NEW DELHI: A A total of 37 medical colleges across the country, including two each in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, would be upgraded by the end of April.
The list includes the Thanjavur Medical College and the Tirunelveli Medical College in Tamil Nadu and the Kozhikode Medical College and the T D Medical College, Alappuzha in Kerala.
The Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary and the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubli are the colleges that will be upgraded in Karnataka.
The upgradation work is being undertaken under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
In the first phase of PMSSY, government medical colleges in Madurai and Salem were upgraded. The PMSSY was launched in March 2006 with an aim of correcting the imbalances in the availability of affordable healthcare facilities in the different parts of the country and augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the under-served states in particular.
“A total of 30 tenders have been floated for the upgradation work. Out of the 39 hospitals which are proposed to be upgraded in this phase, 37 are on track,” a senior health ministry official told Express. The only states that are facing problems are Goa and Tripura, the official added.
Under the first phase, 13 medical institutions in 10 states were upgraded with an outlay of Rs 120 crore for each .While the Centre’s share was Rs 100 crore, the State pooled in Rs 20 crore.
Under the second phase, six medical colleges were upgraded at an estimated expenditure of Rs 150 crore per institution.