- The Union Cabinet on January 10, 2019 approved establishment of three new AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat.
- These three new AIIMS will be established at (i) Vijaynagar, Samba, Jammu at a cost of Rs.1661 crore (ii)Awantipura, Pulwama, Kashmir, at a cost of Rs.1828 crore and (iii) Rajkot, Gujarat at a cost of Rs.1195 crore. These AIIMS will be set up under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
- Establishment of new AIIMS involves creation of Hospital, Teaching Block for medical & nursing courses, residential complex and allied facilities/services, broadly on the pattern of AIIMS, New Delhi and other six new AIIMS taken up under Phase-I of PMSSY. The objective is to establish the new AIIMS as Institutions of National Importance for providing quality tertiary healthcare, medical education, nursing education and research in the Region.
- According to the government, setting up of new AIIMS would transform health education and training and address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region.
- The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super speciality health care to the population.
- It will also help create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions / facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM).
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)
- The Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), 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.
- Two new AIIMS, one each for Jammu Region and Kashmir Region in the State of Jammu & Kashmir was announced by Prime Minister under the Prime Minister’s Development Package on 07.11.2015. AIIMS in Gujarat was announced by the Finance Minister in his Budget Speech for the year 2017-18.
