Pune: There is good news for medical aspirants as 1,200 seats for the undergraduate medical course (MBBS) are likely to be increased in the new academic year 2018-19. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has approved setting up of 10 new government medical colleges in eight states including one in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his fourth budget session had announced that the government will set up 24 government medical colleges and hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals in the country on February 1. According to the Cabinet, these additional medical colleges will be set up in identified underserved areas in the country. It was also stated that around 10,000 MBBS seats and over 8,000 PG medical seats will be increased by 2020-21.
Intake capacity at the new government medical college in Jalgaon will consist of 100 MBBS seats. Other states include Mizoram, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh where one government medical college will be established whereas three new colleges will come up in Rajasthan. The ministry has also approved increasing the intake capacity by 100 and 50 for MBBS course in two government medical colleges.
These two colleges are in Surat and Jamnagar, Gujarat.
MoHFW has called for related documents from all principal secretaries of the public health department in order to undertake the issuance of permission letter to respective colleges in the eight states. The Central government has asked the concerned to furnish all related documents latest by May 31. After which an acceptance letter will be sent. A similar letter to the principal secretary of Public Health Department of the government of Maharashtra, reads, “The applicant has to provide all infrastructural facilities in terms of teaching and non-teaching staff, buildings, equipment and hospital facilities as per medical council of India norms.”
Colleges have been told not to proceed with admissions unless a formal approval is given by the Central government.
These colleges will be granted permission according to section 10A of the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1956, under which the Central government initially gives permission to colleges for one year, i.e. for admitting only one batch of students in an academic year.
The permission for renewal is granted on yearly basis after verifying whether the colleges have met the annual targets demanded by the Central government.
