India, Oct. 10 -- The Maharashtra medical education department has approved the upgradation of eight government General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) diploma colleges into Bachelor of Science (BSc) nursing colleges, doubling the intake capacity of five existing BSc nursing colleges and setting up 10 new government BSc nursing colleges. The decision was approved on October 9.

The decision, taken following directions from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, aims to increase the availability of trained nurses to meet the growing demand for healthcare professionals across government and private healthcare institutions.

The eight GNM colleges at GT Hospital and St George's Hospital in Mumbai, Dhule, Solapur, Ambajogai, Akola, Nagpur and Sangli w...