Education Budget 2023: Government To Establish 157 New Nursing Colleges In Co-Location With 157 Existing Medical Colleges

During the budget speech in the parliament today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will establish 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with existing medical colleges.

Government To Establish 157 New Nursing Colleges In Co-Location With 157 Existing Medical Colleges (Representational Image)

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Union Minister For Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 in the parliament on February 1. During her budget speech, the Finance Minister announced that the Union government will set up a total of 157 new nursing colleges. The new nursing colleges will be set up in co-locations with the 157 existing medical colleges which the government has set up since 2014. 

The government’s move of setting up nursing colleges in line with medical colleges aims at strengthening medical education and research besides promoting inclusive development. Besides announcing new nursing colleges, the Finance Minister also announced that the government is also committed towards ensuring special skilling in the operation of specialised medical equipment. 

"157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014,” Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget 2023. "Dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure availability of skilled manpower for future futuristic medical technologies, high end manufacturing and research," she added.

Notaby, since taking power in 2014, the present NDA government has significantly pushed on revamping the education system of the country. In 2022, the government announced that it will set up 157 new medical colleges across the country, including increasing the number of AIIMA in the country from 6 to 22. 

As per data revealed by the Health Ministry, the government has invested over 17,691 crores on the establishment of new medical colleges in the country. The new medical colleges are also expected to add up around 16,000 fresh undergraduate medical seats in the country. 

Importantly, similar to the phased set-up of the new medical colleges, and owing to the co-location of the newly proposed nursing colleges with the medical colleges, the nursing colleges will also be developed in a three-phase manner.