GUWAHATI: Assam has received approval for 43 additional postgraduate medical seats at Lakhimpur Medical College and Diphu Medical College, taking the total number of PG medical seats in the state to 839.
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The National Medical Commission (NMC) approved the additional seats across seven medical disciplines, all of which are in clinical specialities. The expansion is expected to create more opportunities for doctors to pursue specialised training in the state and strengthen the availability of trained specialists.
The newly approved seats cover MD General Medicine, MD Anaesthesiology, MD Paediatrics, MD Pathology, MD Radio-Diagnosis, MS General Surgery, and MS Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Announcing the development, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the approval would strengthen the state's efforts to expand medical education and improve specialist healthcare services. He added that increasing postgraduate training opportunities within Assam would benefit young doctors and help build a larger pool of qualified medical professionals to serve the state.
Additionally, construction is underway on nine more medical colleges across the state. The government has also decided to establish medical colleges in Bajali, Hailakandi and Majuli as part of its plan to have one medical college in every district.
With the expansion of medical colleges, the total number of MBBS seats in Assam has crossed 2,000. Once the nine medical colleges currently under construction are completed, the number of MBBS seats is expected to exceed 3,000.
