Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Rajkot in Gujarat through video conferencing.
About 201 acres of land has been allotted for the project. It will be built at an estimated cost of Rs1,195 crore, and is expected to be completed by mid-2022. The state-of-the-art 750-bed hospital will also have a 30-bed AAYUSH block. It will have 125 MBBS seats and 60 nursing seats.
“India will play the most important role in the future of health and the health of future,” he said, adding that if 2020 was a year of health challenges, 2021 will be a year of health solutions. Addressing the occasion, he said the country has proven its capacity to adapt, evolve, and expand on ideas when needed. He added that India has emerged as the nerve center of global health. PM Modi dedicated the last day of 2020 to all health workers for putting their lives at stake to keep us safe.
Congratulating Gujarat on developing huge medical infrastructure in the past two decades, Prime Minister said, AIIMS will further strengthen the health network in the state. The project he said will mean the generation of thousands of jobs, good health care, and the development of Gujarat. “We could only establish 6 AIIMS after so many years of independence. In 2003, Atal Ji’s government took the initiative to establish 6 more AIIMS. In the past 6 years, we have started work on establishing 10 more AIIMS,” PM Modi said.
Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat, state chief minister Vijay Rupani, Union health minister and Union Minister of State (MoS) for Health Harsh Vardhan were also present on the occasion.
