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Karnataka cabinet eases law mandating rural service for doctors: Patil
The Karnataka state cabinet has decided to relax the legislation requiring all medical graduates to undertake rural service.
The Karnataka state cabinet on Friday announced that it will relax the legislation governing compulsory rural service for medicine graduates in the state. Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil explained that the cabinet has decided to remove the blanket requirement for all medical graduates to undertake rural service by bringing an ordinance. Instead, doctors will be recruited based on the availability of positions or whenever there is a shortage of medical staff. This change applies to both MBBS graduates and those who have completed their post-graduation.
“It is not compulsory for all. Doctors will be recruited to fill all the vacant posts, and if required, the government can also take more doctors. We will recruit depending on the requirements, and not all. It will be an unnecessary waste of human resources if we send three doctors to one village,” the minister said.
According to the minister, the new approach seeks to optimise the deployment of healthcare professionals and avoid wastage of skilled personnel. Patil said that the government’s objective is to recruit doctors as required, without making rural service mandatory for everyone. This adjustment aims to prevent situations where multiple doctors are assigned to a single village, which is considered an inefficient utilization of resources.
Under the previous rules, medical graduates who did not comply with the mandatory rural service, faced fines ranging from ₹15-30 lakh. However, the government retains the authority to assign students for rural service whenever there is a shortage of medical staff.
He pointed there is no shortage of doctors in government hospitals, and any existing vacancies will be promptly filled. Patil explained that the decision was taken as the number of applicants for rural service far exceeded vacancies in government hospitals. “With this move, the government is reducing the financial burden and also rationalising human resources,” he said.
Under the current rules, MBBS students receive a monthly salary of ₹62,666, MD/MS students are compensated with approximately ₹70,000, and super-speciality students receive ₹72,800.
Government data for the same academic year 2022-23 revealed that 3,251 MBBS students applied for rural service while there were only 1,897 vacant posts. In the 2023-24 academic year, a total of 6,766 MBBS and PG medical students registered for rural service and salaries for which raked up a bill of ₹290.4 crore, according to the minister.
To accommodate the remaining students, the government would have had to create an additional 1,354 posts, incurring a financial burden of ₹101.82 crore. Similarly, 3,515 PG students registered against 1,270 vacant posts, necessitating the creation of an additional 2,245 posts at a cost of ₹188.58 crore.
