To address the shortage of medical staff in the rural areas and to improve access to medical facilities in rural areas, the health and family welfare minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is working in tandem with Medical Council of India to introduce a special rural medicine course. The proposed plan is to introduce a three and a half year undergraduate course called Bachelor of Rural Medicine and Surgery. The course outline will be in the lines of medical schools in the USA. The syllabus for the proposed course is almost finalized and Medical Council of India will initiate the process next month.

To overcome the shortage of doctors the ministry has also decided to recognize the medical degree and teaching experience gained by doctors of Indian origin from five of the English speaking countries(US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). Other countries are also in the consideration. Mr.Ghulam Nabi Azad, addressing the 10th Social Editors’ Conference, also said that norms for setting up medical colleges are also being relaxed.

The current requirement for land is around 25 acres which is reduced to 20 acres. In metros like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Ahmadabad, the requirement of 20 acres is changed and the concept of floor area is being introduced. The current area for metros is reduced to 10 acres. Mr.Ghulam Nabi Azad, also said that the, “ministry is considering the public-private partnership approach for setting up medical colleges in remote and inaccessible area like north eastern states, other hilly states and other backward states.”