Indias doctor-population ratio improves to 1:811; number of medical colleges doubles since 2014: Govt

new delhi: india's doctor-population ratio is estimated at 1:811 when both allopathic and ayush practitioners are considered, the government informed rajya sabha on tuesday. the world health organization recommends a ratio of 1:1000.minister of state for health prataprao jadhav, in a written reply, said the estimate is based on 13,86,150 registered allopathic doctors and 7,51,768 ayush practitioners, of which an assumed 80 per cent are currently available for service.india has seen a sharp rise in medical education capacity over the past decade. the number of medical colleges has more than doubled—from 387 in 2014 to 818 at present. undergraduate medical seats have increased from 51,348 to 1,28,875 during the period, while postgraduate seats have risen from 31,185 to 82,059.the indian nursing council has reported 42.94 lakh registered nursing personnel as of march 31, 2025. the country has 5,253 nursing institutions—809 government and 4,444 private—producing nearly 3.87 lakh nurses annually.the reply also cited the indian public health standards (iphs 2022), which recommend one hospital bed per 1,000 population. under these norms, aam-phcs with six beds are to serve 20,000-30,000 people; chcs with 30 beds, 80,000-1,20,000 people; sub-district hospitals with 31-100 beds, 1-5 lakh people; and district hospitals with 101-500 beds, populations up to 30 lakh.data on rural health infrastructure, beds, doctors, nurses and paramedical staff are available in the annual health dynamics of india (hdi) publication, formerly rural health statistics, the minister added.