The North News
New Delhi, October 25
Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda has announced plans to add 75,000 undergraduate and postgraduate seats in medical colleges across India over the next five years. The Union Health Minister made the announcement at the 50th annual convocation of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Saturday.
Nadda said the number of medical colleges had more than doubled over the last 11 years — from 387 to 819. Undergraduate medical seats increased from 51,000 to 1,29,000, while postgraduate seats rose from 31,000 to 78,000. He congratulated graduating students and praised AIIMS for its global reputation in medical education and research. “In the field of medical sciences, training, and healthcare delivery, AIIMS has made its own place, not only in India but globally,” Nadda said.
Highlighting the expansion of the healthcare sector, he noted that India now has 23 AIIMS institutions, compared to just one at the end of the last century. Nadda said India had made significant progress in maternal and child health, with the maternal mortality rate declining from 130 to 88 and the infant mortality rate from 39 to 27, according to official data. He also pointed to a 17.7% drop in tuberculosis incidence, more than double the global rate of reduction.
He urged the graduating students to “serve with empathy, uphold the highest standards of ethics, and harness innovation to meet the evolving healthcare needs of the nation.”
Addressing the ceremony, Vinod Kumar Paul of NITI Aayog called on students to contribute to nation-building through teaching and research. “As you move forward, let excellence become your daily practice and innovation your guiding principle,” he said. A total of 326 graduates received degrees, including 50 PhD scholars and several specialists in medicine, surgery, dentistry, and biotechnology. Seven doctors were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their service at AIIMS.
