Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, said that the number of Medical Colleges in the country has increased by 67 per cent in the last eight years. The number of colleges which was 387 before 2014, has gone up to 648. In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Dr Pawar said that MBBS seats have also gone up from 51,348 before 2014 to 96,077 as of now.
These marks are as high as 87 per cent growth. She further said that the PG seats increased by 105 per cent from 31,185 before 2014 to 64,059 as of now. The Minister stated that the government is implementing the Central Sector scheme to establish a new medical college by upgrading the district and referral hospitals.
Under it, 94 further medical colleges are already functional out of 157 approved. She also informed the House that under the Central Sector Scheme for setting up new AIIMS, 22 AIIMS have been approved, and Undergraduate courses have started in 19 of them.
Dr Pawar also stated that 23 confirmed cases of Monkeypox had been reported in India at the national level until December 8, 2022.In response to a question on the present status of COVID-19 cases in the country, she said the trajectory of the instances is witnessing a slow and sustained decline since mid-July 2022.
As on December 8, 2022, according to the information shared by the states and UTs, a total of 4,244 active cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country.
