‘Doctor-population ratio 1:811 in India’
New Delhi: The government told Parliament on Tuesday that India’s current doctor population ratio stands at 1:811. The figure was shared by Union Health Minister J P Nadda in a written response in the Rajya Sabha, where he noted that the country has 13,88,185 registered allopathic doctors and 7,51,768 registered AYUSH practitioners.
Nadda explained that the ratio is calculated on the assumption that 80 per cent of registered doctors across both systems are available for service. “Assuming that 80 per cent of registered practitioners in both the allopathic and AYUSH systems are available, the doctor population ratio in the country is estimated to be 1:811,” he stated.
Updating members on medical education, the minister reported substantial growth over the past decade. The number of medical colleges has risen from 387 in 2014 to 818 at present. Undergraduate seats have expanded from 51,348 to 1,28,875, while postgraduate capacity has increased from 31,185 to 82,059.
He said the government has introduced several initiatives to improve the availability of doctors in rural, tribal and other underserved regions. Under the centrally sponsored scheme for establishing new medical colleges linked to existing district or referral hospitals, 137 of the 157 approved institutions are now operational.
Nadda also highlighted changes in medical training aimed at strengthening primary healthcare outreach. The Family Adoption Programme has been added to the MBBS curriculum and requires medical colleges to adopt villages, with students assigned specific families. He said the approach allows regular follow-up on vaccination, growth monitoring, menstrual hygiene, iron folic acid supplementation, nutrition, vector control, healthy lifestyle practices and adherence to prescribed medicines. It also serves to inform families about ongoing government health schemes.
Under the District Residency Programme of the National Medical Commission, second and third year postgraduate students are posted in district hospitals to gain hands-on experience.
The minister noted that specialist doctors serving in rural and remote parts of the country receive a hard area allowance, including for residential facilities. States have also been permitted to offer negotiable pay packages to attract specialists under the National Health Mission, using options such as the You Quote We Pay model.
Nadda added that NMC regulations allow temporary registration of foreign-qualified and foreign-registered doctors to work in India for training, fellowship, research, observership, voluntary service, expert visits or approved postgraduate and super-specialty courses.
