Chandigarh, November 30, 2025 - The Indian Medical Association (IMA) national president Dr Dilip Bhanushali has challenged the widely held belief about India's doctor shortage at a national conference in Chandigarh on Saturday, November 29, 2025. Stating that the country produces more than adequate medical graduates each year but faces issues of unemployment and underemployment among young doctors.
Speaking at a national conference Dr. Bhanushali addressed critical issues facing India's medical fraternity, firmly rejecting the notion of a doctor shortage in the country.
"This is a myth we are facing a shortage of doctors," Dr. Bhanushali stated. "We have written to the health ministry that there is no such dearth and we are willing to provide doctors in rural areas."
According to Dr. Bhanushali, India produces over 1.1 lakh (110,000) medical graduates annually from its medical colleges. However, despite this substantial output, a significant number of young doctors remain unemployed or underemployed, with many earning wages as low as Rs 40,000 per month.
The IMA chief argued that the government's focus should pivot from continuously opening new medical colleges to improving existing institutions and creating viable employment opportunities for graduating doctors.
"The government's focus should shift from opening more medical colleges in every nook and corner — which often compromises quality of education — to improving existing institutions and creating viable employment opportunities for the already graduating doctors," he emphasized.
According to a press release dated 1 April, 2025 by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India currently has:
13,86,150 registered allopathic doctors
7,51,768 registered AYUSH practitioners
Doctor-population ratio of 1:811 (exceeding WHO's recommended 1:1,000)
1,18,190 MBBS seats across the country
74,306 Postgraduate seats available
Despite these impressive numbers, approximately 80% of doctors are concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural regions significantly underserved.
Dr. Bhanushali strongly opposed the integration of alternative medicine systems with allopathy, a practice the IMA terms 'mixopathy.' The association insists that systems like Ayurveda must be maintained in their original, pure form.
"Mixing two fundamentally different sciences creates clinical risk, we have told this to the government," he explained.
The primary concern centers on unauthorized practice by non-allopathic practitioners, particularly BAMS graduates, who prescribe modern medicines without adequate training.
"99% of Ayurveda people write modern medicines without knowing the indications and side effects, leading to difficult-to-treat complications when these patients eventually seek allopathic care," Dr. Bhanushali stated, highlighting the risks of practitioners prescribing third-generation antibiotics and steroids or attempting surgeries without proper training.
The IMA president also criticized current government healthcare policies, particularly the Ayushman Bharat scheme and India's overall health expenditure of approximately 1.5% of GDP.
"Funds should be directed toward improving government infrastructure instead of relying heavily on such schemes," Dr. Bhanushali said, noting that 80% of healthcare is delivered by the private sector.
He criticized the government for pressuring doctors to join the Ayushman panel despite pending payments worth hundreds of crores that have remained unpaid for months.
"The government is bent upon starting Ayushman in every hospital without proper allocation of funds," he added.
While India produces more than 1.1 lakh doctors annually, among the highest globally. the distribution remains problematic. Rural areas have a doctor density of just 3 per 10,000 people compared to 13 per 10,000 in urban centers.
Thousands of Indian-trained doctors also migrate abroad annually, with the UK's NHS alone employing over 30,000 Indian doctors.
As Dr. Bhanushali's statements highlight, India's healthcare challenge may not be about producing enough doctors but ensuring they are properly employed, fairly compensated, and strategically distributed across the country.
(Rh/VK)