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.

VIJAYAWADA, April 16: State Minister for Medical and Health Sri Satyakumar Yadav on Thursday called upon government medical colleges to work towards securing rankings under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), asserting that such recognition would lend them a distinct identity and enhance their standing in the academic world.

The Minister was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the Disease Monitoring and Decision Making Centre (DMDMC) at the NTR University of Health Sciences here, a facility being set up at a cost of Rs. 6 crore. He urged faculty and administrators to strive for the publication of research papers by State medical professionals in internationally reputed journals such as The Lancet.

Expressing concern over the lack of visible progress on the ground, the Minister noted that despite administrative approval orders having been issued for the development of teaching hospitals at an outlay of nearly Rs. 4,000 crore, tangible action remained elusive. He called upon hospital superintendents and college principals to act in a coordinated manner and take necessary steps without further delay. He also urged them to systematically harness the support being offered by alumni who are coming forward to contribute to the development of their alma mater. He stressed the need for continuous efforts to implement the 30-point agenda announced by the Medical and Health Department.

Suicides in Medical Colleges Must Be Prevented

State Medical and Health Department Principal Secretary Saurabh Gaur, addressing the gathering, urged principals of medical colleges to ensure that no student deaths by suicide occur on their campuses. Noting that there are approximately 7,000 faculty members across government and private medical colleges combined, he called upon each of them to closely observe and counsel at least 10 to 20 students, monitoring their behaviour and mental well-being. He informed that renowned psychiatrist Dr. Aparna is conducting special training programmes specifically targeting first-year MBBS students who are under stress.

The DMDMC will function under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) within the purview of the Director of Public Health. The advanced technology at the centre will enable early detection of disease outbreaks at the district, mandal, and village levels, facilitating timely preventive action. The centre is also to be linked with the Advanced Warning Advisory for Resilient Ecosystem (AWARE) system, officials said.

The NTR Health University has already disbursed Rs. 10 lakh each to government medical colleges in Kurnool, Tirupati, and Visakhapatnam for the development of sports grounds to encourage student participation in athletics.

The university was also asked to initiate post-doctoral fellowship courses in the field of fertility. University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Chandrashekhar, Registrar Sai Sudhir, and Dr. Lakshmi Suryaprabha announced that new courses including BSc in Family Emergency Medicine and Forensic Nursing are to be introduced in medical colleges. Plans are also afoot to launch Biophysics courses in collaboration with IIT Chennai and IIT New Delhi. They requested that regulatory hurdles, including FCRA-related restrictions on receiving funds from abroad, be eased to facilitate construction and development work at teaching hospitals in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, and other centres.

Cheques Presented to Andhra and Kakinada Medical Colleges

Minister Satyakumar presented cheques of Rs. 10 lakh each to the principals of Andhra Medical College and Kakinada Medical College, Dr. Sandhyarani and Dr. Vishnuvardhan respectively, for undertaking sports infrastructure development on their campuses.

The Minister also inaugurated a 100 KW rooftop solar panel installation atop the NTR Health University building, set up under the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of Canara Bank.

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.

HYDERABAD — Two of Telangana's most prominent government doctors' associations have come out in strong opposition to a state government proposal that would place Group-1 administrative officers in charge of teaching hospitals — warning that the move would undermine the authority of medical superintendents, compromise patient care, and set a dangerous precedent unprecedented anywhere else in India.

The Telangana Government Government Doctors Association (TGGDA) and the Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA) both issued sharp statements on Saturday, demanding that the government immediately reconsider the proposal and consult recognised medical associations before proceeding further.

"Superintendents Will Become Figureheads"

The TGGDA was unsparing in its criticism of the proposal. In a strongly worded statement, the association warned that placing Group-1 officers in administrative roles within government teaching hospitals would directly erode the powers of existing hospital superintendents — reducing them to mere figureheads with no real authority over the institutions they are supposed to lead.

TGGDA President Narahari and General Secretary Lalu Prasad Rathod argued that there is simply no compelling justification for transferring administrative responsibilities from medically qualified superintendents to Group-1 civil service officers.

"Administrative responsibilities do not need to be handed over to Group-1 officers," the two leaders said in a joint statement. "The current system, where qualified medical professionals oversee hospital administration, works — and there is no reason to dismantle it."

The association also expressed deep displeasure over what it described as a complete lack of consultation with recognised medical bodies before the proposal was floated. That recognised associations were not even approached for their views on a matter of such profound consequence, the statement said, is "condemnable" — a word that reflects the depth of the medical community's frustration.

No Precedent Anywhere in India

The TTGDA went a step further, placing the proposal in its national context — and the picture it painted was damning.

"This practice does not exist in any other state in the country," the association declared flatly. Not one Indian state has handed over the administration of teaching hospitals to Group-1 civil service officers — making Telangana's proposal not just controversial, but entirely without precedent in Indian healthcare administration.

TTGDA President B. Kiran and Secretary Madala Kiran articulated the core argument against the proposal with clarity and force. Running a teaching hospital effectively, they said, requires two distinct and equally important competencies — administrative understanding and medical knowledge. These are not separate skill sets that can be divided between a civil servant and a doctor. They must exist together, in the same person, at the helm of the institution.

"Only doctors can fulfill these responsibilities," the TTGDA leaders said. "A teaching hospital is not a government office. It is a complex medical institution where administrative decisions have direct consequences for patient outcomes, medical education, and the quality of healthcare delivered to the public."

What Is at Stake

To understand why Telangana's doctors are so alarmed, it is important to appreciate what teaching hospitals actually do — and why their administration is fundamentally different from that of other government institutions.

Teaching hospitals serve a dual purpose. They are simultaneously centres of advanced medical care — often the last resort for patients with complex and life-threatening conditions — and institutions of medical education, where the next generation of doctors, nurses, and specialists are trained. The decisions made by hospital superintendents every day involve clinical judgement, resource allocation, staff management, and medical ethics in ways that simply cannot be separated from medical expertise.

Handing that authority to a Group-1 officer — however competent in general administration — would, the associations argue, create a dangerous disconnect between administrative authority and medical reality. The superintendent, stripped of real power, would be unable to respond effectively to the clinical and operational demands of a major teaching hospital. Patients, medical students, and the broader public healthcare system would all suffer the consequences.

A Demand for Dialogue

Both associations have stopped short of issuing an ultimatum — for now. But the message to the Telangana government is clear, consistent, and urgent: this proposal must not move forward without meaningful consultation with the medical community.

The TGGDA has explicitly called on the government to engage with recognised medical associations before taking any further steps. The TTGDA has demanded an immediate reversal of the proposal in its current form.

Neither association has indicated what further action it may take if the government presses ahead without dialogue — but the strength of feeling in Telangana's government medical community suggests that the response would be swift and significant.

Government Yet to Respond

The Telangana state government had not issued a formal response to the associations' statements at the time of publication. The Health Ministry was not immediately available for comment.

What is clear, however, is that the proposal has touched a raw nerve in a medical community that already bears enormous pressure — managing some of the state's most critical healthcare institutions with limited resources and growing patient loads.

For Telangana's government doctors, this is not merely an administrative dispute. It is a question of professional identity, institutional integrity, and ultimately, the quality of healthcare that the state's most vulnerable citizens receive.

And on that question, they are not prepared to stay silent.

The Telangana government had not responded to the associations' statements at the time of publication. This report will be updated as further developments emerge.

వైద్య కళాశాలల ప్రై'వేటు'కు వ్యతిరేకంగా కోటి సంతకాల సేకరణకు శ్రీకారం చుట్టిన ఎమ్మెల్సీ లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి

గుంటూరు (జర్నలిస్ట్ ఫైల్)  : పేదలకు ఎంతగానో ఉపయోగపడే వైద్య కళాశాలలు, వాటికి అనుబంధంగా ప్రభుత్వ రంగంలో పూర్తి కార్పొరేట్ హంగులతో ఏర్పాటయ్యే బోధనాసునత్రులకు కూటమి ప్రభుత్వం మోకాలడ్డుతుందని శాసనమండలి సభ్యులు, వైయస్సార్ కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ రాష్ట్ర ప్రధాన కార్యదర్శి లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి మండిపడ్డారు. ఆధునిక దేవాలయాల అమ్మకం అక్రమమని ఆయన ఆగ్రహం వ్యక్తం చేశారు. పేద ప్రజలకు కీడు చేసే వైద్య కళాశాలల ప్రైవేటీకరణకు తక్షణమే స్వస్తి పలకాలని ఆయన డిమాండ్ చేశారు. లేని పక్షంలో కోటి సంతకాల సేకరణతో కూటమి ప్రభుత్వ కూసాలు కదిలిస్తామని ఆయన హెచ్చరించారు.

మాజీ ముఖ్యమంత్రి వైయస్ జగన్ పిలుపు మేరకు వైద్య కళాశాలల ప్రైవేటీకరణకు వ్యతిరేకంగా కోటి సంతకాల సేకరణకు శాసనమండలి సభ్యులు, వైయస్సార్ కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ రాష్ట్ర ప్రధాన కార్యదర్శి లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి శనివారం గుంటూరులో శ్రీకారం చుట్టారు. తొలుత తాను స్వయంగా సంతకం పెట్టి తర్వాత ప్రజలతో దగ్గరుండి మరీ సంతకాలు చేయించారు.

ఈ సందర్భంగా ఎమ్మెల్సీ లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి మాట్లాడుతూ, అవనిలోని దేవతలు - వైద్యులు! ఆధునిక దేవాలయాలు - వైద్య కళాశాలలు‌‌!! అందుకే ప్రజలకు కనిపించే ప్రత్యక్ష దేవుళ్ళైన వైద్యులను ప్రభుత్వ రంగం ద్వారా పెద్ద సంఖ్యలో తయారు చేసి తద్వారా ప్రజారోగ్యాన్ని పరిరక్షించాలన్న సంకల్పంతో మాజీ ముఖ్యమంత్రి  వైయస్ జగన్ 8,500 కోట్ల రూపాయల వ్యయంతో రాష్ట్రంలో కొత్తగా 17 మెడికల్ కాలేజీలను ఏర్పాటు చేసినట్లు శాసనమండలి సభ్యులు, వైయస్సార్ కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీ రాష్ట్ర ప్రధాన కార్యదర్శి లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి వెల్లడించారు. తద్వారా ఈ ప్రభుత్వ మెడికల్ కళాశాలల ద్వారా పేద విద్యార్థులను సైతం ప్రాణం పోసే వైద్యులుగా తీర్చిదిద్దాలని ఆయన తలపోశారు. మరోవైపు వైద్య కళాశాలలకు అనుబంధంగా ఏర్పడే బోధనాసుపత్రుల వలన లక్షలాది మంది పేద వర్గాల ప్రజలకు ఉచితంగా వైద్యం అందుతుందని ఆయన వివరించారు. అయితే.. పేద విద్యార్ధులు కనీసం ఇంగ్లీష్ మీడియంలో చదవడమే పాపంగా భావించే పెత్తందారీ పోకడలు గల ప్రస్తుత ముఖ్యమంత్రి నారా చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు - పేదలు డాక్టర్లు కావడాన్ని తట్టుకోగలరా...? పేదలకు కార్పొరేట్ స్థాయి వైద్యం ఉచితంగా పొందుతుంటే భరించగలరా..‌? అని ఆయన ప్రశ్నించారు. ఎంత మాత్రం తట్టుకోలేరు కనుకనే తాను అధికారంలోకి వచ్చిన వెంటనే ప్రభుత్వ మెడికల్ కాలేజీలను ప్రైవేటు పరం చేసే పన్నాగం పన్నారని ఆయన ఆరోపించారు.

ప్రభుత్వ ప్రైవేటీకరణ విధానాలకు నిరసనగా వైసీపీ అధినేత జగన్ నవంబరు 22 వరకు కార్యాచరణ నిర్దేశించినట్లు ఎమ్మెల్సీ లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి వెల్లడించారు. దాని ప్రకారం గ్రామ, వార్డు స్థాయిల్లో రచ్చబండ పెట్టి అన్నింటిపై ప్రజల్లో ప్రచారం నిర్వహించనున్నట్లు చెప్పారు. అక్టోబరు 28వ తేదీన నియోజకవర్గ కేంద్రాల్లో ర్యాలీలు
నవంబరు 12న అన్ని జిల్లా కేంద్రాల్లో ర్యాలీలు నిర్వహించి, ప్రతి గ్రామం నుంచి 500 సంతకాల చొప్పున ప్రతి నియోజకవర్గంలో 50 వేలకు తగ్గకుండా, రాష్ట్ర వ్యాప్తంగా మొత్తం కోటి సంతకాలు సేకరించి ఆ ప్రతులను రాష్ట్ర గవర్నర్‌కు సమర్పించడం జరుగుతుందని ఆయన వివరించారు. పేద ప్రజలకు శాపంగా మారిన ప్రైవేటీకరణ విధానాలకు వ్యతిరేకంగా చేపట్టిన ఈ సంతకాల సేకరణ ఉద్యమంలో ప్రతి ఒక్కరూ భాగస్వాములై ప్రభుత్వం పట్ల తమ వ్యతిరేకతని ఎలుగెత్తి చాటాలని ఎమ్మెల్సీ లేళ్ళ అప్పిరెడ్డి పిలుపునిచ్చారు.

ఈ కార్యక్రమంలో గుంటూరు అర్బన్ బ్యాంక్ డైరెక్టర్ బందా రవీంద్రనాథ్, కార్పొరేటర్లు ఈచంపాటి వెంకటకృష్ణ (ఆచారి), పాపతోటి అంబేద్కర్, గీతా మందిరం ఛైర్మన్ వెలుగూరి రత్నప్రసాద్, జిల్లా గ్రంథాలయ సంస్థ మాజీ ఛైర్మన్ బత్తుల దేవానంద్ తదితరులు పాల్గొన్నారు.