Centre plans 265 nursing colleges

Another 10,000 paramedics and 20,000 nurses will be added to staff community and primary health centres in remote districts of the country.

Another 10,000 paramedics and 20,000 nurses will be added to staff community and primary health centres in remote districts of the country.

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The Centre plans to set up nine regional institutes for paramedical services and 265 nursing colleges, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Monday.

These steps will be in addition to the Medical Council of India’s initiatives such as the Bachelor of Rural Health Care programme — aimed at creating a rural medical corps — and upgrade of medical colleges for 10,000 more post-graduate seats within two years.

Manpower shortage is the biggest hurdle in the expansion of the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) aimed at revitalising primary and secondary healthcare in rural India. “The health ministry, in consultation with MCI, is in the process of finalising curriculum for a three-and-half years programme on Bachelor of Rural Health Care,” said Azad at an event held to mark five years of NHRM.