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Mandatory for doctors to serve in rural areas for one year.

 Disappointing with luke warm response of medical UG & PG s  to undergo a one-year stint in rural areas ,Mr. Azad said the government was in discussion with the Medical Council of India for changing the policy to make it mandatory for doctors to serve in rural areas for one year. 

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Lok Sabha on Friday that the Ministry launched a 50 per cent reservation in post-graduate courses for serving MBBS doctors who opted for a three-year stint in rural areas, but it evoked no response.
The government's incentives for medical students taking post-graduate entrance examinations too did not find any takers — students who did one year of rural service were to get 10 per cent marks as additional weightage, while those who did three years would get up to 30 per cent additional marks, he said.
The health ministry has taken steps in this direction and is offering more salaries as well as 10 per cent extra weightage for each year of service in the rural area for post graduation courses. The extra weightage could go up to 30 per cent for a maximum of three years of rural service. 
The good news is that fresh MBBS doctors have welcomed this move. In states like Kerala 407 doctors have signed up for rural service in a single day. Assam has notched up a figure of nearly 800 doctors for a single day. Along with the weightage for post graduation courses, a monthly salary of Rs 25,000 and free accommodation seems to have worked. 


If the government really wanted to do good for the rural people, they should provide 
incentive that medicos can’t resist, like permanent government jobs, good stipend, reservation in PG exams, something like that will make them work willingly. By doing so, more than 50% of the graduates 
passing out each year will eagerly join the rural service. After all,  doctors  joined medical field to serve people.


IMA  would like to remind our honourable Minister that ours is a democratic country but not a dictatorship.Even world economical giant (like US) don’t force their medicos to work in rural areas.Instead, they have improved their transportation so much that they are capable of providing Timely health care to  their native people .
what I am trying to stress is, it will be no good to made someone work forcefully, instead the government should improve the incentive & necessary infrastructure.


How many doctors registered with MCI are really practising in our country?
  the figure of 8.4 lakh registered with the MCI will have to be revised . there are triple and double registrations and some doctors are expired and some became old and some are not actively pursuing the profession.
Nearly 75 per cent of the Indian population is treated by health professionals who do not have a proper degree from an allopathic medical college.
The current doctor patient ratio is 1:1700 and the proposed plan could bring it down to 1:700, somewhat close to the recommended WHO ratio of 1:300. 





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