SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has been approved seven Government Medical Colleges under the Centre’s Centrally Sponsored Scheme for establishing new medical colleges attached to existing district and referral hospitals, the Union Government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Replying to an unstarred question, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel said the Centre has approved 157 new medical colleges across the country in three phases, with priority given to underserved and aspirational districts where no Government or private medical college exists.
According to the reply, five medical colleges were approved for Anantnag, Baramulla, Rajouri, Doda and Kathua under Phase-I of the scheme, while Udhampur and Handwara (Kupwara district) were sanctioned under Phase-III.
The Ministry said the scheme provides Central assistance with a 90:10 funding ratio for North Eastern and Special Category States and 60:40 for other States and Union Territories.
The Government clarified that all 157 envisaged medical colleges have already been approved under the scheme.
Responding to a query regarding Punjab, the Ministry said three medical colleges have been sanctioned in the State at SAS Nagar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur, but no proposal has been received from the Punjab Government for establishing a Government Medical College at Rupnagar (Ropar).
The Centre reiterated that the scheme aims to expand access to medical education and strengthen tertiary healthcare infrastructure by establishing medical colleges linked to existing district and referral hospitals in underserved regions across the country.
