A report released at the ANBAI Annual Conclave 2025 has positioned Karnataka’s Public–Private Partnership (PPP) for specialist medical education as a scalable model for India’s healthcare system. The publication, “Transforming Healthcare Through Public–Private Partnerships: NBEMS, Government of Karnataka, and ANBAI – Insights from an IIM Bangalore Report”, authored by Prof Raghunath (IIM Bangalore), Dr Veethica Smriti (IIM Lucknow), and Dr Alexander Thomas (ANBAI), documents the outcomes of the collaborative approach to address India’s shortage of specialist doctors, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.
The report highlights how the partnership between the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), the Government of Karnataka, and the Association of National Board Accredited Institutions (ANBAI) has impacted the state’s ability to train and retain specialists.
According to the findings, the PPP model introduced postgraduate DNB training into district and taluk hospitals, supported academically by private accredited hospitals. This decentralised structure ensures that specialist training reaches underserved regions. The report further identifies the Karnataka model as a blueprint for replication in other states facing similar challenges in public healthcare delivery and availability of specialists. By embedding training within public hospitals, the programme strengthens both the education pipeline and patient care simultaneously.
The initiative has achieved measurable outcomes. A total of 309 doctors have completed DNB training under the PPP model. At present, 171 DNB-qualified specialists are serving in government hospitals as part of their one-year service bond, providing care in rural and semi-urban areas. Additionally, 36 DNB training centres have been established, including 16 in district hospitals and 20 in taluk hospitals, with 369 students currently enrolled and undergoing training across Karnataka.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Abhijat Sheth, President of NBEMS, said the Karnataka initiative demonstrates the role of collaboration between regulatory bodies, state governments, and private institutions in healthcare reforms. The report positions this PPP framework as a nationally scalable model for closing the specialist doctor gap in public hospitals, a matter of significance for healthcare policymakers across India.