Pitching for more public-sector role in health, Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said health and education are two areas where the private sector is welcome to make investments but the government needs to be dominant.

"The total availability of health facilities is not upto what is required. In human resources we have shown some improvement in the patient-doctor ratios but they are concentrated in urban areas only," Ahluwalia said at the 16th convocation function of the National Board of Examinations here.

He said the private sector is welcome to make contributions in the health sector, but role of government will have to be dominant for catering to a large section of the population.

K Srinath Reddy, president of the NBE, said the board was seeking a statutory status as it will give more autonomy.

"At least three committees have recommended statutory status for the board," he said.

To this, the Planning Commission deputy chairperson said, he would also write to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on the issue. "This is a matter that has to be taken up urgently," he said.

Reddy said, it was important to raise the number of health professionals in India and for that the doctors should contribute in as many ways as possible.

To enhance the board's performance, he said, "we are planning to set up regional offices across the country".

In a message read out at the convocation, Azad said that there was an urgent need for more doctors and appealed to the medical practitioners to concentrate on rural areas.

The National Board of Examination is a body where doctors practising in non-collegiate hospitals appear for tests to enhance their skills and obtain specialised degrees.