19 health workers for every 10K people

India has 19 health workers which includes doctors and nurses for every 10,000 people in comparison to World Health Organisation (WHO) norms which prescribe 25 health workers for the same number, the Lok Sabha was informed.

As per the Report of the Steering Committee on Health for the 12th Five Year Plan of the Planning Commission, India has 19 health workers (doctors - 6, nurses and midwives – 13) per 10,000 people in India. "WHO norms provide for 25 per 10,000 people. Additionally, there are 7.9 lakh AYUSH practitioners registered in the country (approximately 6.5 per 10,000)," Health Minister J P Nadda said in a written reply.

He said that as per information provided by Medical Council of India (MCI) and Indian Nursing Council (INC), the total number of registered doctors is 9,36,488 as on December 31, 2014.

He said that as on December 31, 2013, the number of auxiliary nurses and midwives are 7,56,937 while registered nurses and midwives are 16,73,338. Data in respect of health professionals in rural and urban areas is not maintained centrally. Medical Council of India (MCI), with the previous approval of the Centre, has amended the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, to provide 50 per cent reservation in Post Graduate Diploma Courses for Medical Officers in government service, who have served at least three years in remote and difficult areas.

The amendment has also been done to give incentive at the rate of 10 per cent of marks obtained for each year in service in remote or difficult areas as up to a maximum of 30 per cent of the marks obtained in the entrance test for admissions in post graduate medical courses, Nadda said.

Poorest get less than 2,160 Kcal/day
More than half the households among the poorest five per cent of the rural population had calorie intake below 2,160 Kcal per day, the Lok Sabha was told. "Among the bottom five per cent of rural population ranked by Monthly per Capita Expenditure (MPCE), 57 per cent of households had calorie intake below 2,160 Kcal/consumer unit/day which was only two per cent for the top five per cent wealth fractile of the population," Health Minister J P Nadda said in a written reply.

He was citing observations of the report of nutritional intake in India 2011-12 published under 68th round of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).

He said that average protein intake per capita per day was seen to rise steadily with MPCE level in rural India from 43gm for the bottom five percent of population to 91gm for the top five per cent and in urban India from 44gm for the bottom five per cent to about 87gm for the top five per cent.

Nadda said the per capita fat intake was about 100gm in the top fractile class of the urban sector and about 27gm in the lowest fractile class. In the rural sector, it was 92gm for the top fractile class while that of bottom class was 21gm.

"Average dietary energy intake per person per day was 2,233 Kcal for rural India and 2,206 Kcal for urban India. At the all-India level, protein intake per person per day was 60.7gm in the rural sector and 60.3gm in the urban.