Union Health Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda Addresses 23rd Convocation Ceremony of NBEMS in New Delhi

📌 Summary:

• Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda addressed the 23rd Convocation Ceremony of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) — an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare — in New Delhi

• 26,396 candidates were conferred DNB, DrNB, Diploma and FNB qualifications, and 137 toppers received gold medals

• The Minister launched 11 new academic courses and the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) initiative for NBEMS institutions

• He framed a healthy India as the foundation of Viksit Bharat 2047, describing doctors as the "software" of the healthcare system while infrastructure is the "hardware"

• Medical education has expanded sharply: medical colleges rose from 387 to 818, MBBS seats to nearly 1.28 lakh, and PG seats from about 31,000 to nearly 85,000

• AIIMS expansion: from one AIIMS at the end of the 20th century to 23 today (six added during the Vajpayee government and 16 since)

• PM Modi has announced 75,000 additional UG and PG medical seats over five years, of which about 23,000 are already established; nearly ₹15,000 crore has been sanctioned for 2026-29 to strengthen medical education infrastructure

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Governance & Social Justice) — health and medical education, human-resource capacity building in healthcare, and institutional expansion towards universal health goals.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• NBEMS is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; it confers DNB, DrNB, Diploma and FNB qualifications

• One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) was extended to NBEMS institutions for wider access to academic resources

• India has 23 AIIMS; medical colleges grew from 387 to 818 and PG seats from about 31,000 to nearly 85,000

🔑 Key Term: One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) — a central initiative providing institutions nationwide with unified access to scholarly journals and academic resources.