There would be a big relief for the students preparing for MBBS in the major states of North India: Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, as under the centrally sponsored scheme, 100 MBBS seats are going to be given to Punjab, 20 to Himachal Pradesh, and 60 to Jammu and Kashmir.
Of the 612 medical colleges in the country, there are currently 12 each in Punjab and Haryana, 10 in Jammu and Kashmir, eight in Himachal Pradesh, and one in Chandigarh. There are 43 colleges in these states. At present, there are 1750 MBBS seats in Punjab, 1660 in Haryana, 1147 in Jammu and Kashmir, 920 in Himachal, and 150 MBBS seats in Chandigarh. The Center is preparing to increase the number of seats to 3495 MBBS, in which these states are also included. Soon the Ministry of Health will issue its notification.
In a conversation with The Daily Guardian, the senior officials of the Medical Education Department have confirmed this. As far as medical education infrastructure is concerned, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu, and Kashmir are still lagging behind the other states. A recent analysis of the medical education infrastructure in the states by the Ministry of Health has revealed that the situation is not better in the major states of North India. The data showed that states and union territories hold only seven percent of all medical colleges and six percent of MBBS seats at the national level.
After this analysis, the central government is going to strengthen the medical education infrastructure in these states. The central government is going to increase 3495 additional MBBS seats to strengthen the backward states in medical education. Under this scheme, Punjab will get 100 seats, Himachal Pradesh 20, and Jammu and Kashmir 60 seats. Similarly, the centre is making a separate plan to increase the number of PG seats. Under this, there is a plan to add 4058 seats in 21 states in the first phase. Of these, 87 will be given to Punjab, 12 to Jammu and Kashmir, and 17 to Himachal Pradesh.
The new government of Punjab has also allocated Rs 1033 crore in the first budget itself to strengthen the medical education infrastructure. Along with this, the government has also announced the opening of a new medical college with 100 seats. By 2025, seats in Haryana will increase to 2800. In Haryana, MBBS seats will increase to 2800 by 2025. It has already been announced by CM. The issue has also been raised with the Central Government. The Center has stated that the number of seats will be increased as new medical colleges open.
