New Delhi: In a major boost to the expansion of healthcare infrastructure in the country, the Union Cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) beyond 12th Five Year Plan to 2019-20.
The decision would give a boost to the establishment of 20 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) across the country, six of which have already been established, and to upgrade 73 medical colleges.
"Under the PMSSY, we are going to set up 20 AIIMS in the country, six have already been established, and would upgrade 73 medical colleges. This is a historic decision," said Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Law and Information Technology Minister.
"The PMSSY was started during the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee to provide quality healthcare in remote areas as it's not right to put all the pressure on AIIMS in Delhi. There were talks of setting up six AIIMS, but what happened in the next 10 years is for all to see," Prasad added.
Expressing his gratitude to the Prime Minister for his constant support, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the government is consciously working towards improving health infrastructure as well as health manpower in the country.
"Setting up of new AIIMS would not only transform health education and training but will also address the shortfall of healthcare professionals. Construction of new AIIMS is fully funded by the Central government and the operations and maintenance expenses on new AIIMS are also fully borne by the Centre," Nadda said.
The PMSSY, which is a central sector scheme, aims at correcting the imbalances in the availability of affordable tertiary healthcare facilities in different parts of the country in general and augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the under-served states in particular.
The financial outlay for this purpose is Rs 14,832 crore. Under this scheme, new All India Institute of Medical Sciences is established and government medical colleges are upgraded, an official statement said.
The post-graduate seats and additional faculty posts as per norms will be created and filled up in these GMCs by the respective state/Union Territories governments.