Calcutta, July 20: The state government today raised the retirement age for government doctors to 65 years, citing a shortage.

"The cabinet today decided to raise the retirement age for government doctors from 62 to 65 years as there is a shortage of doctors across the state," education minister Partha Chatterjee said.

According to senior officials, the government had no option but to increase the retirement age so that it could meet the requirement for doctors in several medical colleges and super-speciality hospitals the chief minister has announced across the state.

Sources said the state government wanted to set up 40 super-speciality hospitals and five medical colleges in the next two years.

According to a health department official, posts of around 2,000 medical officers and 1,700 specialists are lying vacant in government hospitals.

The Bengal government's decision is in keeping with an announcement Prime Minister Narendra Modi made in May that the retirement age for doctors would be raised to 65 across the country.

The Bengal government's decision is said to be driven by longstanding concerns that young doctors are turning away from government jobs while state government doctors are looking for opportunities either in central hospitals or in private facilities.