'Under the Scalpel' by P. Sesh Kumar to Probe Medical Education

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Former IAAS officer and ex-Secretary to the Supreme Court Oversight Committee on MCI, P. Sesh Kumar, returns with Under the Scalpel: Reviving India’s Medical Education — a searing new exposé on the state of medical learning, from NEET’s inequities to the collapse of regulatory oversight.

By TRH News Desk

New Delhi, November 9, 2025 — “When a dream demands everything — and still denies you entry.” With these haunting words, author and former bureaucrat P. Sesh Kumar sets the tone for his upcoming book, Under the Scalpel: Reviving India’s Medical Education, slated for release soon.

Set against the backdrop of India’s high-stakes NEET examinations and the growing privatization of medical education, the book delves into how the nation’s healthcare pipeline is being shaped — and in some cases, distorted — by systemic inequalities. From the glitzy coaching hubs of Kota to the quiet struggles of rural aspirants, Kumar’s narrative dissects the human, economic, and policy dimensions of an education system stretched to its ethical limits.

Kumar, a former officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) and Ex-Secretary of the Supreme Court’s Oversight Committee on the Medical Council of India (2016–17), brings a rare insider’s view to the debate. During his tenure, he was closely involved in reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability in medical education — experience that informs his sharp analysis of what has changed and what still ails the system.

In Under the Scalpel, Kumar exposes the widening gap between aspiration and access. “It was meant to be the great equalizer,” he writes of NEET, “but has instead become the great divider.” The book traces the impact of skyrocketing tuition fees, crumbling public medical institutions, and the faculty shortage plaguing government hospitals.

Sesh Kumar is known for his incisive non-fiction works that blend administrative insight with social commentary. His earlier titles include The Audit Trail, a deep dive into the ethics and mechanisms of public accountability; two authoritative volumes on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) — ‘CAG- Ensuring Accountability Amidst Controversies-an inside view’ and ‘CAG- What It Ought To Be Auditing’ — that explore the evolution and challenges of India’s constitutional audit institution; and ‘The Sacred Sound Path- walking with Nada Brahma and my Guru, a reflective biographical work exploring the spiritual legacy of Indian thought.

Across his writings, Kumar has established a reputation for rigorous research and clarity of purpose — using his decades of government service to illuminate the moral and institutional dilemmas facing India today.

With Under the Scalpel, he turns his gaze to one of the most critical sectors of all — the training of the doctors who will shape India’s health future. The book promises to be both a policy document and a moral reckoning, asking whether India’s medical education system still serves the ideals it was meant to heal.

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