During a visit to Chandigarh for a national conference, Indian Medical Association (IMA) national president Dr. Dilip Bhanushali addressed several pressing concerns related to the medical sector, strongly refuting the widely held belief that India lacks sufficient doctors.
Dr. Bhanushali said the narrative of a doctor shortage is “incorrect and misleading,” emphasizing that over 1.1 lakh medical graduates enter the workforce every year. “We have informed the health ministry that there is no shortage. In fact, many young doctors remain unemployed or are forced to work for salaries as low as ₹40,000 despite such large numbers graduating annually,” he noted. According to him, the government’s priority should be strengthening existing medical institutions and ensuring adequate employment opportunities rather than opening new medical colleges indiscriminately, which can dilute education quality.
The IMA chief also reiterated the association’s strong stance against the blending of allopathy with other traditional systems of medicine, a practice they refer to as “mixopathy.” He stressed that Ayurveda, homoeopathy and other alternative systems must be preserved in their “pure, original” formats. Merging these distinct sciences, he warned, could compromise patient safety. Dr. Bhanushali raised concern over non-allopathic practitioners especially BAMS graduates who routinely prescribe modern medicines such as advanced antibiotics and steroids or attempt surgeries without proper training. “Ninety-nine percent of Ayurveda practitioners prescribe allopathic medicines without understanding indications or side effects. This leads to severe complications by the time patients reach allopathic hospitals,” he said.
Speaking on national health policies, Dr. Bhanushali highlighted issues with the Ayushman Bharat scheme and the country’s low public health expenditure, which stands at around 1.5% of GDP. He argued that the government should focus on investing in public health infrastructure instead of over-relying on schemes. With nearly 80% of healthcare services delivered by the private sector, he said overcrowded government hospitals force patients to depend on smaller nursing homes for timely care.
He also criticised the government for compelling hospitals and doctors to participate in the Ayushman Bharat program despite large-scale payment delays. “Hospitals are being pushed into joining Ayushman even though payments worth hundreds of crores have been pending for months,” he said, calling for proper budgeting and timely reimbursements before expanding the scheme further.