The Hindu Business Line : AP offers land for expansion

THE Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ms Sushma Swaraj, today launched the upgradation works of the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) under the `Pradhan Manthri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana' at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

Ms Swaraj had earlier promised to match the NIMS up with the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Addressing a gathering later, she said the Centre would do everything to bridge the gap between the two prestigious institutes. "It is a pity that the country could not set up another AIIMS even after 50 years of establishing the one in Delhi. The Government has decided to set up one institute on par with AIIMS in each State. To begin with, six States will have these institutes," she said.

"You tell us what all you need to achieve the target and we will do everything accordingly," she said, asking the State Government to provide the land required for the proposed expansion.

Once completed, the institute would have 780 beds with a state-of-the-art trauma care centre, the foundation stone for which was laid by the Union Minister.

The private sector in the medical segment had invested huge amounts to offer the latest services, while the Government medical institutes lagged behind. "We also should go for huge investments to make the latest in the medical field accessible to the poor," Ms Sushma Swaraj said.

Terming the laying of foundation stone as a "historic occasion," the caretaker Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, said the Government was prepared to demolish the Government quarters around to make way for the expansion plan. "We will give the land free of cost for the institute with which people have a sentimental attachment," he declared.

Earlier welcoming the gathering, Dr Kakarla Subba Rao, Director of NIMS, appealed to Ms Sushma Swaraj to set up a separate `Medical Grants Commission' on the lines of University Grants Commission.

He asked the Government to accord sanction to make the institute a college. "To begin with, a sample college with 50 students may be allowed," he said.

Marking the occasion, foundation stones were also laid for Centre for Mother and Child Care, Centre for Cardiac Sciences, Centre for Laboratory Sciences, Digital Library and Auditorium and Research Centre.

More Stories on : Medical Institutions & Hospitals | Health | Andhra Pradesh

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