Tamil Nadu provides 50 per cent reservation in PG programs to government doctors, despite Centre’s reluctance

• 50 per cent of the seats in government medical institutions, for doctors assisting in government hospitals.
• The rest 50 per cent of the accessible seats go to the All India Quota.
• On August 31, The Supreme Court authorized the State to reserve seats for these doctors.

THDNewsDesk, Chennai: The State government has issued 50 per cent of the seats in post-graduate and super speciality medical programs in government medical institutions for doctors assisting in government hospitals. The verdict reached after a prolonged judicial struggle and despite protestations from the Central government.

According to the orders, published on Saturday and made public on Monday, the reservation in post-graduate super-speciality programs is in effect from this year. In post-graduation programs (MD, MS, and MDS), the reservation will be executed from the following year.

One of the orders stated, “Of the 50 per cent of the seats under the State quota, half of them will be exclusively allocated to in-service candidates serving in government health institutions in Tamil Nadu, and the remaining seats will be allocated to open category, open to both service and non-service candidates.”

The rest 50 per cent of the accessible seats go to the All India Quota. It will be filled independently by the Union Government. The seats will be occupied, established on the NEET-PG exam scores along with suitable incentive marks as declared by the government, the order stated.

Meantime, the Madras High Court settled a case on the matter established on the submissions by the State that it had already declared regulations reserving seats for government doctors. Later, in a statement, opposition leader MK Stalin raised attention on the present 69 per cent caste-based reservation system not being obeyed in the sub-quota designed for government doctors.

This appropriate reservation had promoted doctors to assist in government hospitals. It was deranged in 2017 when the Medical Council of India revised regulations barring such reservations from leading to government doctors’ protests.

Meanwhile, the State and the Government doctors failed in the primary legal conflicts. On August 31, The Supreme Court authorized the State to reserve seats for these doctors.

In a case unsettled before the Madras High Court, the Centre on October 17 stated that it was in opposition to such reservation. The State government has affirmed its belief on the subject and published two orders on Saturday in effect.

Source-New Indian Express