The Indian government has pushed private hospitals to create medical courses in order to increase the number of medical schools and boost medical education in the nation. During a recent meeting with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, over 60 large private institutions were asked to offer medical courses. Around 20 of the 62 hospitals that participated are expected to begin courses this year.

Many of the hospitals, according to authorities, have already filed their applications, and those that pass inspection will accept students beginning with the current academic year. Breach Candy, Amrita Hospital, Medanta, Reliance Hospital, and Satya Sai were among the hospitals represented during the meeting.

Previously, private hospitals were unwilling to train students, but now many of them have consented to do so.

With specialised services at hospitals, most would start by training PG students. “However, some will launch both UG and PG courses,” stated a source close to the situation.

The hospitals’ hesitation resulted from burdensome paperwork and standards regarding land and infrastructure needs. However, the government has recently altered some of the rules in order to encourage more hospitals to offer medical courses.

The National Medical Commission (NMC), the primary medical education authority, published a draft notification last year that permitted hospital chains with prior experience running medical schools to launch additional schools elsewhere without waiting for the hospitals to become established. According to current regulations, a medical college with a 300-bed hospital can be formed only after it has been in operation for two years.

According to authorities, such a concession would allow the newly created Amrita Hospital in Faridabad to begin courses immediately, given that it already operates a well-established hospital and medical college in Kochi. The change is intended to boost the number of UG and PG seats, which have almost doubled in the previous nine years.

Medical schools have been required to use a system, such as CCTV cameras, biometric attendance, and AI, to monitor the number of patients and teachers present. The NMC has previously ordered that all medical schools install 25 CCTV cameras in critical areas and implement a biometric attendance system.

Officials believe that relaxing standards will have no influence on the quality of medical education. There have previously been claims that medical institutions merely brought in the appropriate number of patients and academic members during inspections. The government’s actions are aimed at boosting openness and ensuring that medical colleges meet the appropriate criteria.