Doctor-Population ratio in India at 1:811, Govt Informs Rajya Sabha

The doctor-population ratio in India stands at 1:811, the government told Parliament on Tuesday. Union Health Minister J P Nadda, in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha query, said the country has 13,88,185 registered allopathic doctors and 7,51,768 practitioners in the AYUSH system.

“Assuming 80 per cent availability among registered practitioners, the estimated doctor-population ratio is 1:811,” Nadda added.

Highlighting improvements in medical education, the minister noted that the number of medical colleges has risen from 387 to 818 since 2014, while undergraduate seats increased from 51,348 to 1,28,875 and postgraduate seats from 31,185 to 82,059.

To enhance healthcare access in underserved areas, the government has operationalised 137 of the 157 approved new medical colleges under a centrally-sponsored scheme linking colleges with existing district hospitals.

The Family Adoption Programme (FAP), incorporated into the MBBS curriculum, enables medical colleges to adopt villages, with students assigned to families for regular health monitoring, vaccinations, nutrition guidance, lifestyle counselling, and education on government health initiatives.

Additionally, under the District Residency Programme of the National Medical Commission, second- and third-year postgraduate students are posted in district hospitals. Specialist doctors serving in rural and remote areas receive a hard-area allowance and residential quarters, while states under the National Health Mission can offer flexible salaries, including “You Quote We Pay” schemes, to attract specialists.

The Health Minister also noted that foreign-qualified doctors can practise in India temporarily for training, research, fellowship, observership, voluntary service, or approved postgraduate and super-specialty courses, as per regulations framed by the NMC.