Retirement age of central government doctors raised to 65 years

Around 1,445 doctors of various ministries and departments of the central government would be benefited by the decision.

Updated on: Sep 27, 2017, 23:29:30 IST

Press Trust of India, New Delhi | By Rhythma Kaul

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The Union cabinet on Wednesday increased the retirement age of central government doctors to 65 years with an aim to meet the shortage of medical staff, especially super-specialists, in the country.

The current retirement age of doctors in some departments is 60 years and in some others, it is 62

The government’s decision will be applicable to all AYUSH and central government doctors and dentists except those in the Central Health Service (CHS), which includes those working in the railways and armed forces.

The retirement age of CHS doctors was increased to 65 years last year, after which other central government doctors had also asked for an extension in their retirement age.

The government decision is expected to not only improve patient care facilities but also meet shortage of faculty in government medical colleges, which is proving to be a huge problem.

“This Cabinet decision will go a long way to strengthen health services in country by providing experienced doctors at all levels,” health minister JP Nadda tweeted soon after the decision was announced.

“The decision will help utilise the services of experienced doctors. It will also help in retaining the existing strength of experienced doctors, thereby providing better patient care. This will also help in improving doctor-patient ratio in the country,” Union health minister J P Nadda said.

The health minister added that the move will “improve doctor-patient ratio in country and will address shortage of doctors” and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision.

India has a little more than one million modern medicine (allopathy) doctors to treat its population of 1.3 billion people, shows data from the National Health Profile 2017.

Of these, only around 10% work in the public health sector that effectively means there is one government allopathic doctor for every 10,189 people.

The decision is not likely to have major financial implications as a number of posts are lying vacant and the eligible doctors would continue to work in their existing capacity against the sanctioned posts. Doctors holding administrative posts have been allowed to continue on the post till 62 years of age, after which they will be placed in non-administrative positions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhythma Kaul
Rhythma Kaul is the national health editor of the Hindustan Times. She has been reporting on public health, medicine, and medical research, with a particular focus on how government decisions and health system reforms shape people’s lives. Rhythma has over 25 years of journalistic experience. She joined Hindustan Times in 2008, and has since covered everything from pandemics and infectious diseases to cutting‑edge medical research and climate‑related health challenges. Her stories routinely track the work of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, department of pharmaceuticals, and key national health programmes, making complex medical science and policy accessible to a wide audience. One of her prominent news breaks has been the 2012 Baby Falak case: A two-year-old brutally battered baby girl was admitted to AIIMS-Delhi with severe head injuries, multiple fractures, human bite marks, and burns. The police investigation revealed this to be a case of multi-state human-trafficking racket. She was profiled by The Wall Street Journal for breaking this story. Rhythma holds a Master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Prior to Hindustan Times, she worked with the India Today Group. Rhythma can be contacted at rhythma.kaul@hindustantimes.com. Her X handle is @RamblingBrook.Read More

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