16 AIIMS in different stages of implementation since last 7 years: Dr Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: A total of 157 medical colleges are under different stages of implementation in various parts of the country, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

He said 58 of these colleges are in the first phase of the implementation, 24 in the second phase and 75 colleges, which were announced recently, in the third phase.

Also Read:BJ Medical College, others revert to online classes after 4 MBBS students test COVID positive

"Since 2014, there are 157 medical colleges in different parts of the country in different stages of development. These include 58 medical colleges in phase 1 and 24 in phase 2 and another 75 in phase 3 which were announced recently," the minister said in reply to supplementaries during the question hour.

"Besides, there were 50,000 medical college seats in the country till 2014 and after that, in the last over six years, 30,000 additional medical colleges seats have been created. More seats would be added with the setting up of these new colleges," he said.

Vardhan noted that the National Medical Commission is also assessing the total number of medical colleges and seats required in the country, adding that the government will make its policies accordingly.

"So far, 22 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have been sanctioned under the Modi government. Out of these, 16 AIIMS have been in different stages of implementation since the last seven years," he said.

The health minister said the Narendra Modi government, in its second tenure, sanctioned 75 medical colleges in various states of the country. These are preferably in the aspirational districts and areas where the most deprived people live and where there is no medical college either in private or government sector, he said.

All these 75 medical colleges have been finalised and notified, the minister said, adding that the Centre supports 60 per cent of the budget expenditure on these colleges.

In response to another question, Vardhan said no AIIMS has been developed in Karnataka and the state chief minister and leaders have made a request in this regard, adding that the health and finance ministries are working in this regard.

"Under phase 3, four medical colleges have been approved in Karnataka in the year 2019-20 to be established at Chikkamagaluru, Haveri, Yadgiri and Chikkaballapura with intake capacity of 150 MBBS seats each," the Union minister said in a written reply.

He said the medical colleges have been approved at a cost of  Rs  325 crores each to be shared between the Centre and the state government in the ratio of 60:40.

Also Read:Haryana: 78 posts of doctors lying vacant at BPS Mahila Medical College, Sonepat