The Karnataka government is contemplating to clear proposals for 430 nursing educational institutes in the state to meet the rising demand for nurses from India. Of the total number of institutes, 300 will be nursing schools and the remaining 130 will be nursing colleges.

The state government is also aggressively working towards setting up a common disposal area for all hospitals including private and government medical establishments managed by Bangalore City Corporation.

Dr AB Maalakaraddy, minister for medical education said that an estimated 7 lakh nurses will be required in Europe and USA by end of 2004.

Keeping in mind the overseas demand, and our local needs, the state government has decided to start nursing schools and colleges. A final decision will be taken this week.

He said about 450 applications were received for the new nursing colleges. Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna had given a formal approval for starting 300 schools and 130 nursing colleges in the state to take the advantage of the growing demand world over.

He said that a screening committee under the leadership of the director of medical education Dr Sheela Naik has been set up and guidelines were formulated for selecting the right applicants. The intake would be 50 seats per college.

An expert committee would also visit the existing colleges to check the infrastructure. And if the facilities are in order and sufficient for more applicants, the government would think about expanding their capacities.

Dr Maalakaraddy who also holds the additional charge of the environment said that regarding disposal of hospital waste, the state government is working out a process to be implemented for earlier implementation. He said there is also a need to provide more allocation by the Centre and the state for health sector including environment aspects.