Karnataka Govt Pleads National Medical Commission To Increase Seats Nationally In The Aftermath Of Surge In NEET Aspirants

The Karnataka government, eyebrow raised by the exploding gap between medical seats and candidates who wish to sit for the NEET exams, appealed to the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Wednesday to significantly increase undergraduate medical seats in the country.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 2019 batch of Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institute (SABVMC), Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said that over five lakh students appear for the NEET exam every year, but there are merely one lakh medical seats.

Minister Sharan Prakash Patil's Statement

"This disparity has to be corrected immediately. The doctors we educate in India are not just for India but for the globe," he said, highlighting the rigorous training and high international demand for Indian medical professionals.

"There is a huge gap between demand and supply. The NMC has to intervene," he said, addressing NMC chairperson Dr B N Gangadhara, who was present.

According to Patil, a formal proposal has already been submitted to the NMC for permission for another 800 undergraduate and 600 postgraduate medical seats in Karnataka from this academic year.

Reiterating the state's commitment to expanding healthcare infrastructure, the minister reiterated the government's proposal to establish a medical college in each district.

"Every one of these colleges will have a hospital, and we intend to set up cancer care units, trauma centers, and super-specialty hospitals in each district," he stated.

"The chief minister has approved this proposal. Economically backward districts that do not have medical colleges will soon have fully operational institutions, allowing deserving students from economically weaker sections to pursue medicine at the government's expense," he added.

NMC chairman Dr Gangadhara, during his keynote address, shed light on the global shortage of nearly three crore doctors and encouraged the younger generation to take up medical careers.

"Indian doctors are greatly in demand all over the world because of their good education background and mastery over the English language. One of the primary goals of NMC is to educate globally accepted medical professionals," he further added.