Bhubaneswar: In a significant push to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, the Odisha government has announced plans to double the number of MBBS seats in state-run medical colleges from 2,500 to 5,000 within the next five years. The initiative was unveiled by Health & Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling on Saturday.
Speaking on the ambitious plan, Mahaling revealed that the government also aims to address workforce shortages by recruiting 5,000 doctors and 3,000 health workers in various categories to fill existing vacancies.
Highlighting other key initiatives, Mahaling said postgraduate courses will be introduced in all newly established medical colleges, and the bed capacity of district headquarters hospitals (DHHs) will be increased to 400 beds to meet the growing healthcare demands.
Odisha’s healthcare landscape has seen remarkable progress under the current administration, with the state increasing the number of government medical colleges from four to 11 in recent years. “The fourth government medical college was established after a gap of nearly 60 years. This significant expansion underscores our commitment to improving healthcare and medical education,” Mahaling said.
Mahaling also credited the BJP-led Central government for its policy to establish one government medical college in each district under a 60:40 financial sharing ratio between the Centre and the state. “We are fully leveraging this policy to strengthen Odisha’s healthcare infrastructure and expand access to quality medical education,” he added.