Parliament Question: Vacancies of Doctors and Paramedical Staff

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 3449 TO BE ANSWERED ON07.08.2026 VACANCIES OFDOCTORS AND PARAMEDICALSTAFF †3449.SHRIBHUMARE SANDIPANRAOASARAM:

SHRISANJAYUTTAMRAO DESHMUKH:

SMT.DELKAR KALABEN MOHANBHAI:

Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:

(a) whether the thousands of posts of Specialist doctors, physicians, nurses and paramedical staff are lying vacant against the sanctioned strength in Central and State Government hospitals across the country, State/UT-wise, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(b) the detailsof the said vacantposts andthe steps takentofill the vacancies;

(c) whether the Government has implemented measures such as financial incentives, mandatory service provision or special recruitment schemes to ensure the availability of specialist doctors and shortage of nursing staff in Government hospitals across the country,particularly inrural,tribal andremote areas;

(d) if so, the detailsthereof,State-wise, particularly inMaharashtra, includingthe Yavatmal- Washim Parliamentary Constituency and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli andDamanandDiu;

(e) the numberof projectsapproved bythe Government for setting upnewmedical colleges, upgrading district hospitals and establishing trauma care centres in the country during the last three years; and

(f) the amount of funds allocated and progress made in this regard in various States across the country,State/UT-wise including Maharashtra andthe UTof Dadra andNagar Haveli andDamanandDiu? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV)

(a) to (f): Public Health & hospitals fall under the State list and therefore, the primary responsibility of strengthening public healthcare system is with the State/ Union Territories.

However, under the National Health Mission, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfareprovides technical and financial support to the States/ Union Territories including Maharashtra and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to strengthen the public healthcare system including support for healthcare staff, establishment and upgradation of healthcare facilities in the rural, tribal and remote areas of the country, based on the proposals received in the form of Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) under National Health Mission. Government of India provides approval for the proposal in the form of Recordof Proceedings (RoPs) aspernorms& availableresources.

Details of the approvals given for the strengthening of public healthcare system in Maharashtra and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are available at website of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the Uniform Resources Locator(URL) asunder:

https://nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=1377&lid=744 The details regarding sanctioned strength and vacancies of Specialist doctors, physicians, nurses and paramedical staff at the healthcare facilities across the country including Maharashtra and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu canbe accessed at the following linkof HealthDynamicsof India (HDI) 2023-24:

https://www.mohfw-dohfw.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/05/57202cf30629539e4d0fb0a2f700ac62.pdf Under NHM, following types of incentives and honorarium are provided for encouraging doctors and healthcare workers to work in rural, tribal and remote areas of the country including Maharashtra and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman andDiu toensure the availability of specialist doctors andshortage of nursing staff in Government hospitals across the country, particularlyinrural, tribal andremote areas;

 Hard area allowance to specialist doctors for serving in rural and remote areas and for their residential quarters so that they find it attractive to serve in public health facilities insuch areas.  Honorarium to Gynecologists/ Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) trained, Pediatricians & Anesthetist/ Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS) trained doctors is also provided to increase availability of specialists for conducting Cesarean Sections in rural & remote area.

 Incentives like special incentives for doctors, incentive for Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife(ANM)forensuringtimelyAntenatalCheckup(ANC)checkupandrecording, incentivesfor conductingAdolescent Reproductive andSexual Healthactivities. States are also allowed to offer negotiable salary to attract specialist including flexibilityinstrategies such as“You Quote We Pay”.

 Non-Monetary incentives such as preferential admission in post graduate courses for staff serving in difficult areasandimproving accommodationarrangement inrural areas have also beenintroducedunder NHM.

 Multi-skilling of doctors is supported under NHM to overcome the shortage of specialists. Skill upgradation of existing HR is another major strategy under NRHM for achievingimprovement inhealthoutcomes.

Further, the Family Adoption Programme (FAP) has been incorporated into the MBBS curriculum to provide equitable healthcare access to rural population. FAPinvolves medical colleges adopting villages, and MBBS students adopting families within these villages. This enables regular follow-up of adopted families for vaccination, growth monitoring,menstrual hygiene, Iron-Folic Acid supplementation, healthy lifestyle practices, nutrition, vector control, and medication adherence. It also helps in educating families about ongoing governmenthealthprogrammes.

Under District Residency Program of National Medical Commission (NMC), second/third yearPGstudents of medical collegesare posted indistrict hospitals.

The State/ Union Territory-wise Central release and Expenditure under NHM for States/Union Territories across the country including Maharashtra & Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu from the FY 2023-24 to 2025-26 is at Annexure-I.

Under CentrallySponsoredScheme (CSS)for ‘Establishmentof newmedicalcolleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals’ with preference to underserved areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing Government or private medical college. The fund sharing mechanism between the Centre and State Governments is in the ratio of 90:10 for North Eastern and Special Category States, and 60:40 for others. Under the scheme, all the envisaged 157 medical colleges have already been approved including 02 medical colleges in Gondia and Nandurbar district of Maharashtra. Both the medical colleges are functional.

****Annexure-I State/UT-wise Centralreleaseand ExpenditureunderNHM forStates/Union Territories fromthe FY2023-24 to 2025-26 (Rs. inCrores) 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Sl. Central Central Central Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure No. States Release Release Release Andaman& Nicobar 1 Islands 37.84 40.71 49.99 44.41 44.41 48.48 Andhra 2 Pradesh 1,096.01 2,833.44 1,319.61 2,439.82 1,162.85 2,764.51 Arunachal 3 Pradesh 404.55 399.44 388.86 472.93 349.93 411.14 4 Assam 2,257.06 2,626.87 2,076.25 2,607.54 2,318.22 2,601.84 5 Bihar 2,032.95 4,010.97 2,367.18 4,466.31 2,508.99 4,287.22 6 Chandigarh 30.58 31.85 43.43 37.29 50.53 49.53 7 Chattisgarh 875.8 1,743.79 969.11 1,784.09 1,159.42 2,121.60 Dadraand Nagar Haveli& Daman& 8 Diu 39.92 41.96 40.96 40.47 49.12 43.02 9 Delhi 150.54 338.41 240.39 365.44 346.34 547.04 10 Goa 48.97 84.53 55.06 95.17 51.2 90.2 11 Gujarat 1,506.96 4,040.00 1,324.86 3,198.15 1,362.72 2,757.10 12 Haryana 524.01 1,221.41 562.49 1,127.06 636.01 1,402.07 Himachal 13 Pradesh 470.36 629.76 523.7 654.52 572.05 653.43 Jammu& 14 Kashmir 805.22 956.95 1,040.76 1,110.30 1,017.14 1,180.71 15 Jharkhand 958.06 1,992.91 964.31 1,986.59 984.57 1,873.32 16 Karnataka 1,187.60 2,741.98 1,295.81 2,478.23 1,268.26 2,513.61 17 Kerala 189.15 1,246.25 1,351.78 1,422.88 813.16 1,743.43 18 Lakshadweep 3.79 7.1 9.68 10 12.94 10.4 Madhya 19 Pradesh 2545.68 5202.61 2430.91 5225.77 3,047.35 5,628.05 20 Maharashtra 2,729.30 5,001.70 2,417.95 4,364.86 2,496.92 5,149.77 21 Manipur 169.12 159.32 279.16 295.79 255.54 366.92 22 Meghalaya 261.39 305.83 297.95 393.01 336.52 377.57 23 Mizoram 134.42 179.84 159.96 174.67 179.13 206.88 24 Nagaland 184.84 196.69 204.47 243.6 187.95 228.1 25 Odisha 1,901.77 3,356.68 1,916.79 3,585.01 1,760.71 4,330.21 26 Puducherry 30.8 45.74 26.27 49.27 30.83 56.427 Punjab 91.49 1,428.94 878.21 1,027.72 724.47 1,146.42 28 Rajasthan 2,785.46 4,350.63 2,398.62 4,772.33 2,360.80 4,540.21 29 Sikkim 68.17 75.77 81.67 89.59 99.18 117.93 30 TamilNadu 1,996.06 3,104.16 1,742.67 3,461.74 1,714.44 3,191.61 31 Tripura 264.31 309.62 268.67 279.35 331 382.15 32 UttarPradesh 4,928.14 10,572.60 5,853.43 10,377.16 5,686.12 11,069.32 33 Uttarakhand 711.33 709.79 604.05 760.15 620.69 722.3 34 WestBengal 890.42 3,641.98 688.44 3,583.07 1,324.66 3,588.42 35 Telangana 564.93 1,288.75 1,110.43 1,872.42 868.92 1,452.06 36 Ladakh 120.44 119.67 135.98 150.5 142.24 138.98

Note:

1. TheabovereleasesrelatetoCentralGovt.Grants&donotincludeStatesharecontribution.

2. ExpenditureincludesexpenditureagainstCentralRelease,Staterelease&unspentbalancesatthe beginningoftheyear.ExpenditureisasperFMRssubmittedbyStates/UTsandisprovisional.