Odisha’s Health & Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, told the State Assembly on Monday that the state now has 3,025 MBBS seats. Laying out the details in a written response to Mohana MLA Dasarathi Gomanga, he explained that 1,800 of those seats are spread across 14 government medical colleges, six private medical colleges offer 1,100 seats, and AIIMS Bhubaneswar has 125 seats.
The government is working to boost medical education even more by increasing seats at several colleges. They’re adding 50 seats at Maharaja Jajati Keshari Medical College and Hospital (MJKMCH) in Jajpur, 25 seats each at Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLN MCH) in Koraput, and Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (PRMMCH) in Baripada. Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VSSUT/VIMSAR) is also set to get 50 more seats.
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On top of this, Minister Mukesh Mahaling shared that the government plans to set up four new government medical colleges. These will come up in Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, and Nabarangpur districts. The idea is to bring medical education and top-notch healthcare to areas that don’t have them yet.
Outside of medical colleges, he also mentioned progress in nursing and paramedical training. Right now, Odisha has eight nursing colleges and 21 ANM training centres up and running. The government is about to open eight more nursing colleges, and there’s a proposal to gradually set up nursing, paramedical, and allied medical science colleges in every district that still lacks them. The goal is To build a stronger, better prepared healthcare workforce across the state.