India begins ‘Extension of Hospitals’ Project

India has started “Extension of Hospitals” project in several states to bridge the gap in major health infrastructure to fight against Covid-19 in India.

Key points

• Project will run especially in rural areas and smaller towns.
• Modular hospitals are an extension of hospital infrastructure.
• It will be built adjacent to existing hospital building.

What is the need of this project?

Amid the second wave of Covid-19, hospitals infrastructures were under immense pressure. Thus, innovative modular hospitals will be coming up as huge relief.

Project ‘Extension Hospitals’

To initiate the project, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) has invited private sector companies, donor organizations, and individuals. They will support the initiative along with several other projects of national importance. About 50 hospitals have been selected across the states where highest number of Covid-19 cases were reported.

MediCAB Hospitals

MediCAB hospitals have been developed by Modulus Housing which is a start-up incubated at IIT-M. This will enable building a 100-bedded extension facility within 3-weeks. MediCAB hospitals have been designed with a dedicated zone of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) which can accommodate several life-support equipment and medical devices. These portable hospitals have durability of around 25 years. They can be shifted for any disaster response in less than a week in future.

First phase of project

Under the first phase, 100 bedded hospitals will be commissioned at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh; Amravati, Pune & Jalna in Maharashtra; Mohali in Punjab while, 20-bed hospital will be established at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. One each of 20, 50, and 100-beds will be commissioned in Bengaluru.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2021