India to get record number of doctors in next 10 years: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the country will get a record number of doctors in the next 10 years due to the central government’s policy of establishing at least one medical college in every district.

Modi was speaking after dedicating to the nation a 200-bed KK Patel Multi-speciality Hospital in Bhuj in Gujarat via video-conferencing. The hospital has been built by the Leuva Patel community. “The goal of having at least one medical college in every district and ensuring that medical education was in reach of everyone will result in the country getting a record number of doctors after 10 years,” the PM said.

He said two decades ago Gujarat had just nine medical colleges, but the medical education scenario has improved vastly in the last 20 years.

“Now the state has one AIIMS and over three dozen medical colleges. Earlier, only 1,000 students used to get admission to medical colleges in Gujarat, now around 6,000 students get admission to these colleges. AIIMS in Rajkot has started admitting 50 students from 2021,” Modi said.