The government must emphasise on more medical seats to encourage aspiring doctors and also to improve the doctor-population ratio, the Rajya Sabha was told on Wednesday. Around 5,800 medical seats were added in colleges across the country this year, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey said in a written reply.

"There are 479 medical colleges in the country with an intake capacity of 67,352 MBBS seats. 13,004 MBBS seats have been added in the last three years," he said on Tuesday. "To increase the availability of faculty and specialist doctors in the country, one-time increase in PG seats was permitted this year after the revision of teacher-student ratio. In all, over 5,800 PG seats have been added this year," the minister said.   

Choubey also said that the government is implementing a centrally-sponsored scheme to establish new medical colleges attached to district/referral hospitals in 58 districts in 20 States and Union Territories in underserved areas of the country. There are other centrally sponsored schemes to increase undergraduate and post-graduate seats in existing government medical colleges, he added.

"Minimum Standard Requirements (MSRs) for medical colleges including the requirement of land, faculty, staff, bed strength and other infrastructure has been rationalised to facilitate setting up of new colleges," he said.