India had only one AIIMS at the end of past century but now we have 23 Nadda

New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) India had only one AIIMS at the end of the last century, while there are 23 now, and that reflects the government's commitment to expanding quality healthcare and medical training to every region, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Saturday.
     Nadda made the remark while addressing the 21st annual convocation ceremony of King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow.
    "KGMU is ranked 8th in the 2025 NIRF rankings and 12 of its faculties have been listed in the top 2 per cent scientists by Stanford University, which is a remarkable achievement," he said, according to a statement.
     Nadda said that "while the country had only one AIIMS at the end of the past century, today there are 23 AIIMS institutions across India, reflecting the government's commitment to expanding quality healthcare and medical training to every region."
     He said that in the last 11 years, the number of medical colleges in the country had increased from 387 to 819.
     Similarly, undergraduate medical seats have risen from 51,000 to 1,19,000 and postgraduate seats from 31,000 to 80,000, he said.
     Nadda said that till 2029, under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 75,000 more seats will be added to both UG and PG programmes, of which more than 23,000 seats have already been added in one year.
     Nadda said that today, there are more than 1.82 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operational in the country.
     He said that more than 62 crore people, accounting for over 40 per cent of India's population, have the Rs 5 lakh health cover under the Ayushman Bharat- PMJAY scheme, the largest health coverage scheme in the world.
    "Basic education is everyone's birthright, but professional education is a privilege that the society bestows on only a few," the minister said.
     He said that the Centre spends between Rs 30 and 35 lakh on every MBBS student, as he urged the new doctors to shoulder more responsibilities towards society as they embark on their professional careers.
     Nadda urged the graduating students to contribute to academics and research, and uphold the prestigious legacy of KGMU.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)