One year mandatory posting for MBBS students from 2015-16

MBBS students who want to apply for the post-graduate medical courses from the coming academic year of 2015-16 will have to undertake a mandatory rural posting at a public health centre (PHC) for one year.

This information was given by minister of health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad. He said this will be implemented once the proposal of Medical Council of India (MCI) to amend the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2000, in this aspect has since been approved by the ministry of health and family welfare.

The minister informed that there is shortfall of number of doctors in the country, with 2,489 doctors falling shortage in primary health centres.

Azad said there is also a shortage of 3,459 surgeons, 3005 obsterician and gynaecologists, 3,667 physicians, 3,270 paediatricians and a total of 13,477 specialists in community health centres across the country.