NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday gave approval to increase the retirement age of all doctors working in the Central health services to 65 years with effect from Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the promise of raising the pension age of doctors at a rally in Uttar Pradesh to mark two years of his government on May 26. “The Central government has decided to enhance superannuation age of all doctors in Central Health Service to 65 years with effect May 31, 2016,” Modi tweeted. “With this step, we retain our experienced doctors for a longer period and provide quality health services to citizens, particularly the poor,” he added.
At present, in government hospitals, the retirement age of doctors is 60 years in some States and 62 in some others. The decision is likely to benefit about 4,000 doctors.
While making the announcement, the Prime Minister had said that the move was aimed at addressing the shortfall of doctors in the country. According to the World Health Organisation, there is only one doctor per 1,700 citizens in India. Health Minister J P Nadda said the step would help strengthen the healthcare sector. “This will enable the government to retain experienced doctors for a longer period, and to provide better services in its public health facilities, particularly to the poorest, who are entirely dependent on public facilities,” he said.
In some states, govt doctors retire at 62
Currently the retirement age of doctors working in government hospitals is 60 years in some states and 62 in some others. The decision to increase the retirement age is going to benefit about 4,000 doctors working in various hospitals across the country.