TN to get 101 additional PG Medical seats

Chennai: The total post graduate seats in the state of Tamil Nadu will be hiked to 1,585 with the add-on of 101 PG seats in the 14 Government Medical Colleges across the state for the 2018 admission session. Additional seats have been approved in Chennai based medical colleges, with Kilpauk Medical college granted 5 seats in MD pathology and Stanley Medical College given 3 seats share in MD forensic medicine.

Thoothukudi Medical College (32), Theni Medical College (11)and Tirunelveli Medical College (4) will get a total of 47 seats in surgical and medical streams. Coimbatore Medical College will get 2 seats, Dharmapuri 6 and Salem 3. While Trichy will add 19 seats, and Chengalpet will get 16.

A 1,088 PG medical degree seats and 396 diploma seats across 14 state-run colleges was what the state enjoyed till now. In 2017, 300 new PG seats fell into the state’s kitty. The state selection committee will now be giving away 50% of the seats to Directorate General of Health Services for admission through all-India quota and the remaining would be filled by NEET scorers. Applications for the same would be available from March, Selection Committee, Secretary, Dr G Selvarajan said.

Meanwhile, work is being done on a report on primary health centres and government hospitals in remote areas by a six-member committee under Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Chairman, P Umanath. Incentive marks to doctors working in these areas as an incentive may also turn into a reality.

As the committee compiles the report, the state awaits the centre’s amendments on Post-Graduate Medical Act, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said. "The committee is working out the difficult and remote areas in a scientific manner based on terrain, reach and the kind of work," he told TOI.