According to information provided by the Medical Council of India, there are a total of 9,88,922 allopathic doctors registered with the state medical council or MCI as of June 30, 2016.
India has one doctor for every 1,668 people, while nearly 8 lakh doctors across the country may be in active service at present, the government said.
Rural India is two-thirds of the total nation's population. As it is, more than 70% of India’s population lives in the rural areas, out of which around 35% is either below the poverty line or close to it. Even number of Primary health care centers are limited and also doctors are not be available at all. Due to lack of facilities in rural area, doctors refuse to move to rural areas
Assuming an 80 percent availability, it is estimated that about 7.91 lakh physicians may actually be available for active duty. It gives a proportion of the doctor's population of 1: 1668 according to the current population estimate of 1.32 billion, "Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
He was asked about the details of requirements and the availability of doctors in the country, especially in rural, remote and mountainous areas.He said the issue of compulsory rural posting of doctors has been left to the "wisdom" of state governments who are principal employers of doctors.
However, to encourage doctors working in remote and difficult areas, the MCI with the approval of government has amended the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2000 under which 50 per cent of seats in PG Diploma courses will be reserved for medical officers in government service who have served at least three years in remote and difficult areas among others.
