GUWAHATI: The central government, on September 18 last, informed the Lok Sabha that Assam has 24,083 doctors registered with the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India as on June 30, 2020.
The data was provided by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare in response to DMK MP, Dr. Kalandi Veeraswamy's queries about the ratio of doctors in India and whether the government is aware of the WHO’s recommendation regarding the doctor-population ratio of 1:1000.
As per information provided by the Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India (MCI), 12,55,786 allopathic doctors are registered in the country as on 30th June 2020. Assuming 80% availability, it is estimated that around 10.05 lakh doctors may be actually available for active service. It gives a doctor-population ratio of 1:1343 as per the current population estimate of 135 crores.
However, given the number of doctors in Assam, 24,083, this ratio is far less than WHO's recommended ratio. The doctor-population in Assam is 1:1453 as per the current population estimate of 3.5 crores.
Besides, there are 7.88 lakh Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors in the country. Assuming 80% availability, it is estimated that around 6.30 lakh Ayurveda, Unani, and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors may be actually available for service and considered together with allopathic doctors, it gives a doctor population ratio of 1:825.