NEW DELHI: India is seeing a rising demand for allied health professionals driven by demographic transition, increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, expansion of healthcare infrastructure and rapid adoption of advanced medical technologies.
Speaking at the post-budget webinar series on the theme 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas - Fulfilling Aspirations of People,'Dr Vinod Kotwal, Additional Secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, said, sectors such as diagnostics, imaging, physiotherapy, emergency care and anaesthesia technology are witnessing growing demand for skilled allied healthcare professionals.
Addressing the breakout session on the Budget announcement under Para 53: 'Scale-up Allied Health Professionals', she said, "India has over 500 government institutes offering around 48,000 seats and about 3,800 private institutes offering more than 3.6 lakh seats, with variations in infrastructure, laboratories, equipment and trained faculty."
The government plans to add 1,00,000 Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) over the next five years, aligning with the broader objective of improving the accessibility, quality and sustainability of allied healthcare services and education across the country.
Dr Kotwal stressed the need to ensure uniform standards across all the Institutes as laid down by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021.
The initiative aims to expand seats across diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, modernise government AHP institutions in line with NCAHP norms, strengthen laboratories and simulation facilities, address faculty shortages and increase awareness among youth about career opportunities in allied health professions.
At the session, experts highlighted the critical role of allied health professionals in strengthening healthcare delivery systems, particularly in areas such as diagnostics, rehabilitation, emergency care and patient management.
The participants at the session included Dr. Yagna Unmesh Shukla, Chairperson, National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP); Dr. Abhijat Chandrakant Sheth, Chairperson, National Medical Commission (NMC); Dr. Sanjay Dinkar Sawant, Director, Regional Institute of Paramedical and Nursing Sciences (RIPANS), Aizawl; Dr. Girdhar J. Gyani, Director General, Association of Healthcare Providers (India) and others.
Welcoming the government’s decision to add 1 lakh allied health professionals over the next five years, the experts said this initiative will help strengthen existing medical colleges so that they evolve into comprehensive ecosystems supporting not only medical education but also allied health and paramedical training.
The discussions underscored the importance of expanding allied healthcare education infrastructure, standardising curricula, strengthening regulatory mechanisms and enhancing industry-academia collaboration.
The experts, which also included State Health Ministries, industry associations, healthcare providers and faculty from leading allied healthcare institutions, also stressed the need to increase awareness among youth about diverse career pathways in allied and healthcare professions, making it an attractive and viable career option.
They further noted that the goal should be to mobilise a large and skilled pool of allied health professionals across the country to meet both present and future healthcare demands, while positioning allied health professions as respectable, professional, and rewarding career pathways.
In this context, it was suggested that existing hospitals could be leveraged and developed into allied health science teaching and skill training hubs to expand training capacity.
They also suggested strengthening faculty exchange programmes between universities and medical colleges to address faculty shortages and enhance the quality of teaching and training in allied health disciplines. Such collaboration can facilitate knowledge sharing, exposure to best practices and capacity building across institutions.
At the session, it was further highlighted that the district medical colleges across the country could be leveraged as hubs for allied health sciences, given that several components of the medical college ecosystem and curriculum align closely with allied health science training. Utilising these institutions as centres for allied health education and skill development would significantly expand training capacity and support the large-scale development of allied health professionals.
With the operationalisation of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) under the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021, the regulatory framework governing allied health education and professional standards has undergone a transformative shift.
Experts said this provides a strong foundation for scaling up quality education and ensuring standardised training across institutions.
The webinar, which was also attended by senior officers from the Union Health Ministry, served as a collaborative platform for dialogue between government, academia and industry stakeholders to translate the policy vision outlined in the Union Budget into actionable strategies.
The insights and recommendations emerging from the session will contribute to shaping a robust implementation roadmap for expanding allied healthcare education and building a skilled workforce to support India’s evolving healthcare needs, the ministry said in a statement.
