Ranchi, July 22 (IANS) In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Jharkhand government has appointed 126 specialist doctors under the National Health Mission (NHM) through a bidding-based selection process, allowing them to choose their preferred posting based on the lowest quoted honorarium.

At a function held at the IPH Auditorium in Namkum, Ranchi on Tuesday, Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari handed over appointment and posting letters to the selected doctors.

Under this innovative system, doctors were presented with a list of available health centres across the state. They were then allowed to select their preferred posting, with priority given to those quoting the lowest honorarium for their choice of location.

Congratulating the newly appointed specialists, Dr Ansari said, “Our dream is to make every district of Jharkhand a Medicos City. We want every citizen to receive quality healthcare in their own district. These doctors are not just receiving appointments — they are being entrusted with responsibility. From now on, each of them is the ‘Health Minister’ of their hospital.”

Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Kumar Singh, who was also present, emphasised that the appointments are part of a broader mission to improve healthcare access across Jharkhand.

“This is more than a job — it’s a mission to bring specialist care to every corner of the state. Sadar Hospital in Ranchi is already emerging as a national model, and the Uttar Pradesh government has asked us to present our innovation,” he said.

The appointments include 22 pediatricians, 20 surgeons, 19 gynecologists, 17 anesthetists, 11 general physicians, 10 orthopedic surgeons, 9 ophthalmologists, 5 ENT specialists, 5 psychiatrists, 4 radiologists, and 4 dermatologists.

Although the health department had initiated the process to appoint 219 doctors, only 126 applied and completed the procedure. The remaining 93 positions remain vacant.

As per the terms, the selected doctors must reside in government-provided accommodation and are prohibited from engaging in private practice.

The government believes that this approach will incentivize doctors to serve in rural and remote regions while improving the overall reach and quality of healthcare services. Plans are underway to extend this model to future appointments.

Notably, Jharkhand faces a severe shortage of doctors. Against a requirement of 37,000 doctors (based on population), only 7,500 are currently available. The scarcity is even more acute among specialists — just 300 are serving against 1,200 sanctioned posts.

–IANS

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