New Delhi [India], March 9 : As part of the Post-Budget Webinar series on the theme 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas - Fulfilling Aspirations of People', a breakout session was held on the Budget Announcement under Para 53: 'Scale-up Allied Health Professionals', Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Monday.
The session brought together policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, academic experts and state representatives to deliberate on strategies for expanding allied healthcare education and strengthening the allied health workforce in India.
The discussion focused on the Government's ambitious initiative to add 1,00,000 Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) over the next five years, aligning with the broader objective of improving the accessibility, quality and sustainability of allied healthcare services and education across the country.
The session was moderated by Dr Vinod Kotwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, who highlighted the rising demand for allied health professionals driven by demographic transition, increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, expansion of healthcare infrastructure and rapid adoption of advanced medical technologies.
She noted that sectors such as diagnostics, imaging, physiotherapy, emergency care and anaesthesia technology are witnessing growing demand for skilled allied healthcare professionals.
Dr Kotwal also outlined priority disciplines for scaling up training capacity, including Optometry, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Dialysis Therapy, Radiology and Imaging Technology, Radiotherapy Technology, Anaesthesia and OT Technology, Emergency Medical Technology, Occupational Therapy, Applied Psychology and Behavioural Health and Palliative Care.
She further highlighted that India has over 500 government institutes offering around 48,000 seats, while about 3,800 private institutes offer more than 3.6 lakh seats, with variations in infrastructure, laboratories, equipment and trained faculty. She further stressed the need to ensure uniform standards across all the Institutes as laid down by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021.
The initiative aims to expand seats across diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, modernise government AHP institutions in line with NCAHP norms, strengthen laboratories and simulation facilities, address faculty shortages and increase awareness among youth about career opportunities in allied health professions.
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