Allied Healthcare (GAHC)

The state of Chhattisgarh advanced in the two essential aspects of healthcare skill enhancement and job creation by the formalization of a pact between the Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority and the Sri Sathya Sai Health and Education Trust. The agreement was made at Mahanadi Bhawan in Nava Raipur in the presence of the Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai.

The partnership is aimed at enhancing skill development in the healthcare sector through well organised vocational training programmes tailored to the medical needs of the future. To implement the project, a network of specialised healthcare training centres will be set up all over the state, thus not only equipping the youth with the latest skills in the industry but also creating a trained manpower pool capable of supporting hospitals, diagnostic centres, and emergency services.

Training is entirely free and will be available for both residential and non residential candidates. These courses will provide the students with the necessary skills for various sectors such as Medical Laboratory Technology, Cardiology Technician, Electrocardiography Technician, Cardiac Care Technician, and Emergency Medical Technician programmes. Officials pointed out that the initiative is designed to create sustainable career paths for young people in a rapidly growing industry.

While interacting with the audience, CM Sai brought out the point that skill development is one of the underlying pillars in the state's development plan. Healthcare specific skills will not only ensure better healthcare service delivery but will also generate decent jobs for the youth. The availability of skilled human resources is the key to healthcare infrastructure getting stronger even in far, flung and underprivileged areas, he stated. The Chief Minister also stated that these graduates are to lead the way in making healthcare accessible to all in Chhattisgarh.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, Cabinet Minister Gajendra Yadav, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Subodh Singh and Chairman of Sri Sathya Sai Health and Education Trust C. Srinivas were also there, along with the senior officers of the Skill Development Department. The officials said that such a partnership is a perfect example of the state's efforts to integrate the skill development schemes with the requirements of the health sector. Through the fusion of vocational training and healthcare demands, Chhattisgarh intends to develop a labor force that is not only skilled but also job, ready, thereby making the state capable of handling the healthcare challenges of the future while providing the best medical services to the people.

The new AI course provided by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which is available to take on-line, will allow doctors to diagnose patients utilizing the latest in artificial intelligence (AI). What you will study in the new course for doctors, which is provided for free, was made known to us in an announcement by NBEMS.

It has been announced that post graduate doctors and their faculty may use AI in the future. No fee will be charged for the course according to the statement made by NBEMS within its notification. Candidates interested in participating in the course may submit applications via the official website natboard.edu.in/Sangam/index.php.

The course will last six months. There are twenty interactive on line modules, which include live on line presentations, and are designed to emphasize the ethical, safety and accountable aspects of using AI as a clinical tool. In addition, prior experience with computers, technology, or programming is not required for participation. A description of the curriculum and the format of the course, along with the individual modules, are outlined in the announcement by NBEMS. The purpose of the course is to enable physicians to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to improve diagnosis and patient care, through the application of AI.

Faculty from the following universities and institutions will provide the AI training:

• Mayo Clinic
• Harvard University
• Oxford University
• Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore
• Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow
• And many other universities around the world

Eligible participants include current NBEMS trainees, all alumni who were trained after the 2020 session, faculty of NBEMS accredited departments, and other professionals. In order to qualify for certification, participants must attend at least seventy-five percent of the live classes. Attendance will be recorded at both the beginning and end of each session. Upon completing the online modules for the assessment, participants will have earned a digital certificate of completion of the course.

How to mark your attendance

The class timetable will be available on the official NBEMS (www.natboard.edu.in) website and in turn will allow participants to access a session by clicking on the Join the Class hyperlink located on the corresponding module. Clicking the hyperlink will direct participants to the virtual classroom where attendance will be automatically logged once the session has begun. The hyperlinks will be active for 30 minutes prior to the session specified on the schedule, and the session will not be available after 30 minutes from the scheduled session time.

What will the course cover?

According to the notification, after attending this program on Artificial Intelligence in Medical Educational Courses, participants should be able to demonstrate basic knowledge of AI concepts as they apply to healthcare; therefore, this program does not require any prior knowledge of AI programming or AI technical skills. Participants will also be able to evaluate critically for Clinical Validity, Clinical Utility, Bias, and Risk to Patient Safety with regard to AI Tools, Models, and Research Literature.

Advantages for doctors:

This course stresses effective clinical decision-making. This course will help physicians evaluate whether or not to use AI as a medical tool and also other related issues such as ethical and legal issues related to Indian healthcare settings.

The participants will be able to integrate AI outputs into clinical practice through patient-centered thinking, function effectively in a multidisciplinary AI team as a domain specialist, and exhibit professionalism, accountability, and ethics in AI-assisted tools in patient care, education, and research.

Applicable to MBBS as well

According to the media report, “The aim, as stated by NBEMS President and Chairperson, Abhijat Sheth, is to enable doctors to understand, appraise, and use Artificial Intelligence safely, without encouraging them to become programmers or change their approach of thinking.” He further stated that the effort of incorporating Artificial Intelligence education in the education system of doctors is being implemented with a clear understanding of a 'phased plan, beginning with the postgraduate faculty members, moving on to the postgraduate students, followed by the undergraduate or MBBS education, and finally culminating in a local education infrastructure of Artificial Intelligence.’

On paper, the state of global healthcare has never been better. There are more hospitals now than ever before, better medical facilities, more health insurance programs, and more medical personnel than ever before. But lurking behind this positive trend is the tougher reality that whereas the number of medical facilities is increasing, the gap between treatment accessibility is also on the rise.

Until roughly the year 2015, the world metrics suggested that while there was some scope for improvement in the issue of access to healthcare outcomes, such an outcome was possible without the possibility of financial stress for the family. But ever since, the situation has become different. Even as there has been an enhancement in the number of people who can avail themselves of health services, the possibility of financial difficulties has been and perhaps has even risen.

Yet again, this is more segmented than a consistent trend. This average state of affairs itself masks that greater availability is associated with rising out-of-pocket expenses, in particular among the poorest families.

The fact is, disaggregated data shows that women have always ended up with weaker access to health services compared to men in all countries. The worrying trend, however, is that women who come from poorer, less educated backgrounds have been affected. There has been no change during the past ten years to close the gap that already exists between women who come from better and poorer backgrounds.

For most of the women, the problem is not distance but the costs involved. The cost of transport, consultation, medicines, as well as the lost revenue for the day, makes accessing the clinic, which is the feasible option, even less feasible.

Age, Disability, and the Cost of Survival

The most vulnerable are Elderlies, who are drained economically through long-term medication. For young families, a poor health status for mothers means a poor health status for children, generating a personal problem that snowballs into a family disaster.

It is double-trouble for persons with disabilities. Even where there is an availability of health services, cost-related expenses linked to hospital visits, health equipment, and home health services make health care unaffordable and thus inaccessible to the communities. Lack of proximity to health facilities does not help where there are cost and administrative constraints.

There has been a gradual out-of-pocket expenditure on health over the past two decades at a time when the level of poverty in the world has been declining. Poor people consider health expenditure to be an aspect that contributes greatly to their levels of severe poverty as opposed to their previous experience. Women specifically impact their own health in that they put off their own health care.

It does not affect wealthy people only. The increasing expenses of outpatient care and medications are pushing financially unstable families on the verge of bankruptcy. These families are not considered to be living at or below poverty levels; however, if they have poor health, they can lose their financial sustainability.

Different Regions, Same Crisis

The problem with families in rural areas is that healthcare facilities are very far, but in urban areas, patients have healthcare facilities at walking distance—but very expensive. This problem is prevalent all over.

Africa & Southeast Asia: Results are widespread, with limited access for poorest women.

Latin America: Although progress has been seen in tackling infectious diseases, research funding expenditures are high because of chronic disorders.

South Asia: Noncommunicable illnesses have received more attention from the richer class than from the poorer segments of society due to the high cost of medicines.

Europe: Services are widespread, but the needy and the physically disabled lack access.

Many people just stop using the healthcare system because they know that the services are not affordable for them. Many people just do not appear in healthcare statistics or in the statistics of those living with poverty. It is a silent crisis. The Hidden Cost of Staying Alive In most instances, they are addressed by cutting food, removing children from school, and even forgoing satisfying one’s basic needs in order for treatments to proceed. The influence of a disaster occasioned by poverty in health care has not got the attention that it requires due to its catastrophic nature. However, it is important to note that the first people to be displaced by this lack of capacity within the healthcare system, even after new medical facilities have been put up, are the poor. Medicines alone constitute the primary cause of high medical bills for most nations, with poor families being the greatest contributors. 

It appears that the goal of Universal Health Coverage could be reached on paper, but millions more would still be left in the margins of UHC. So long as progress has been measured with averages, health care services will be viewed as good but will widen inequalities. The power of health care would be reached when health care services will be measured by how they can safeguard those who have less in society: the elderly, the disable, patients with chronic diseases, and those who would always be at the edge. When that happens, health care would no longer be near and accessible.

The growing pace of India’s healthcare infrastructure has thrust into the limelight the age-old assumption that has been challenged: students go abroad to pursue their medical degree due to the lack of infrastructure in India.

Foreign MBBS courses are a well-known shortcut for the past few decades, with thousands of Indian students who are barred by the cut-throat entrance process and scarcity of seats.

Foreign medical schools had gone from being an alternative in Eastern Europe to a dream in Southeast Asia, where they offered quick admissions and guarantees.

This was recently brought into question by Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, as his statements reopened the discussion at the national level. Although asserting the fact that nobody can stop a student from pursuing education elsewhere in the world, the fact is that the issue of the "lack of infrastructure" in the country can't be used as an excuse anymore, according to him.

His observations come at a point when the Indian healthcare education sector is experiencing its most radical growth since Independence, where new medical colleges, hospitals, and seats for training are being introduced on a large scale.

However, the irony in all this does not seem easy to ignore. While official figures show increased strength in terms of capabilities as well as infrastructure, it has been noticed that students in India are looking outside the country in substantial numbers.

The true challenge, therefore, becomes less a matter of whether it has developed the infrastructure and more a function of whether drives for quality, affordability, access, and future prospects continue to outweigh this progress, or if the perception proves more recalcitrant than the policy itself.

GOVERNMENT'S CLAIM: A SYSTEM TRANSFORM

According to data highlighted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, India is currently manufacturing 1.18 lakh MBBS doctors and 74,000 PG doctors annually, which is an enormous increase compared to the previous decade.

According to officials, the medical infrastructure within the country has been doubled in the last ten years through major investment in medical seats and medical systems.

This has been accompanied by development in the number of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) establishments. Where India had only one in Delhi for several decades, today it has approximately 26 establishments in various levels of development and implementation as of end 2025.

Many are already operational, while others are extending their services, thereby offering the best medical facilities to those regions which did not have these services before.

According to the government, "This is because it represents a strategic direction towards a decentralized provision of high quality medical education and less dependence on a few top institutions that monopolize medical education in the country."

    It is important to note

MEDICAL COLLEGES MULTIPLY, BUT COMPETITION

Apart from AIIMS, the increase in the number of government medical colleges has been remarkable. Today, the total number of government medical colleges in India stands at over 700, which is approximately twice the number from the previous ten years. The increase in undergraduate and post-graduate seats is also at an all-time high.

However, amidst this numerical expansion of students, competition is as tough as ever. More than 25,000 Indian students move out of the country every year to study for an MBBS degree, which indicates that the gap between availability and demand is yet to be completely filled by expansion.

Despite the increase of around 130% of the number of MBBS seats by the Central Government since 2014, raising the number of available seats to 1,18,137, the number of applicants continues to exceed the available seats vastly. As of the 2025 academic session, only 55,616 seats for MBBS courses exist in government medical colleges, which are further limited due to reservations, according to government regulations.

Consequently, students who qualify for the category of NEET still find it difficult to obtain a seat in the government.

In India, private medical education still largely remains beyond the affordability of the majority of interested students. Regarding this, it can be said that the approximate annual fees required for MBBS in private medical colleges are Rs 7 lakh to Rs 30 lakh or more, apart from the cost of staying in hostels.

As a consequence, this becomes an impossible option for many middle-class families, as well as lower-income families, when it comes to

On the other hand, there exist numerous international medical universities that offer the same MBBS courses for a significantly smaller amount, thus rendering international studies an intelligent and sensible alternative, as opposed to rejecting the Indian system.

FINDING THE GPS COORDINATES 

Gaurav Tyagi, Medical Counsellor - Career Xpert, feels that the debate on India's healthcare infrastructure and capacity can often be supplanted by outdated notions and facts.

“In the last 10 years, we now have 23 AIIMS hospitals in the country, and in 2014, there was only one AIIMS hospital,” added Tyagi.

Infrastructural development, according to him, is not only restricted to classrooms and hospitals. The launch of the Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY Scheme, world’s largest public health insurance program, has revolutionized health care coverage.

"Almost 500 million people in the country have access to free health services worth up to Rs 5 lakh every year under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY. This clearly indicates that the country’s healthcare infrastructure is growing in size and scope as well as their services, too," he said.

This huge volume of patient accessibility, according to Tyagi, makes India the world’s largest training ground in a clinical sense, which provides exposure that many other institutions overseas cannot provide.

REFRAMING THE DISCUSSION ABOUT OVERSE

Tyagi argues that one should not consider foreign education as an option in case of any deficiency in one’s own education system.

“The fact that we don't have access to healthcare facilities is an outdated reason to go abroad. Our choices should be based on objectives, research, and specialist training, and not because we don't have infrastructure in India,” he said.

However, he says that "the challenge facing India is not so much the creation of institutions but rather how to enhance niche subspecialties and research environments that are already strong on a global scale."

WHY STUDENTS STILL LOOK ABROAD

Despite the growing number of medical education institutions and infrastructure in India, several structural and aspirational factors keep pushing aspirants abroad. The postgraduate medical facilities available fall woefully short of the aspiration levels of candidates.

A high tuition fee structure within private medical colleges deprives students of quality learning. Inconsistent standards of teaching staff within medical institutions also influence training.

Here, the desire for global coverage, research, and specialized interests, as well as the impression, possibly well-founded, of easier global mobility when holding an overseas medical degree, must be added.  

Professional Goals of Malaysian Doctors

There are, however, certain objectives that Malaysian doctors may want

For several students, pursuing medical education abroad will thus neither be an aversion to the medical system in India nor the opposite; rather, it will be an informed career decision.

During this discussion, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has proposed that foreign medical universities and/or accreditation bodies have to bear an application fee of $10,000 (approximately Rs 8.6 lakh).

One side argues this will help promote quality control and prevent the influx of substandard institutions into the system. On the other hand, some people feel this might limit the choices faced by students in the already complicated international educational system.

INFRASTRUCTURE vs EXPERIENCE: THE REAL GAP 

Despite the rapid expansion, the following are still evident: gaps, inequality in distribution of the number of colleges, lack of a culture of research at the newer schools, the fact that the faculties are overwhelmed with patients, and the lack of specialized health care practitioners, especially in the countryside. These factors only enhance the impression that in foreign institutions, one gets more structured training, while in India, one gets incomparable clinical exposure.

The medical education scenario in India has changed remarkably in the last ten years. Today, infrastructure development and increased accessibility and training capacity have been achieved by India to an extent that only a few countries can match. However, the call to study abroad is, and always was, an intensely personal one based on aspiration, affordability, and future projection. The wisdom of the day is to consciously shift the paradigm of discussion: studying abroad should be an option of specialist exposure and not necessarily an imperative of self-perceived deficiencies. As highlighted by experts, it is important to appreciate the extent of public investment and progress that has been achieved in India's health ecosystem before arriving at such a decision. The future challenge is not just an increase in the number of institutions, but it is the issue of quality, equity, and competitiveness so as to make the medical education in India not only adequate but the preferred choice.

As relief to students, the Supreme Court on Thursday regularized their Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degrees obtained from private dental colleges in Rajasthan after being admitted with relaxation in NEET percentile for the academic year 2016-17.

However, a division bench of Justices J K Maheswari and Vijay Bishnoi imposed severe penalties on defaulting private dental colleges and the state government for violating norms.

The supreme court has further directed the students taking advantage of the scheme to give an undertaking before the high court that they will provide pro bono services in the case of a natural calamity or health emergency in the state of Rajasthan for a maximum period of two years in their lifetime.

“In order to do complete justice in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, we think it appropriate that Article 142 of the Constitution of India is to be invoked in the present case. As such, the admissions of the appellant/students who have passed BDS courses and obtained their degrees are regularized,” the court observed.

The chief court also added, “All students who are being benefitted by these directions shall file an undertaking with the Registrar (Judicial), Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, within eight weeks from today, undertaking to the effect that whenever they are required to render their pro-bono services to Rajasthan State during their lifetime in situations of natural calamities, man-made disasters/accidents, health emergencies.”

"It is brought to notice that in case any of the appellants/students fails to file the above-said affidavit within the stipulated period of time, the Registrar (Judicial), Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, shall intimiate this court through proper channel and the Registry of the Supreme Court shall place the above-said information before the court for further directions," it added.

However, the Supreme Court further added that: 

 “These directions are being issued only with a view to save the effort, time, and resources of students that have gone into achieving their degree of BDS, and shall not operate as a precedent.”

"We are compelled to register our discontent at how the standards of medical education have been brought into disrepute in this present case. The colleges are guilty of blatant illegality, to say the least, as well as deliberate contravention of the 2007 Regulations in taking in students beyond the 10+5 percentile, which would merit a punitive measure."

“Further, the state of Rajasthan has acted unauthorisedly while arriving at relaxations, and failed to inform the colleges in time about the decisions of the Central government and the Dental Council of India,” it added.

The court also held that the colleges will deposit a cost of Rs 10 crore each, and the Rajasthan Government is required to deposit a sum of Rs 10 lakh before the Rajasthan State Legal Service Authority within eight weeks from the date of the pronouncement of this judgment.

It held that Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority would invest this said fund in a short-term(fixed deposit) account in a nationalized bank, having an automatic renewal facility.

The Supreme Court held that the amount of interest accrued on the said fixed-term deposit shall be used by the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority for maintenance, upgrade, and improvement of One Stop Centres, Nari Niketans, Old Age Homes, and Child Care Institutions established by the Rajasthan government.

"However, we are directing the utilisation of the said amount only with the advice of a committee of the judges of the Rajasthan High Court to be constituted for the said purpose.

"In pursuance of the above-stated objective, we would respectfully request the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court to appoint a Committee consisting of five judges of the said High Court, including at least one woman judge of the said Court, to ensure the effective use of the interest amount accrued on the fixed deposit for the purposes mentioned above," it added.

The Supreme Court stated that the students were admitted to the 11 private dental colleges, which were part of the group referred to as the Federation of Private Medical and Dental Colleges of Rajasthan during the year 2016-17.

Pointing towards the judgment passed by the top court in the year 2016, the bench stated that admission into MBBS or BDS programs in all government as well as private medical colleges would be made on the basis of merit in the NEET exam.

“Therefore, all admission processes to medical institutions must comply strictly with the requirements specified pertaining to the conduct of NEET to ensure that the superiority of merit takes precedence,” it added.

St Xavier's University in Kolkata is soon going to start a School of Nursing and a medical college, a senior official with the university has stated.

Vice Chancellor Father Felix Raj added they will begin with School of Nursing.

"We will try to acquire a piece of land from the government for this project. Whether it is a nursing college or a medical college, you will have to have healthcare facilities and infrastructure. Or a tie-up with a hospital," he added on Tuesday.

Two years ago, a 10-acre piece of land had been demanded by the university from the state government for an expansion project of the university, which is yet to be accomplished, he added.

"The 7th Convocation Ceremony will be conducted on the 21st of February, 2026, at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town," announced Raj.

Rev. Dr. Arturo Sosa, SJ., Superior General of the Jesuits based in Rome, Italy, has graciously consented to honor this event with his presence as our chief guest. The Governor of West Bengal, a visitor to our university, Shri C V Ananda Bose, is expected to preside over this function with Rev," he added.

"The university has gone through a complete revamp since 2017 in terms of both infrstructure and academics," added another VC, "And they have already invested Rs 550 crore in thisprocess."

"The last five years have really changed everything for Christ University

"The second academic building is nearly complete and will provide facility for modern class rooms and laboratories, libraries, moot court, etc. The proposed auditorium will have a seating capacity for 2,000 people, while two other auditoriums will have a seating capacity for 600 and 300 people, respectively," he added.

To make students take part in game and sport activities, the university is also considering constructing two swimming pools.

St. Xavier's University will start B Tech from 2026, and MTech will be added in due course of time, he added. "The university will start a variety of programs including integrated MBA, integrated B. Ed, School of Design," other than School of Nursing and a medical college, he added.