The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved establishment of 157 new government nursing colleges at a cost of Rs.1,570 crore in co-location with the existing medical colleges established since 2014. 

The initiative would add approximately 15,700 nursing graduates every year and aims to provide quality, affordable, and equitable nursing education in India, particularly in underserved districts and States/Union Territories. 

It also aims to address the geographical and rural-urban imbalances in the healthcare sector, which have resulted in skewed availability of nursing professionals and impacted healthcare services in underserved areas. 

According to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, each nursing colleges will have around 100 seats every year for students interested in B.Sc Nursing.

Out of the total 157 colleges, the highest one to get nursing colleges will be Uttar Pradesh. UP will have 27 colleges, then comes Rajasthan 23, Madhya Pradesh 14 and 11 each in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Similarly, Bihar will have 8 nursing colleges, J&K and Odisha- 7 each, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Jharkhand- 5 each, Karnataka and Uttarakhand- 4 each, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh- 3 each while Haryana to get the least number i.e., 1 nursing college. Currently, India has 5,324 nursing institutes.

Co-location of these nursing colleges with existing medical colleges will allow optimal utilization of the existing infrastructure, skill labs, clinical facilities, and faculty, stated the official press release.

At present, there are 1.18 lakh BSc nursing seats in the country, said the Union Health Minister.

The Government plans to complete the project within next two years and has laid out detailed timelines for every stage of planning as well as execution of the project. The progress of the construction work and other works of the project will be monitored by a committee headed by the Union Health Secretary in the centre and Principal Secretary of Health/Medical Education in the states.

Mandaviya said that “There is an increase in demand for BSc nursing with new medical colleges and hospitals being set up by the government. The private sector is also setting up hospital chains that focus on medical value tourism where there is a need for BSc nurses. Apart from that, there is also a need for BSc nursing across the world. The move will fulfil the nursing needs of the country and the world.”

Currently, 26,000 Indian nurses works in the United Kingdom, 16,000 in the United States, 12,000 in Australia and around 20,000 in the Gulf countries, Mandaviya noted.

He further said, the services of Indian nurses are considerably recognized internationally and that it is essential to bring the Indian nursing education at par with global standards in order to facilitate their mobility and better employment opportunities.

Dr Mandaviya also stated that opening up of these nursing colleges will provide youngsters an opportunity to pursue BSc nursing.

PM Modi lauded the Cabinet decision saying it is great news for India’s aspiring nursing professionals.