Fourteen medical colleges in Bengal have applied to the National Medical Commission (NMC) for an increase of over 600 MBBS seats from the 2025-26 academic year.
All the colleges that have applied for the uptick in seats were set up in the past decade or are a little older.
A senior state health department official said there was a need to produce more doctors to improve patient services, especially in districts and rural areas.
Bengal’s doctor-patient ratio is, like most Indian states, way less than what is required. There is one doctor for every 10,000 people in Bengal. A state health department official said the World Health Organisation recommends a doctor-patient ratio of 1 doctor for every 1,000 people.
More doctors graduating every year will help bridge the gap.
There are 5,700 MBBS seats in 37 medical colleges in Bengal. Among them, 24 are state-run colleges.
“The state needs more doctors to improve patient care services. This is the foremost reason why 14 medical colleges have applied for an increase in their undergraduate seats,” said a senior health department official.
Long queues and an endless wait for treatment are common in Bengal’s hospitals.
If Bengal produces more doctors, health administrators feel, there is a greater possibility of a more equitable distribution of doctors. That could reduce the dependence on hospitals in Calcutta for people far away in the districts.
Improving the doctor-patient ratio is among the reasons the National Medical Commission (NMC) asks medical colleges to increase their seats if they have the infrastructure and capacity to teach more students.
“Around 25 lakh aspirants write the NEET exam every year, and there are less than 1.20 lakh MBBS seats in the country. We want to offer more students a chance to study medicine. This will also help increase the doctor-patient ratio in the country,” NMC chairperson B.N. Gangadhar told The Telegraph over the phone.
A state government official said that the state had earlier applied and secured a rise in MBBS seats in medical colleges in and around Calcutta. This year, they have focused on colleges in the districts that were set up recently and have the scope to expand.
Among the colleges that have applied for seat increase are Diamond Harbour Government Medical College and Hospital, Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital, Maharaja Jitendra Narayan Medical College and Hospital in Cooch Behar, Deben Mahata Government Medical College and Hospital in Purulia, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Government Medical College and Hospital in Howrah’s Uluberia and Barasat Government Medical College and Hospital.
“The application window opened last year, and we applied in December. We have 100 MBBS seats now and have applied for 50 more seats,” said Karabi Baral, principal of Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital, whose first MBBS batch started classes in 2019.
The colleges have yet to hear from the NMC.
“We are in the process of deciding on the applications. The colleges will hear from us any moment,” said Gangadhar.
Physical inspection of colleges may not happen before they are allowed to increase seats. “Inspections can be done even after granting the increase. Failure to adhere to standards will invite penalties,” Gangadhar said.
The number of OPD clinics, faculty strength, and number of major OTs are some of the criteria considered while allowing the increase.