State counselling - NEET UG 2013

Since 2000, the government has created 9,300 medical seats, almost as many as it did in half a century from 1950 till 2000. But the 9,300 seems a pittance compared to the 17,700-plus private sector seats created in the same period. Almost 60% of the latter were in four southern states. In 2013, for the first time since 1975, the government has created more medical seats than in the private sector. This year, the Centre created 1,300 seats in 14 new colleges. Another 3,013 have been added to existing colleges. Thus, in just this year, the government has created twice as many seats as it did in 30 years from 1970 to 2000 

The shortage of doctors in India can be blamed on the government neglecting medical education for
three decades from 1970 till 2000. In a 15-year period from 1951 to 1966, sustained investment in medical education led to India having one medical seat in a government college for roughly every 37,000 persons, down from one for every 71,000 in 1951. Over the 47 years since then, the situation has worsened dramatically with one government medical college seat for over 55,000 today. This has resulted in the private sector taking over medical education in a big way. That, in turn, has meant spiralling costs, question marks over quality and a sharp geographical skew. Even with the private sector included, India now has one MBBS seat for every 26,042 people, only a small improvement from one for every 33,521 in 1966. In contrast, the period from 1951 to 1966 had seen the ratio cut by more than half. A look at the data on medical seats and colleges available with the Medical Council of India (MCI), the regulator for medical education and doctors, shows that the availability of medical seats has improved in recent years. Almost half (47%) of the available seats have been created since 2000. However, 72% of the seats added since 1970 are in the private sector. Why should this be a matter of concern? There are several good reasons for this to be cause for worry. For starters, private medical education is expensive making it inaccessible for most Indians. In private colleges, the cost of graduating is Rs 15 lakh-40 lakh or more, not including capitation fees. In a government college, it ranges from a mere Rs 10,000 as tuition fee in Delhi's Maulana Azad Medical College for the entire MBBS course to about Rs 1.5 lakh in Trivandrum Medical College, one of the more expensive government medical colleges.(source: times of india)