3 new medical colleges in Himachal functional: MoS Health
Himachal Pradesh- The Himachal Pradesh government has approved the establishment of three new medical colleges under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), as announced by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel. The CSS aims to set up new medical colleges attached to existing district or referral hospitals in underserved and aspirational districts where no government or private medical colleges exist. The newly approved colleges are located in Chamba, Hamirpur, and Nahan, and have already become operational, marking a significant step towards strengthening the state's healthcare education infrastructure.
In a written reply in Parliament, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel informed that the Himachal Pradesh government has approved 3 medical colleges under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) in 3 districts of Himachal Pradesh, which include Chamba, Hamirpur and Nahan and these have already become functional.
"The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare administers a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for ‘Establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals’ with preference to underserved areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing Government or private medical college. The fund sharing mechanism between the Centre and State Governments is in the ratio of 90:10 for North Eastern and Special Category States, and 60:40 for others. Under the Scheme, 03 medical colleges (Chamba, Hamirpur and Nahan) have been approved in Himachal Pradesh. All the three medical colleges are functional."
Along with this, under CSS for upgradation of existing State Government/Central Government Medical Colleges for increasing MBBS (UG) seats and PG seats, the Government has also provided financial assistance to the State of Himachal Pradesh for increasing 120 MBBS seats in 06 Medical Colleges at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 144 crore and 17 PG seats in 01 Medical College at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 14.50 crore.
Moreover, under the “Setting up of new AIIMS” component of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), an AIIMS has also been established at Bilaspur. Also, under the “Upgradation of Government medical colleges by construction of Super Specialty Blocks” component of PMSSY, a total of 02 projects have been approved in Himachal Pradesh in Government Medical Colleges at Tanda and Shimla, MoS Health informed.
On 01st April 2025, a Parliment session was held where MP Dr Sikander Kumar sought to know from the MoS Health regarding the initiatives to strengthen medical educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh. On this, MP brought a series of questions which includes the details of the initiatives designed to uplift and strengthen medical educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh, the goals of the scheme and notable achievements accomplished, whether Government has proposed to issue guidelines to increase availability of modern infrastructure and if so, the details thereof; and whether Government plans to introduce a credit incentive programme to boost the country's health infrastructure and if so, the time by when it is likely to be introduced
