The current scenario in India underscores a glaring need for improved healthcare access, considering the country's population of over 1.4 billion where a significant portion lacks adequate medical facilities. Addressing this demand involves increasing the number of doctors and establishing more medical colleges for their training. However, decisions made by the National Medical Council have at times adversely affected medical education.

One crucial decision revolves around allocating medical seats based on each state's population. While certain states boast more medical colleges, it's erroneous to conclude that there's no necessity for new institutions elsewhere. Furthermore, there's no assurance that graduates from these established colleges will serve in their respective states. Unlike this approach, the allocation of study facilities in other sectors doesn't hinge on population numbers. Consequently, the logic behind cancelling new engineering colleges in states already saturated with such institutions seems flawed since this may result in these colleges shutting down due to insufficient student enrolment.

Recent trends indicate a mass closure of engineering colleges in several states, yet the same is not observed with medical colleges. To enhance medical facilities, a manifold increase in the number of doctors is imperative. However, the challenge lies in determining whether it's feasible to educate and train such a vast number of doctors, especially in ensuring their placement in rural areas. Despite mandating village service for newly graduated doctors, the situation hasn't seen substantial improvement.

The Medical Council's decision to restrict medical seats has been temporarily halted for two years due to vehement opposition from states housing numerous medical colleges. Implementing the Council's decision would have obstructed the establishment of new medical colleges in states like Kerala. Consequently, this recent decision brings relief to numerous aspiring medical students.

The Medical Council's surprising move to indiscriminately restrict seats, considering the liberal approach adopted in starting medical colleges if they possess hospital facilities and ten acres of land, has left many bewildered. With medical admissions based on the nationwide 'NEET' exam, students can secure admission to any medical college. Therefore, regulating medical colleges akin to restraining a horse behind a cart seems counterintuitive.

Presently, the country hosts 91,927 MBBS seats across 612 medical colleges, with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana leading the way. However, over twenty states lack adequate medical study facilities. There's unanimous agreement on the necessity of initiating more medical colleges in these underserved areas. Simultaneously, the stance that states with existing robust medical education facilities should be barred from establishing new colleges is deemed inappropriate.