Tamil Nadu Budget - 2018, Highlights for Health and Family Welfare

Chennai: Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister and finance minister O. Panneerselvam presented the state’s budget for the financial year 2018-19 on Thursday.

Tabling the first budget after the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), Panneerselvam said the total revenue receipts, including central transfers, were estimated at Rs.1.76 trillion during 2018-19.

In the budget, allocation for Healthcare is at Rs.11,634 crore which is 14% higher compared to the previous year (2017) allotment of Rs.10,158 crore.
The state will add another 345 MBBS seats in Tirunelveli, Madurai, Kanayakumari and Coimbatore in the coming years, finance minister O Panneerselvam announced on Thursday.

While the state continues to aim for one medical college in each district, it is planning to increase seats in all the 22 state-run medical college to at least 250. Director of Medical Education Dr.Edwin Joe said the proposals for two new medical colleges in Karur and Perambalur are pending. “We are in the process of identifying land before seeking MCI permission. But we are expanding infrastrure and resources so that seats can go up,” he said.

Tamil Nadu, which already has the largest number of government-run medical colleges, is attempting to increase seats so that students from the state have more opportunities. Students from the state found it challenging to get admissions into medical colleges after the Union health ministry and the Medical Council of India made NEET the sole eligibility criteria for admissions to medical schools.

In 2017, the total number of government seats under the single window counselling system dropped from 4,225 in 2016 to 3,546 in 2017, but the number of students from other states went up from 589 in 2016 to 715 in 2017, according to the data from Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University.