AICTE approves additional 57 k pharma seats in 448 new colleges

BENGALURU: A whopping 57,747 more pharmacy course seats and 842 new institutions, after the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved the same.

In all, the AICTE has approved an intake of 2,62,698 diploma, UG and PG seats in 3726 pharma institutions this year.

According to AICTE, 589 new institutions will be imparting diploma courses and 253 will be UG and PG colleges.

Uttar Pradesh is getting the highest number of new colleges (541 with 33,900 seats). Karnataka will be getting 1040 seats in 16 new pharma colleges.

In 2018-19, 67,179 seats were available in 1078 colleges across the country and in the coming academic year the numbers will touch 1,05,089. The UG and PG seats have gone up from 137772 to 157609 seats.

Sources in AICTE said that colleges that were functional running were of the opinion that there is a huge demand for pharma courses and sought approval for additional seats. The available pharmacy seats to aspirants ratio was 100:121 last year, on an average, said the sources.

Speaking to TOI, Prof. R Ravindra of R R College of Pharmacy in Chikkabanavara said that the increase in number of seats does not surprise him as there is lot of scope in the industry. There are abundant opportunities in pharmacy research and marketing sectors. Even in previous years no seats remained vacant, he added.

AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe said, "There has been an increase in the number of applications for opening new pharmacy colleges from states like UP and Maharashtra during the last two years. One reason has been strict compliance sought by states in getting pharmacies to be manned by authorised, licensed pharma diploma and degree holders on the one hand and a perception that that pharmacy education has more demand via a vis engineering where there are large number of vacant seats. Both are partially correct but this demand for pharmacy education may not last more than 2-3 years till all pharmacies have proper qualified pharmacists."

Year wise stats (including Diploma and UG and PG)


Welcoming the move, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that over the next 10 years there will be huge job opportunities in pharmaceutical industry worldwide. "I think there will be a very huge demand and India can actually provide a lot of talent to global markets. If you think about it, even today, a lot of talent that is going to places like the US or Europe or anywhere, is from India, and I think this is a good opportunity for Indian students to get into this program," she added.