Other states should follow Goa's example

The Goa government plans to introduce compulsory rural posting for doctors. It is a welcome move and should be implemented without delay. The state faces an acute shortage of doctors. Over 50 per cent of Goa's 187 villages have no doctors at all.
The situation is equally bad in several other states as well. They should follow Goa's example. It is the only way to ensure availability of doctors and basic healthcare facilities to 70 per cent of the country's population.
Over 700 million people live in rural India. The doctor-patient ratio in the country is 1:2000 (in the US it is 1:400) but most of the doctors are concentrated in towns and cities. The shortfall of surgeons, gynaecologists, physicians and paediatricians in rural areas is as high as 70 per cent.
State governments spend whopping sums on their MBBS programme. The five-year course is highly subsidised. On an average the state spends Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh per student. It is only fair that once doctors get their degrees they work for five years in rural areas where their services are most needed.
They owe it to the state for investing so much in their training. It would be ideal if this was done voluntarily. Since it's not, the government has to make it compulsory. The state will be failing in its duty if it does not provide basic faci-lities for its rural population.
Even nationalised banks make their employees do a stint of rural posting. It is because of our lopsided development that villages lack basic infrastructure making it difficult for people to serve there. But doctors must realise that theirs is not just any other profession, it needs commitment and sacrifice.
The Hippocratic oath that they take puts the welfare of patients above everything else. Besides, early exposure to real India will be good training ground for young professionals and give them invaluable experience.