Odisha's Health Minister unveils plan for new medical colleges in all districts

Bhubaneswar, Sept 19: Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling on Thursday announced plans to establish medical colleges in every district headquarters of the state. This announcement marks the completion of 100 days of the BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Majhi. Mahaling stated that this initiative is part of the top 21 promises made by the BJP government and aims to have these medical colleges operational within the next five years. The planning process for this initiative is already underway.

Currently, Odisha has 11 functioning medical colleges, with two more—at Talcher and Kandhamal—under development. Mahaling noted that following the new guidelines introduced by the Centre in 2014, which aimed to establish medical colleges in every district across India, Odisha's colleges are being set up with a central-state funding ratio of 60:40.

Additionally, Mahaling revealed that the state government has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with several institutions, including IIT-Bhubaneswar, NISER, Xavier Institute of Management, Shri Shri University, and AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, as well as with Jipmer and PGIMER Chandigarh through online agreements. These collaborations are intended to foster the exchange of ideas and enhance research and management in the field of health sciences.

Furthermore, the Odisha University of Health Sciences has launched a PhD program to advance its research capabilities.