The Centre has granted 265 Diplomate of National Board (DNB) postgraduate medical seats to several government hospitals in 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir with the active contribution of National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

"This important step would not only ensure that the people of J&K are benefited but the doctors of J&K will also get an opportunity of being trained in their own region. Tapping this homegrown medical workforce would lead to an effective healthcare delivery system in the UT," said the Union health ministry on Tuesday.

The health ministry along with NBEMS took a lead role and ensured that several postgraduate seats of NBEMS were granted to various government hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Heralding a new era of medical education in Jammu & Kashmir! PM @NarendraModi Ji's Govt has granted 265 DNB Post-Graduate medical seats across 20 district Govt hospitals in J&K.

I appreciate Team NBE for accomplishing this tremendous work," said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a tweet.

As a consequence, presently there exists more than 250 PG seats across 20 districts in phase 1 of the expansion plan. Two more PG seats will be granted in the second phase. Furthermore, 50 per cent of the PG seats are reserved for local in-service doctors to provide them the opportunity for postgraduate training, said the health ministry.

"The people of Jammu and Kashmir will be benefited as modern quality healthcare will become more affordable and accessible in almost all the districts. This in turn, would further enhance the quality of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare. For various medical entrance examinations, the Government of India has increased the number of examination centres in the UT itself due to which candidates of Jammu and Kashmir will not have to travel to other states to appear in the entrance examinations", the health ministry said in a statement. (SJ/IANS)