SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir is set to receive a major boost to its public healthcare infrastructure with the Union Territory being allocated 275 AI-enabled portable handheld X-ray machines, nine 1.5 Tesla MRI units and four digital mammography units under the Prime Minister’s Fund.
The advanced diagnostic equipment will be installed in selected government health institutions across the Union Territory to improve access to modern diagnostic services, facilitate early disease detection, strengthen breast cancer screening and support artificial intelligence-based tuberculosis screening.
The initiative will be implemented under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Jammu and Kashmir government.
According to officials, the Government of India will oversee the procurement, installation and commissioning of the equipment through its designated agencies. Supplies are expected to begin in the coming months.
The Health and Medical Education Department will ensure that hospitals are prepared for installation by making sites ready, deploying the required manpower and expediting the operationalisation of the equipment to make the facilities available to patients at the earliest.
Officials said the allocation follows sustained efforts by the Health and Medical Education Department to strengthen diagnostic services and expand access to advanced healthcare facilities across Jammu and Kashmir.
The move is also part of the Union Territory administration’s ongoing push to modernise healthcare infrastructure, improve diagnostic capabilities and enhance the quality of public health services.
The new diagnostic facilities are expected to significantly increase the capacity of government hospitals, reduce the need for referrals to higher centres, enable early diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and improve healthcare outcomes across Jammu and Kashmir
