The war waging between Ukraine and Russia has shed light on multiple things that are wrong with the world we live in. One particular aspect that has gained everybody’s interest is the number of graduates from India who were stranded in Ukraine. Furthermore, the staggering percentage of Medical students from these graduates, shed light upon the Medical Brain Drain happening in our country. The second most populous country in the world should, ideally, have the best healthcare and the best provisions for healthcare. And, we do not live in an ideal world, we live in a world where approximately 20,000 to 25,000 Indian Medical Students choose to study Medicine abroad. This is a staggering 50% of the total Medical graduates the country produces every year. The obvious question that comes to one’s mind is – “Why?”.

Well, there seems to be a very clear answer to this dilemma. India’s largest singular examination, the NEET exam, sees nearly 15 lakh students enrol for medical education. However, the number of seats reserved for them is a meagre 90675, not even 10% of the students get the opportunity to study MBBS or BDS, the course of their dreams. The other 14 lakh aspirants who hadn’t qualified are left with no other option except foraging to other countries in search of their dream from Foreign Medical institutions. The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has unearthed multiple loopholes, this one in particular about Medical education has caused a stir amongst citizens. Medical Education in India is on par with what is offered all over the globe and is oftentimes considered to be one of the best. However, the lack of infrastructure and the number of Medical Institutes in India is what has let us down. This was especially highlighted in a recent Press conference with our Honorable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. In his press conference, he urged the private Medical colleges to widen their scope and allow more students to graduate from under their institutions. It is also worthwhile to note that the total number of seats for MBBS students has now risen from close to 80,000 to nearly 1.5 lakh. The number has doubled ever since NEET exams were introduced. This is a positive sign for what is to come.

One other aspect that drove Medical Aspirants out of the country is the tuition fees of the Medical seats for students who have not achieved Scholarship. Non-payable Medical seats are what we train our aspirants for. To aim for the highest and not be content with what they already have. For students who have not achieved the cut off for obtaining Scholarships, their family income leaves them no other choice except to pursue their careers elsewhere, outside the country. The medical courses are far less expensive, and the flexible working policy allows them to take care of their expenses. This flexibility and the opportunity to ear for themselves makes it a more feasible option for our students to pursue their Medical dreams outside the country causing an inadvertent Brain Drain. The urge, from our Honorable Prime Minister, may see bold steps from multiple educational institutions to widen their scope and infrastructure to allow homegrown Medical Graduates to bloom. This may, in a few years, lead to fewer Medical aspirants flooding to foreign countries.