Hike in MBBS seats at Shimla college okayed

DHARAMSALA - The Medical Council of India has recommended to the central government an increase in the number of MBBS seats in the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH) in the Himachal Pradesh capital, Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said Thursday.

In a suo-motu statement in the assembly, Bindal said: “The executive committee of the Medical Council of India (MCI) at its meeting Dec 15 recommended to the government of India to increase the seats of MBBS in the IGMCH from 65 to 100.”

A team of the MCI had visited the IGMCH campus Dec 9-10 to inspect the working of the medical college hospital and its infrastructure.

Earlier, the MCI had approved increase in the post-graduation seats in the IGMCH from 39 to 62 last month.

Bindal said during the last one and a half years there has been increase in the number of posts.

“During the last one and a half years, there has been substantial increase in the number of posts both in teaching and non-teaching in the IGMCH. During the last two years, three postgraduate degree courses in the disciplines of radiotherapy, pathology and pharmacology have been recognised by the MCI,” the health minister said.

The assembly session that began here Dec 14 would conclude Saturday.