Over 23,000 posts vacant in 28 Central health institutions: Health Ministry
The 18 AIIMS institutions, which have 4,850 sanctioned faculty posts in 2026-27, have 1,645 vacancies, or about 34% of the sanctioned strength. The data furnished by Minister Anupriya Patel also show a decline in the number of sanctioned posts in some institutions
The Union Health Ministry reports that over 23,000 sanctioned positions remain unfilled across 28 central hospitals and medical institutions, as disclosed by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel during a Rajya Sabha session on Tuesday. AIIMS New Delhi alone grapples with 2,921 vacant positions. Of the 1,313 faculty posts, 873 are occupied, leaving 440 unfilled.
In the non-faculty category, 11,432 of 13,913 sanctioned posts are filled, while 2,481 remain vacant. The 18 AIIMS institutions under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) have 4,850 sanctioned faculty posts set for 2026-27, with 3,205 filled, resulting in 1,645 vacancies, constituting roughly 34% of the expected strength.
The shortage is notably severe in some institutions, with AIIMS Rajkot reporting 89 vacancies out of 183, Guwahati with 64 out of 183, Bilaspur with 78 out of 217, and Gorakhpur with 92 out of 213. Several prominent Central institutions also exhibit substantial vacancies, including JIPMER, Puducherry, with 1,223 vacant positions; PGIMER, Chandigarh, with 1,936; Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, with 1,179; RML Hospital, New Delhi, with 469; Lady Hardinge Medical College and its associated hospitals, New Delhi, with 624; NIMHANS, Bengaluru, with 507; NEIGRIHMS, Shillong, with 599; RIMS, Imphal, with 386; and the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, with 77.
The data also indicate a decrease in sanctioned positions in certain institutions. At RML Hospital, the count dwindled from 4,093 in 2021-22 to 3,152 in 2025-26. Similarly, at Lady Hardinge, the number fell from 3,097 to 2,841 over the same period. MP V. Sivadasan, a member of the CPI(M), highlighted that these vacancies impact healthcare personnel availability and called for the Centre to create posts based on bed strength, patient load, and treatment requirements, emphasizing the urgent need to fill existing vacancies in a timely manner.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
