Cabinet approves setting up of 157 govt nursing colleges

With 100 seats per college, the move will add 15,700 BSc nursing seats across the country. The highest number of colleges will be in Uttar Pradesh (27), Rajasthan (23), and Madhya Pradesh (14).

There are currently 1.18 lakh BSc nursing seats in the country, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya while announcing the cabinet decision.

A committee headed by the Union Health Secretary at the Centre and the Principal Secretary of health or medical education in the state will monitor the progress in their construction, expected to be completed over the next two years.

Mandaviya said: “There is an increase in demand for BSc nursing with new medical colleges and hospitals being set up by the government. The private sector is also setting up hospital chains that focus on medical value tourism where there is a need for BSc nurses. Apart from that, there is also a need for BSc nursing across the world. The move will fulfil the nursing needs of the country and the world.”

The minister added that this will also address the disparity in availability of nurses across states. Mandaviya said: “States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu in the south have 40% of the country’s nursing colleges at present. And, there are 13 states that have no nursing colleges at all.”

The minister said Bihar has only two government nursing colleges and ten private ones. The state will get eight new nursing colleges under the scheme. “Similarly, Jharkhand has one government and 20 private nursing colleges. Now, the state will get five more. Currently, UP has 10 government nursing colleges, Rajasthan 11, and MP also 11,” he said.

The distribution of the nursing colleges is based on the number of new medical colleges that have been opened in the state since 2014. The Centre will provide Rs 10 crore for setting up of each of the colleges, “and the states can add to this,” Mandaviya said.

In addition to demand within the country, the minister said there is a global demand for Indian nurses. Currently, there are 26,000 Indian nurses working in the UK, 20,000 in the Gulf countries, 16,000 in the US, 12,000 in Australia and 5,000 in Canada.

With the government looking to promote India as a healthcare destination, discussions on mobility of healthcare workers across countries was one of the focus points at the ongoing international conference Advantage Healthcare-India.