Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Minister, has asked the private medical college managements to improve the quality of medical education in their institutes and address healthcare needs of the poorer sections of the society. The minister said there was urgent need for 50,000 more doctors in the state and the government was considering a proposal to accord post-graduate courses and super-speciality status to private medical colleges.

After inaugurating the Puvvada Nageswara Rao Auditorium in Mamata Medical College in Khammam, the minister said the government would sanction 20 new medical and 30 dental colleges in the state to fill the big shortage of doctors. However, he hastened to add that the new private colleges should aim at imparting quality education and try to raise healthcare to a higher level, especially in the rural areas. He also asked the private medical and hospital managements to serve the society with humaneness and contribute generously to rural healthcare.

Later, addressing a seminar at Yelamancheli Poly Clinic, the Minister warned against the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic technology for sex determination of the foetus. He said the government was committed to implement the Pre-natal Diagnostic Technology (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, without deviation. He said the government had given priority to women and child welfare and had taken up several programmes in this regard.

Karimnagar District Collector Sumitra Dawra said that sex determination in the society was the root cause of female foeticide and infanticide. She said that the doctors at all levels should be sensitised on sex determination. Kalpana Kannabiran described female infanticide as genocide. She said the government had failed to implement the PNDT Act at all levels.

Khammam District Collector Arvind Kumar warned the scanning centres that were not following the regulations under the PNDT Act. He asked the women's organisations to come forward to sensitise rural women about the Act.