Compulsory 1-yr rural posting for MBBS docs from 2015-16

MBBS students applying for admission to post-graduate medical courses from academic year 2015-16 will have to undertake a mandatory rural posting at a public health centre (PHC) for one year.

This was stated by Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

He said this comes into effect after the proposal of Medical Council of India (MCI) to amend the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, in this regard has since been approved by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The minister said there is a shortfall of the number of doctors in the country, with 2,489 doctors falling short in primary health centres.

Azad said there is also a shortfall of 3,459 surgeons, 3,005 obstericians and gynaecologists, 3,667 physicians, 3,270 paediatricians and a total of 13,477 specialists in community health centres across the country as on March 31, 2012.