Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday urged the Union government to abolish the all-India quota in the fully State-funded medical institutions. He said it was a huge disincentive to the States that had prioritised health by earmarking massive resources for running these institutions.
Despite the huge amount of State investments, 50% of the postgraduate seats and 15% of the undergraduate seats were being surrendered to the all-India quota based on the scheme drawn up by the Supreme Court. All the super-speciality seats were being surrendered to the all-India quota, Mr. Stalin said. “In fact, other States that have not invested in medical colleges get rewarded, despite their minimal investments.”
In a memorandum handed over to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Mr. Stalin suggested that the Union government bring in a piece of legislation to allow the States to retain the seats in the medical colleges fully funded by them.
Recalling Tamil Nadu’s objections to the draft Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021, Mr. Stalin underlined, “It is unfortunate that such regulations have been formulated without a proper understanding of the current pre-dominant role of the State governments in this domain.” The status quo should be maintained in the postgraduate admissions to the State quota seats, he said. He requested the Union government and the National Medical Commission to drop the draft Regulations because they “hit at the very root of federalism”.
AIIMS construction
The Chief Minister requested the Union government to form a dedicated team of officers with financial and administrative powers to start the construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai.
He also sought the establishment of an AIIMS in Coimbatore, contending that it would enhance the quality of tertiary care in western districts.
Mr. Stalin sought sanction for the proposal for medical colleges in Kancheepuram, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, Ranipet, Tenkasi and Tirupattur districts under the Central government scheme, with the Centre and the State sharing the cost in the ratio of 60:40. The total cost of these six colleges would be around ₹2,400 crore.
The Chief Minister favoured an amendment to the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021, to cover the district headquarters hospitals and to increase the intake of foreign medical graduates at government medical college hospitals from 7.5% to 20%.
The memorandum sought approval for a proposal submitted for ₹950 crore to provide effective, affordable healthcare services to urban and rural population at 19 district headquarters hospitals.
