BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh is once again embracing the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in healthcare — this time with a renewed focus on medical education.
After an earlier attempt to place government medical facilities under PPP management, the state is now entering fresh agreements with private partners to establish medical colleges under a Union government-backed scheme.
BJP National President and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda, is visiting Jabalpur on Monday to formally launch the initiative.
During his visit, contracts will be signed for the creation of new medical colleges in Dhar, Betul, Panna, and Katni districts, all under the PPP framework.
In addition to these agreements, Union Minister Nadda will also inaugurate two government-run medical colleges in Sheopur and Singrauli — part of a broader strategy to expand access to healthcare and medical education in underserved regions of the state.
In 2015, Madhya Pradesh became one of the earliest states to experiment with the PPP model in healthcare, handing over the management of Alirajpur District Hospital to a Gujarat-based non-profit organisation.
The move, initiated under the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in the state, aimed to improve maternal and infant mortality rates in one of India’s most underserved districts.
Alirajpur, with a literacy rate of just 37.2 per cent (2011 Census) and the highest multidimensional poverty index in the state, was seen as a critical test case.
However, the initiative was short-lived. Public backlash and a legal challenge over the lack of a transparent tendering process led the Madhya Pradesh High Court to intervene, ultimately shelving the plan within months.
Similar PPP experiments had already been attempted in Karnataka, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, even before the NITI Aayog formally recommended the model.
The PPP framework has since gained regulatory backing. Clause 2(5) of the National Medical Commission’s Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999, permits governments to allow private entities to set up medical colleges using existing public hospital infrastructure, provided the hospital has at least 300 beds and adequate facilities.