Process to raise medical colleges' seats initiated

The Centre has directed medical colleges run by it to frame a detailed plan for increasing seats by June 15.

In a bid to ensure that the number of general category seats does not decrease due to implementation of the OBC quota, the Centre has directed medical colleges run by it to frame a detailed plan for increasing seats by June 15.

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AIIMS, which has received a letter from the Health Ministry asking it to draw up a plan by June 15 for increasing the number of seats, has said that it has enough infrastructure for enhancing the seats from the current 50 to 90, officials said.

Safdarjung Hospital is coming up with a new college, which will lead to increase in the seats from 100 to 154, they said.

The Centre has asked all the nine medical colleges, including AIIMS, RML, Lady Hardinge, Safdarjung, PGI Chandigarh, NIMHANS Bangalore, JIPMER Pondicherry and Central Institute of Psychiatry in Ranchi, to assess their infrastructure and frame a plan to increase the number of seats, officials said.

The government has also asked PGI Chandigarh to begin undergraduate courses. "The college has informed that it has the infrastructure for about 100 undergraduate seats," an official said.

Medicos have so far kept their agitation alive by saying that the number of general category seats would decrease due to lack of infrastructure if the 27 per cent quota for OBCs is implemented.