PM lays Foundation Stone for AIIMS at Changsari

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Changsari in the Kamrup District of Assam. The institute will be constructed at a distance of 26 km from Guwahati.
The institute will be constructed at a cost of Rs 1,123 crores as part of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana’. The construction of the institute will be completed within the next four years. The institute will have a hospital comprising of 750 beds, 22 super speciality departments including 16 operation theatres. It will also have a medical college capable of accommodating 100 MBBS students every year and a nursing college accommodating 60 students each year. It will be spread across 189 acres.

Background

The AIIMS in Delhi attracts patients from all corners of the country resulting in overcrowding. Keeping in view of this, the government is taking steps to ensure the setting up of AIIMS in different parts of the country to cater to the needs of the people.
The seven functioning AIIMS are located in New Delhi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh.
Last year, the Union Cabinet had approved the establishment of a new AIIMS at Bhatinda, Punjab under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). Besides, 3 new AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra),  Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) and Kalyani (West Bengal)  were also have been sanctioned in 2015.
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) is a Central Sector Scheme announced in August 2003. The primary objective of the scheme is to correct the regional imbalances in availability of affordable and reliable tertiary level healthcare in the country.  Besides, it also seeks to augment facilities for quality medical education in under-served or backward States.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017