'Govt's Decision...': Ashok Singhal Defends MBBS Fee Hike, Calls it Negligible

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Guwahati: Assam health minister Ashok Singhal on Saturday defended the state government’s increase in MBBS fees, saying the hike was a deliberate decision of the government and was small compared with what students pay at private institutes.

“Yes, the fees have been increased. Why? Because it was a decision of the government. In private institutes, people are paying Rs 40 lakh for it. We have made a very small increase. People are paying more for preparatory schools these days,” he said at a press conference in Guwahati.

Under the revised structure, students from families earning more than Rs 9 lakh annually will pay Rs 1 lakh. Those from families with an annual income between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 9 lakh will pay Rs 50,000 a year, while students from below-poverty-line families, with income below that, will pay just Rs 5,000, the minister informed.

Affordable Healthcare

Meanwhile, Singhal also said the government was trying to keep healthcare affordable for people in Assam. He pointed out that around 33 to 34 kidney transplants were carried out last year at a cost of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, covered under the Pradhan Mantri Arogya Nidhi and Mukhya Mantri Arogya Nidhi schemes. He added that over 30 new dialysis centres had opened in the past three months.

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