Five Central Poll seats will be reserved for children of COVID-19 warriors who have lost their lives due to the virus, Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced on Thursday, 19 November.
According to the Health Minister, the reservation to be provided in MBBS and Bachelor of Dental Courses under the central quota, will be applicable in the academic year 2020-21.
Central Pool MBBS seats will be allocated for selection and nominations of the candidates from amongst the wards of “COVID Warriors”, who have their lost lives due to COVID-19; or died accidentally on account of COVID-19 related duty, the minister said.
Who are covered under COVID warriors?
This is how the Government of India defines COVID warriors as public healthcare workers:
- Community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of COVID-19 patients and who may be at risk of being impacted by this.
- Private hospital staff and retired, volunteer, local urban bodies, contracted, daily-wage, ad-hoc, outsourced staff requisitioned by states, central hospitals, autonomous hospitals of central, states, UTs, AIIMS and Institutes of National Importance (INIs), hospitals of central ministries drafted for COVID-19 related responsibilities are all included in this list.
How will these students be selected?
The selection of candidates will be made by the Medical Council Committee (MCC) through online application on the basis of rank obtained in NEET 2020 conducted by the National Testing Agency.
NEET is an medical entrance exam conducted every year for admissions to undergraduate MBBS and BDS courses. MCC holds counseling for 15 percent of all India quota, while respective state committees conduct counseling for the 85 percent state quota.
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