Health infrastructure in Assam and Northeast gets new strength: PM Narendra Modi

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi ceremonially dedicated to the nation the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Guwahati and also inaugurated three new medical colleges, one each at Nagaon, Nalbari, and Kokrajhar. Apart from these, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Government of Assam and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati joint venture titled Assam Advanced Healthcare Innovation Institute (AAHI), a 350-bed superspecialty hospital and cutting-edge medical research centre to be built at an approximate cost of Rs 600 crore at the IIT Guwahati campus. The Prime Minister also ceremonially launched the distribution process of nearly 11 million (1.1 crore) Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana cards for beneficiaries across the State.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that the health infrastructure of Assam and the Northeast has found new strength as the region gets its first AIIMS and Assam gets three new medical colleges.

The Prime Minister said that the previous governments had created a feeling of alienation towards the Northeast and deemed it too far from the mainland. But the present government, the Prime Minister explained, comes with a service-oriented belief that makes the Northeast very approachable, and the feeling of proximity never ceases.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the people of the Northeast have taken charge of their destiny and development. "We are moving forward with the mantra of India's development through the development of the Northeast. In this movement of development, the central government is accompanying as a friend and servant", the Prime Minister added.

Referring to the long-festering challenges of the region, the Prime Minister said that development becomes impossible when the politics of dynasty, regionalism, corruption, and instability start to dominate. This, the Prime Minister remarked, happened with the healthcare system.

Highlighting the developments in the field of medical infrastructure, the Prime Minister informed that approximately 300 medical colleges became functional in the last 9 years, compared to only 150 medical colleges a decade before 2014. He also added that the number of MBBS seats in the country doubled to around 1 lakh in the last nine years, while the PG seats have seen a rise of 110 percent. With the establishment of the National Medical Commission for the expansion of medical education in the country, the Prime Minister underlined that reservations have also been ensured so that youth from backward families can fulfil their dreams of becoming doctors. The Prime Minister informed us that more than 150 nursing colleges have also been declared as part of this year's budget. In the Northeast, the Prime Minister said, the number of medical colleges in the region along with the number of seats has doubled in the last nine years, while work is underway for several new ones.

Addressing the ceremonial event held at the premises of AIIMS Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma exuded confidence that the 750-bed AIIMS Guwahati, built at an approximate cost of Rs 1,120 crore and having a capacity of 100 seats for MBBS courses per academic session, would prove decisive in bringing in a revolution in the sphere of healthcare services in Assam and other parts of the Northeast. Stating that an AIIMS in Assam was a long-cherished dream of the people of the state, the Chief Minister credited the Prime Minister's relentless focus on the Northeast for the transformation of that dream into reality.

Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, the Chief Minister, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pawar, and Ministers from the Government of Assam were present on the occasion, among others.

Also Read:   Assam becoming A1 state, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Also Watch: