Guwahati: Assam health minister Ashok Singhal told the assembly on Monday that doctors could not be “produced in factories” but only through medical colleges, amid concerns over a shortage of doctors in the state.Singhal said more than 4,000 doctors are currently serving in govt hospitals across the state and said expanding medical education is the only long-term solution. Assam currently has 1,825 MBBS seats and 788 postgraduate medical seats, with the govt focusing on increasing medical colleges to address the shortage, he said.“Doctors cannot be produced overnight. Just as we invite investments from outside to set up factories, we cannot simply bring doctors from outside and expect them to serve here,” Singhal said while taking part in a discussion on the state’s health care system raised by Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar. “The root cause is the shortage of doctors. So where do we produce doctors? In medical colleges. Therefore, the solution is to establish more medical colleges,” he said.“Today, the state’s medical colleges together offer more than 1,800 MBBS seats. We are also increasing postgraduate seats. To expand nursing education and provide greater opportunities, we are establishing nursing institutes alongside every medical college,” he added.Singhal said public confidence in the state’s govt health care system has risen, citing an increase in OPD visits, hospital admissions and surgeries during 2025-26. He said over 4.63 crore patients visited govt hospitals for outpatient treatment in 2025-26, up from 4.32 crore in the previous year. He added that inpatient admissions increased by nearly 70,000, while surgeries rose from 71,635 to 98,666 in a year, reflecting growing trust in the state’s public health infrastructure under the leadership of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.He said 14 medical colleges are currently functioning in Assam, 10 are under construction, and three more were announced in the Budget under the leadership of the chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. “The govt’s vision is to ensure that every district in Assam has a medical college. This vision was conceived when the chief minister was serving as the health minister,” Singhal said.Singhal, however, said the discussion should focus on preventive health care. “The entire health care system cannot remain centred only around hospitals,” he added.
