Kicking off its plans to set up medical colleges in the backward areas to meet shortage of doctors, the Centre has given the green signal for setting up of seven medical colleges with 100 seats in two districts each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and one college each in Uttarakhand, Andaman and Nicobar and Nagaland.

The decision was taken by the Union Health Ministry at the first meeting held recently since the launch of its ambitious scheme “establishment of new medical colleges attached with district hospitals” last year. The scheme envisages setting up medical colleges by upgrading existing district hospitals in deficient States with the intake capacity of 100 MBBS seats in each medical college. As many as 58 backward districts have been identified under the scheme.

The move aims to increase about 5,800 seats in these backward areas to address shortage of doctors as well as giving better medical education opportunities to the locals. Ali R Rizvi, Joint Secretary in Health Ministry said that at the first meeting of the Empowered Committee to overview the centrally sponsored scheme, the proposal to set up medical colleges of 100 MBBS seats each were approved for GB Pant Hospital with 400-bed strength at Port Blair, A & N Islands and District Hospital Kohima, Nagaland.

District Hospital at Churu with bed strength 300 and District Hospital at Dungarpur with bed strength 300 in Rajasthan and District Hospital at Datia with bed strength 350 and District Hospital Khandwa having 300 bed capacity in Madhya Pradesh were approved respectively for medical colleges with 100 MBBS seats each, Rizvi added.

The members also approved 100 MBBS seats in district hospital in Almora in  Uttarakhand with 500 bed strength. However,  District Hospital Aizawl, Mizoram with 264-bed strength was not approved for medical college with 50 MBBS seats. “The State Government has been advised to submit the proposal for 100 MBBS seats as per the scheme.” The Central assistance share will be of Rs8,457.40 crore and State/UT share of Rs2,513.70 crore.

The funding pattern will be 90:10 by Central and State Governments respectively for North Eastern States and special category States and in the ratio of 75:25 for other States. The total cost of establishment of the one medical college is approximately about Rs 189 crore.