The Odisha government has announced plans to set up nine new medical colleges across the state, Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling said on Tuesday. Among these, four will be dental colleges, and one will be dedicated to Ayurvedic education, as reported by the news agency PTI.
鈥淲e have decided to establish four MBBS colleges in the districts of Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Dhenkanal, and Nabarangpur. In addition, four dental colleges will be opened in Burla, Berhampur, Bolangir, and Keonjhar. An Ayurvedic medical college will also be set up in Mayurbhanj district,鈥 Mahaling told reporters.
The minister further informed that two newly constructed medical colleges, each with an intake of 100 MBBS students, located in Phulbani (Kandhamal district) and Talcher (Angul district), will begin academic operations from this year.
Expressing gratitude, Mahaling thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi for their support in approving these new institutions, which he said would help address the shortage of doctors across the state.
Mahaling shared these developments while speaking to the media on the sidelines of the inaugural Healthcare Summit 2025, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Bhubaneswar.
In his speech at the summit, the minister reiterated the government鈥檚 commitment to improving the state鈥檚 healthcare infrastructure and expanding medical education.
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He noted that over 4,000 doctors and paramedical staff were recruited last year, with plans in place to hire more than 5,000 medical professionals in 2025.
The state also aims to fill up 1.5 lakh vacant government positions over the next five years, Mahaling added.
Sunil Gupta, Chairperson of the CII Odisha State Council, also spoke at the event, highlighting Odisha鈥檚 expanding role in the national healthcare sector and stressing the critical role of public-private partnerships in shaping future progress.