Nearly one in three faculty positions across India’s All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) remain unfilled, with more than 17,000 non-faculty roles also vacant, government data revealed in the Rajya Sabha on 11 February 2026, exposing a deep and widening human resources shortfall in the nation’s premier public healthcare network.

The shortage spans both long-established and newly operational AIIMS, threatening academic delivery, patient care and institutional effectiveness even as infrastructure and patient demand grow.

Widespread Vacancies Undermine Healthcare Delivery

Latest figures tabled by the Union Health Ministry show that out of 1,306 sanctioned faculty posts at AIIMS, New Delhi, 446 remain vacant, leaving a shortfall of more than 34 per cent at the flagship centre alone.

Similar gaps exist at other campuses: Jodhpur (184 vacancies), Mangalagiri (138), Nagpur (135), Kalyani (134) and Rishikesh (126) among them. Smaller and newer institutes are under particular strain; AIIMS Madurai has just 70 faculty members out of 183 sanctioned posts, leaving 113 positions unfilled, and other campuses including Rajkot, Raebareli and Gorakhpur report dozens more vacancies.

Staff shortages extend well beyond faculty. Across the 20 AIIMS considered in the latest government return, 17,205 non-faculty posts remain vacant roles vital to day-to-day operations, nursing care and technical support.

AIIMS Delhi alone reports 2,542 unfilled non-faculty positions, while Rishikesh (1,144), Patna (1,132), Raipur (1,069), Bhubaneswar (1,026) and Kalyani (1,050) also show high shortfalls. At AIIMS Madurai, only 40 of 911 non-faculty posts are filled, leaving 871 vacancies that compound operational challenges.

Officials told Parliament that recruitment is a continuous and ongoing process, with each institute’s Standing Selection Committee conducting faculty selection. To mitigate gaps, the Centre has permitted engagement of retired faculty up to the age of 70 on contract at newer AIIMS and introduced a Visiting Faculty Scheme to attract professors from other institutions.

Non-faculty roles are being filled through the Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test (NORCET) and the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) for Group B and C posts, while junior and senior residents are selected via INI-CET and INI-SS exams twice annually.

Yet experts and insiders warn these measures are insufficient to address systemic challenges. Data collected under the Right to Information (RTI) Act showed that significant faculty vacancies have persisted for years, with limited recruitment in recent cycles and many positions remaining unadvertised or unfilled altogether.

Critics point to bureaucratic delays, procedural bottlenecks and the lure of better pay and working conditions in private and overseas institutions as compounding the crisis.

Historical Context: Expansion Outpacing Hiring

The staffing crunch did not emerge overnight. Over the past decade, the Indian government has pursued an ambitious expansion of the AIIMS network under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), adding multiple new institutes to improve access to high-quality tertiary healthcare across regions.

However, recruitment processes have often lagged behind infrastructure growth, leaving facilities with state-of-the-art buildings but inadequate human capital to operate them effectively.

Persistent vacancies have also prompted staff attrition. Government figures cited by media outlets indicate that hundreds of doctors including 429 faculty members between 2022 and 2024 have quit AIIMS posts, often citing heavy workloads, limited career progression and comparatively lower remuneration relative to global standards. These departures exacerbate existing gaps, especially in specialised departments and peripheral campuses.

The faculty crisis at AIIMS parallels broader workforce shortages in India’s public health and education sectors, where recruitment inefficiencies and funding challenges have long been flagged.

Parliamentary reports and expert analyses have highlighted similar patterns in central universities and research institutions, underscoring systemic hurdles in attracting and retaining qualified professionals.

Operational and Patient Impact

On the ground, the staffing gaps have tangible consequences. Patients at many AIIMS campuses face long waiting times, while overburdened faculty juggle heavy clinical, teaching and administrative responsibilities.

Nursing and support staff shortages further strain emergency departments, outpatient services and diagnostic units, often forcing existing teams to work extended hours and limiting expansion of specialised care.

Independent observers and patient accounts from AIIMS hubs such as Nagpur describe scenarios where critical departments operate with skeletal staffing, hampering both routine and emergency care.

Medical students a key component of AIIMS’s academic mission are also affected. Incomplete faculty rosters can limit course offerings, research supervision and hands-on clinical teaching, potentially diluting the quality of training at a time when India seeks to scale up its healthcare workforce to meet demographic and disease burdens.

Competition with private sector roles and international opportunities for clinician-scientists further challenges recruitment efforts at public institutions.

Calls for Reform and Policy Action

Healthcare policy analysts argue that closing the staffing gap will require more than periodic recruitment cycles. Suggestions include streamlining appointment processes, offering competitive compensation packages, strengthening incentives for peripheral postings and enhancing career development pathways for faculty and support staff.

Greater decentralisation of hiring, targeted recruitment drives for critical areas and partnerships with state health systems have also been mooted to attract talent to underserved campuses.

Government responses underline ongoing efforts to advertise vacancies and appoint personnel across cadres. Recruitment notifications such as the CRE 2025, which sought applicants for over 2,300 non-faculty posts, signal attempts to fill gaps at scale. However, the magnitude of unfilled positions suggests that existing mechanisms may fall short unless complemented by structural reforms and sustained policy focus.

The Logical Indian’s Perspective

AIIMS institutions are among India’s most trusted public health assets lauded for affordable, high-quality care and medical education.

Yet their promise is undermined when staffing does not match infrastructure and demand. Vacancies in faculty and essential support roles not only weaken healthcare delivery but also risk eroding public confidence in the very institutions meant to anchor India’s health system.

Remedying the crisis requires political will, transparent recruitment, meaningful incentives and a long-term vision that values human resources as much as bricks and mortar.