AMARAVATI, May 6: The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday dismissed 51 doctors serving under the Director of Medical Education (DME) for remaining absent from duty without authorisation, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced, warning that the state would brook no further negligence in public medical institutions.

The dismissed doctors include eight Associate Professors, 41 Assistant Professors, and two Tutors — several of whom had been absent from their posts for periods ranging from one year to as long as six years. The action was taken under Rule 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules (Violation) — 1964, which empowers the government to treat prolonged unauthorised absence as deemed resignation.

"Show-cause notices were issued and adequate time was given to respond. Despite that, there was no response from these individuals," Satya Kumar Yadav said. "Those who are negligent in discharging their duties or who remain absent without authorisation will face strict action. There is absolutely no question of tolerating irresponsibility."

Absent for years, some since 2020

Among the Associate Professors dismissed, one attached to Andhra Medical College had been absent since February 7, 2020 — a period of over five years. Among the Assistant Professors, one had not reported for duty since August 22, 2022. The dismissed doctors belong to government medical colleges spread across the state, including those at Kadapa, Anantapur, Ongole, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru, Nellore, and Markapur.

Of the two Tutors dismissed, one had been absent for seven years — among the longest periods of unauthorised absence recorded in the exercise.

Charge memos bring eleven back to duty

The crackdown has already produced results in some cases. Eleven doctors who had been absent for under a year returned to duty after the DME issued charge memoranda. However, 33 others — comprising two Associate Professors and 31 Assistant Professors — have yet to report despite receiving notices, and face dismissal if they fail to join within the stipulated deadline.

In the Professor category, three individuals who had been absent for extended periods are expected to face similar punitive action shortly. Of five Professors served notices, two have since returned to duty.

Impact on patient care cited as primary concern

Officials noted that the prolonged absence of faculty from teaching hospitals had a direct and measurable impact on the quality of medical services available to patients. Many of the absentees had reportedly pursued private engagements while remaining on government rolls — a practice that had gone largely unchecked during the previous administration.

Following directions issued by the Minister, DME officials compiled detailed lists of absentees from across all government medical colleges before initiating formal proceedings under the applicable service rules.

The government has simultaneously indicated that vacancies arising from these dismissals will be filled promptly under its Zero Vacancy Policy, ensuring that the affected institutions are not left short-staffed in the interim.

With 33 more doctors yet to report and action pending against three Professors, further dismissals in the coming weeks appear likely.

AMARAVATI, April 20: A total of 377 doctors have joined primary health centres (PHCs) and teaching hospitals across Andhra Pradesh as Medical Officers and Civil Assistant Surgeons, with women accounting for 232 of the new recruits — or 61.53 per cent of the total intake — Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced on Monday.

Of the newly joined doctors, 282 have taken charge as Medical Officers in PHCs while the remaining 95 have joined teaching hospitals as Civil Assistant Surgeons.

Recruitment process

The AP Medical Services Recruitment Board had issued a notification on behalf of the Director of Public Health to fill 630 Medical Officer posts on a permanent basis, against which 4,984 applications were received. Following scrutiny under prescribed rules, online counselling was conducted to fill 611 posts — excluding those reserved under the sports quota — from a finalised selection list. Of those called for counselling, 482 candidates registered their preferences.

234 posts to be filled shortly

However, 129 candidates did not exercise their options, and 105 others who received postings did not report for duty, leaving 234 posts vacant. The Director of Public Health has requested the Recruitment Board to furnish a fresh merit list of remaining eligible candidates from the original selection list drawn up under last year's notification. A revised list will be prepared in accordance with reservation rules and other applicable norms, and fresh online counselling will be conducted shortly. The coalition government has been taking continuous steps to ensure zero vacancy in public health posts, the Minister said.

District-wise distribution

Among the districts, Krishna, Nandyal, Palnadu, and Srikakulam recorded the highest intake, with 16 Medical Officers joining PHCs in each district. Kadapa, Eluru, and Konaseema districts saw 15, 14, and 13 doctors join respectively, while West Godavari, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anantapur, and Prakasam each received 12 new PHC Medical Officers.

In teaching hospitals, Kadapa led with 25 Civil Assistant Surgeons reporting for duty, followed by Kakinada and Kurnool with 13 each. Across tribal areas of the State, 37 doctors have joined service.

Amaravati : In a significant move aimed at enhancing transparency and expediting appointments, the Andhra Pradesh Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department has decided to entrust the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services Recruitment Board (APMSR B) with the end-to-end management of zonal-level staff recruitments, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced on Wednesday.

The decision, which will come into effect for all future notifications, covers the entire recruitment cycle — from issuing notifications to finalising the selection list — for posts that were hitherto handled by the four zonal offices located at Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Guntur, and Kadapa.

Why the Change Was Needed

Under the existing system, zonal offices independently managed recruitments for posts including Staff Nurses, Radiographers, Pharmacy Assistants, Malaria Officers, Statistical Officers, Deputy Statistical Officers, and Medical Record Technicians. The process — spanning receipt of applications, scrutiny, handling of objections, finalisation of selection lists, counselling, and posting orders — was handled entirely at the regional level.

The limitations of this arrangement came into sharp focus recently when the Rajamahendravaram zonal office issued a notification for around 310 nursing posts and received nearly 12,000 applications in response. Verifying qualifications, seniority, and other details took up to three months, with the office relying on temporary data entry operators and senior assistants to manage the workload. Each zonal office operates with an average staff strength of only about 15 personnel, from record assistants to superintendents.

The Minister said the centralisation of this process would relieve considerable administrative pressure on zonal offices, freeing their staff to focus on employee promotions, service matters, and other governance responsibilities.

Recruitment Board's Track Record

The APMSR B already handles State-level appointments, including Medical Officers, Assistant Professors, Psychiatrists, and other specialised posts, based on indents received from the Directorates of Medical Education, Public Health, Secondary Health, and AYUSH. Counselling and posting orders, however, continue to be issued by the respective Heads of Department.

The Board's established processes were recently applied to the appointment of 482 doctors under the Directorate of Public Health, and the same framework will now be extended to zonal-level posts.

Since June 2024, the APMSR B has completed 2,310 recruitments up to March 31, 2026. The Minister also announced that the Board would shortly take up the filling of 317 Assistant Professor posts in teaching hospitals.

Mr. Satya Kumar Yadav said the new arrangement, combined with the State government's ongoing commitment to zero-vacancy recruitment, would ensure that appointments are completed more swiftly and with greater accountability.

Amaravati, April 1, 2026: In a significant step towards strengthening the state's public health infrastructure, the Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday issued appointment orders to 482 doctors on a regular basis through the Directorate of Public Health (DPH), with the entire recruitment and counselling process conducted paperlessly and transparently through an online platform.

State Health and Medical Minister Satya Kumar Yadav announced the development, stating that those who have received their posting orders must report to duty within 15 days.

Background to the Recruitment Drive

The appointments follow a notification (13/2025) issued last year for the filling of 636 posts, covering Medical Officers at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Tutors at teaching hospitals. The notification drew nearly 5,000 applications. After scrutinising applications based on MBBS qualifications and applying reservation norms and other prescribed rules, the recruitment board published its selected list on March 11. Subsequently, options were invited from eligible candidates from Monday morning (11 a.m.) through Tuesday night (9 p.m.) for 611 posts, excluding the sports category. The option window was extended beyond the originally announced deadline at the request of candidates.

A Shift Towards Digital Transparency

Marking a departure from the earlier practice of conducting counselling through Zoom conferences — where candidates selected postings based on vacancies displayed on screen — this cycle introduced a fully online counselling mechanism to enhance transparency. Candidates submitted their preferences in priority order against hospital-wise advertised posts, and posting orders were generated and issued entirely through the digital platform, without any physical documentation.

Director of Public Health Dr. Padmavathi confirmed that of the 611 posts notified, 482 candidates responded and were issued posting orders accordingly. She noted that a portion of the postings included Tutor positions at teaching hospitals.

District-wise Distribution

Kadapa district recorded the highest number of postings in the state with 52, followed by Anantapur (34), Srikakulam (31), Kakinada (29), Kurnool (27), Palnadu (26), NTR district (23), Nandyal (19), Krishna (19), Prakasam (17), Eluru (17), Vizianagaram (16), West Godavari (15), Guntur (14), Parvathipuram Manyam (14), Ambedkar Konaseema (13), Alluri Sitarama Raju (13), East Godavari (12), Visakhapatnam (12), Chittoor (12), Markapuram (11), Sathya Sai (11), Annamayya (10), and Nellore (10). Remaining districts received fewer than ten postings each.

Dr. Padmavathi added that the 19 posts reserved under the Sports and Ex-Servicemen categories would be filled shortly. It may be recalled that in December 2024, a separate DPH notification had resulted in posting orders for 392 medical officers.

Towards Strengthening Rural Healthcare

The fresh appointments are expected to address longstanding vacancies at PHCs across the state, where the shortage of doctors has been a persistent concern, particularly in remote and tribal areas. Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said the government remained committed to ensuring that quality healthcare reached every corner of Andhra Pradesh through timely recruitment and deployment of medical personnel.

అమరావతి ( జర్నలిస్ట్ ఫైల్ ) :   ముఖ్యమంత్రి చంద్రబాబును సునీత దంపతులు కలిశారు. తన తండ్రి వివేకానందరెడ్డి హత్య కేసులో న్యాయం కోసం పోరాడుతున్న తమపై….. వైఎస్ జగన్మోహన్ రెడ్డి హయాంలో తమపై తప్పుడు కేసులు పెట్టించారని ఫిర్యాదు చేశారు.

ఆ కేసుల‌పై పునర్విచారణ చేయించాలని…. తమతో పాటు కేసులో చురుకుగా దర్యాప్తు చేస్తున్న అప్పటి సీబీఐ ఎస్పీ రాంసింగ్ పైనా కేసులు పెట్టారన్నారు. ఈ కేసుల వెనుక ఉన్న కుట్రలపై సీఐడీతో విచారణ చేయించాలని విజ్ఞప్తి చేశారు. వైఎస్ సునీత విజ్ఞప్తిపై చంద్రబాబు సానుకూలంగా స్పందించారు. వారిపై పెట్టిన కేసు విషయంలో విచారణ జరిపించి తగిన చర్యలు తీసుకుంటానని హామీ ఇచ్చారు.