Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, President, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), has written to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to lift the ban on commencing new medical colleges in the Southern states. The ban was imposed by the National Medical Commission, stated a report in The New Indian Express.

As per a recent notification by NMC, a maximum of 100 medical students per 10 lakh population can be admitted in any state and increasing seats beyond this is not permissible, recalled Anbumani. The population of Tamil Nadu in 2021 was estimated to be around 7.64 crore and as per the same, the state can have only 7,640 MBBS admissions per year. But the state has 11,600 medical seats, he said.

Elucidating the negative implications of the notification by NMC, Anbumani stated that it will be decades till Tamil Nadu can begin new colleges and and no additional seats can be created in existing colleges. The situation is the same in Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He termed NMC's move as regressive and totally unacceptable.

Anbumani said that for every 150 MBBS seats, the attached hospital should provide free outpatient treatment to 1,200 people every day. He, therefore, urged Modi to lift the ban and ensure the development of medical education and medical services across all states.