Agartala, March 22: The Medical Council of India has given green signal to post-graduate courses in Agartala Government Medical College.

The courses will commence from the next academic year.

Principal of the college Dr Dilip Chandra Das said the college authorities and the health department of the state had approached the Union health ministry to launch post-graduate courses in 18 subjects.

Responding to this, a team of the medical council had arrived to assess the infrastructure.

“The MCI has approved the introduction of post-graduate studies in medicine, ENT, community medicine, gynaecology, paediatric and anaesthesia, but the inspection of facilities for orthopaedics and anatomy is yet to be completed,” said Das. He added that there would be 22 seats for post-graduate studies out of which 11 will be put in the central quota.

He said the MBBS course in the Agartala medical college had commenced in 2005.

“This in fact is a record of sorts as very few colleges in the country secure permission for launching post-graduate studies within such a short time; generally it takes at least a decade for a college to obtain permission for starting post-graduate studies,” said Dr Das.