Doctor Shortage Despite Rising Graduates: 15,000 Unfilled Posts in Last Decade, 56,000 More Doctors Expected Next Decade
The situation is no different for specialist doctors. While PG seats have increased, their appointments are primarily limited to the medical college level.
Over the past decade, Rajasthan’s government and private medical colleges have produced 15,000 new doctors. The number of medical colleges in the state has reached 42, with 5,668 MBBS seats. This means that in the next ten years, the state will produce 56,668 new doctors. However, the pace of government recruitment is so slow that annual recruitment targets are still not being met. According to the CAG report 2025, approximately 10,000 doctors were recruited in the eight years from 2016-17 to 2024-25. Meanwhile, more than 15,000 MBBS graduates passed out between 2022-25. In short, new doctors are being trained, but there aren’t enough positions for them in hospitals.
The situation for specialist doctors is no different. While there has been an increase in PG seats, appointments are primarily limited to medical colleges. Hospitals in rural and tribal areas continue to struggle with a shortage of specialist doctors. Experts suggest that instead of focusing on existing sanctioned posts, a cadre review should be conducted to sanction posts based on the needs of the hospitals.
Here’s the data in tabular form:
Year
Recruitment (Number)
2016-17
2,445
2017-18
1,359
2018-19
0
2019-20
–
2020-21
1,998
2021-22
0
2022-23
1,765
2023-24
0
2024-25
1,700
Doctor Shortage: Up to 35%
According to the CAG and HDI reports, the shortage of doctors in primary and secondary level institutions is 35.51%, and for specialist doctors, it’s 38.55%. Tertiary institutions also have 21.45% vacant doctor posts and 24.89% vacant specialist posts. The number of colleges and seats has also increased. As of 31 March 2016, there were eight government medical colleges in seven districts of the state. According to the NEET-UG 2025 seat matrix, Rajasthan now has 42 medical colleges – 30 government and 12 private – with 5,668 approved MBBS seats (3,618 government and 2,050 private). Between 2022 and 2025, a mere three years, 1,231 seats were added, with 841 of these in government colleges. This means hundreds of new doctors are being trained every year.
Annual Recruitment Efforts Ongoing – Minister of Medical and Health
The Minister of Medical and Health, Gajendra Singh Khimsar, stated that with the increase in the number of medical colleges, the number of new doctors has also increased rapidly. Recently, 1,700 new doctors were appointed. Efforts are underway to increase the number of new recruitment posts and to make recruitment an annual process.
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