently, while interacting with the Indian medical students who returned from Ukraine, PM Modi said that his government is working to increase the number of medical colleges in the country and only a strong country is the answer to such issues. He also urged the private sector to enter the field of medical education in India.

Read more:

• Govt intends at least one medical college in each district: PM Modi
• PM Modi announces AIIMS Manipur; Amit Shah says Congress could not establish it in 15 years
• PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurates 11 new medical colleges in Tamil Nadu
• Migration of Indian medical students to abroad: PM Modi blames previous government