New Delhi: India stands far below WHO's norm in providing doctors to citizens, as the latest data says there are a total of 11,59,309 registered allopathic doctors in the country.
As per data provided by the Medical Council of India (MCI), there are a total of 11,59,309 allopathic doctors registered with the state medical councils and Medical Council of India as on March 31.
"Assuming 80 per cent availability, it is estimated that around 9.27 lakh doctors may be actually available for active service. It gives a doctor to population ratio of 1:1456 as per current population estimate of 1.35 billion, which is lower than the WHO norm of 1:1000," said Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Friday in the Parliament.
He said that the government has taken several steps to increase the number of seats in various medical institutions and colleges across India.