Budget 2020-21: Medical colleges to be set up in district hospitals under PPP mode

The government on Saturday proposed setting up of medical colleges in existing district hospitals under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to address the shortage of qualified doctors.

Presenting the budget for 2020-21, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "There is a shortage of qualified medical doctors, both general practitioners as well as specialists.

"In order to meet this requirement, it is proposed to attach a medical college to an existing district hospital in PPP mode. Those states that fully allow the facilities of the hospital to the medical college and wish to provide land at a concession, would be able to receive Viability Gap Funding. Details of the scheme would be worked out," she said.

The Finance Minister said the government will encourage large hospitals with sufficient capacity to offer resident doctors diploma and fellow of National Board (DNB/FNB) courses under the National Board of Examination.

"There exists a huge demand for teachers, nurses, para-medical staff and care-givers abroad. However, their skill sets, many a time, do not match the employer's standards and therefore need to be improved. I propose that special bridge courses be designed by the Ministries of Health and Skill Development together with professional bodies to bring in equivalence.

"Language requirements of various countries need also to be included. All these should be achieved through special training packages," Sitharaman said.