Capacity of 23 nursing colleges to be increased; approval given for 10 new colleges
Mumbai, October 2026: With the aim of increasing the number of trained nurses to provide quality and efficient healthcare services to citizens in the state, the Medical Education Department, following the directions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has taken an important decision to expand nursing education facilities and admission capacity. Accordingly, approval has been given to upgrade eight government GNM diploma nursing colleges and start B.Sc. Nursing colleges, increase the admission capacity of five existing B.Sc. Nursing colleges from 50 to 100 students, and establish 10 new government B.Sc. Nursing colleges. The decision will strengthen nursing education in the state.
Along with hospitals, medicines and modern equipment, the availability of trained nurses is also important for strengthening healthcare services. At present, 2,17,640 nurses are registered in the state. Considering the growing demand for trained nurses in government as well as private healthcare institutions, Chief Minister Fadnavis intends to expand nursing education.
The GNM diploma nursing colleges at GT Hospital and St George’s Hospital in Mumbai, as well as those in Dhule, Solapur, Ambajogai, Akola, Nagpur and Sangli, will be upgraded and B.Sc. Nursing colleges with an admission capacity of 100 students each will be started. For these eight colleges, a fund of Rs 7 crore each will be made available under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
The admission capacity of the existing B.Sc. Nursing colleges in Mumbai, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune and Nanded will be increased from 50 to 100 students.
In addition, new government B.Sc. Nursing colleges, each with an admission capacity of 100 students, will be established at Chandrapur, Sindhudurg, Yavatmal, Alibag in Raigad district, Ratnagiri, Amravati, Dharashiv and Gadchiroli.
Approval has been granted for a total expenditure of Rs 558.71 crore for these three measures. Of this, excluding the Central Government’s contribution, Rs 491.91 crore will be provided from the state budget. The expenditure will be incurred in phases over a period of four years.
According to the decision taken by the department, approval has also been given for an expenditure of approximately Rs 12.58 crore for one year towards upgrading GNM colleges to B.Sc. Nursing colleges, increasing the admission capacity of existing colleges and starting new colleges.
As required, new posts will be created with the approval of the High-Level Secretary Committee and vacancies will be filled in accordance with the applicable recruitment rules.
The expansion of nursing education will help make trained nurses available in different parts of the state and will also contribute to strengthening healthcare services in rural and remote areas. Under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the decision is expected to be an important step towards providing the healthcare system with the trained human resources it requires.
