Cancer institute in Jhajjar will be functional by Jan

With a project value of ₹2,035 crore, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) hospital being set up at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jhajjar, will be functional by next month, Union health and family welfare minister JP Nadda said on Friday.

Nadda, who was addressing the 46th annual convocation of the AIIMS, added that the government had taken various steps to facilitate the setting up of new medical colleges for which norms have beenrationalised.

“Since 2014-15, the ministry has granted permission for establishment of 118 new medical colleges, including 54 in the government sector. The country now has 502 medical colleges with more than 70,000 MBBS seats. We have been able to add over 18,600 under-graduate and 12,000 postgraduate (PG) seats. The country has now around 46,000 PG seats,” he said.

The minister also said that ensuring the highest standards of medical education was a top priority for the government.