Odisha Initiates Expansion of 502 Postgraduate Medical Seats To Address healthcare Deficit.

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has officially set in motion a major expansion of its medical education sector, proposing the addition of 502 new postgraduate (PG) medical seats for the 2026-27 academic session. The move, directed by the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET), aims to double the current specialization capacity in government institutions to meet the rising demand for specialist doctors.

Deans of 11 government medical colleges and two postgraduate institutes have been tasked with preparing infrastructure and financial blueprints to secure final approval from the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Strategic Seat Allocation

The distribution of these 502 seats is focused on regional medical centers, transforming them into tertiary care hubs for the state’s interior:

• GMC Phulbani: 76 seats

• SLN Medical College, Koraput: 75 seats

• MJK Medical College, Jajpur: 70 seats

• Bhima Bhoi Medical College, Balangir: 57 seats

• SCB Medical College, Cuttack: 24 seats

• PGIMER & Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar: 26 seats

The “Specialist Bottleneck”: A Data-Driven Crisis

The primary driver for this expansion is the severe imbalance between medical graduates and available specialization slots, which creates a “bottleneck” in the state’s healthcare workforce.

1. The Public-Private Gap

While the government is adding 502 seats, the current landscape reveals why this is overdue. Odisha produces approximately 1,925 MBBS graduates annually from government colleges alone. However, the existing PG seat matrix is significantly smaller:

• Government PG Seats: ~615

• Private/Deemed PG Seats: ~346 (primarily from KIMS and SUM Hospital)

Even when including the private sector, there is currently less than one PG seat for every two MBBS graduates in the state. This forces hundreds of doctors to either migrate to other states for specialization or remain as general practitioners, leaving the state’s specialist posts vacant.

2. The Vacancy Reality

The “bottleneck” has directly contributed to a staffing crisis in government hospitals. As of late 2025, official records indicate:

• Sanctioned Doctor Posts: 15,774

• Vacant Posts: ~9,503 (roughly 60% vacancy rate)

• Specialist Shortage: In rural districts, the vacancy rate for specialists (surgeons, pediatricians, and gynecologists) is often higher than 50%, as there simply aren’t enough local PG graduates to fill the roles.

3. Doctor-to-Population Ratio

Odisha’s doctor-to-population ratio currently stands at 1:1,735. To reach the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of 1:1,000, the state needs to not only produce more doctors but ensure they are specialists capable of handling complex cases.

By nearly doubling the government PG capacity, the state is creating a sustainable “service pipeline.” Most of these new PG residents will serve in their respective district hospitals during their three-year training, providing immediate relief to specialized departments in areas like Koraput and Phulbani.