Telangana gets 8 new Medical College: 1150 new MBBS Seats. Know the details below

In a piece of great news for medical aspirants of Telangana, their state will have 8 new government medical colleges. The move is going to add as many as 1,150 MBBS seats to the state kitty.

The classes in these 8 newly newly-established government medical colleges will begin today, November 15, 2022, after CM K Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurates the colleges online from Pragathi Bhavan.

So where are these 8 new medical colleges in Telangana?

They have come up at 8 different locations in the state: Sangareddy, Mahabubabad, Mancherial, Jagtiyal, Vanaparthi, Kothagudem, Nagarkurnool and Ramagundam town.

Points to Know

Total Number of Medical Seats in Telangana

With the establishment of these 8 new government medical colleges, the total number of MBBS seats has increased from 850 in 2014 to 2,790 in 2022. As for the number of seats in postgraduate courses, they have gone up to 1,122 from a meagre 531 in 2014.

Built at a cost of Rs 4,080 crore, these colleges will provide medical services in as many as 35 different departments. Just so you are aware, all the seats at these medical colleges are already filled up for this year's batch.

The Road Ahead

The setting up of these 8 medical colleges is just a start as the state government is planning to build one medical college in every 33 districts of the state. The government, reflecting the poor condition of medical education in the state, highlighted that there were only five medical colleges in Telangana until 2014.

But in the last 8 years, 16 new medical colleges are being built (including these 8) and 12 more have already been sanctioned taking the date to 33 - one each for every district.

Political Squabble

Telangana's minister for industry and information technology KT Rama Rao and union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya was recently locked in a verbal battle with both blaming each other for the poor health facilities in the state.

The state government blamed the centre for failing to sanction even one medical college for the state whereas states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh got as many as 27 and 19 new medical colleges respectively.

Telangana state minister for health and finance, T Harish Rao pointed out that a total of 157 medical colleges were sanctioned across India while Telangana got none. To which Mansukh Mandaviya replied that the centre can't sanction a project until the state government send a proposal regarding the same.

But the centre is already running a scheme to set up one medical college in every district of the country

Yes. It's true. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme for "establishment of new medical colleges by upgrading district/referral hospitals" is running. As per the scheme, a medical college will preferably be set up in deprived districts of the country with fund sharing between the Central Government and States in the ratio of 90:10 for NE/special category states and 75:25 for other states.

So why didn't the centre help in setting up medical colleges in Telangana?

States have to work with the Centre to be able to get the project sanctioned and get the required central fund. Rest all is politics, from both sides.