AIIMS, Bhubaneswar academic session to begin this September

BHUBANESWAR: Despite the slow pace of construction work, the first academic session of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar is all set to begin from September this year while its hospital would be ready next year, union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today. 

"Work is moving at a slow pace, but we have decided to start the medical college of AIIMS here this year. Classes for the MBBS course will begin in September, 2012," Azad told reporters here. 

Similarly, the hospital would be completed next year so that the students who join the MBBS course at the new AIIMS centre would be able to utilise the facility, Azad said after visiting the site and reviewing constructon work for AIIMS. 

The director for the upcoming prestigious institute has already been selected and selection of faculties had also been completed, he said. 

"Now all work and preparations (are) for starting the classes this year and the hospital by 2013 with full pace. People are working day and night to complete the work as per our plan," Azad said. 

AIIMS is coming up on 100 acres of land at Sijua on the outskirts of the city. The state government had approved Rs 18 lakh for putting up an 11 KV line at the AIIMS project site while an additional Rs 9 lakh was been approved for beautification of the campus. 

Azad favours 6.5 year MBBS course

New Delhi: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad favoured increasing the duration of the MBBS course from the existing 5.5 years to 6.5 years and said the Medical Council of India was working on the proposal.

"I don't mind increasing the duration of MBBS to 6.5 years. In the US, students have to go for six years of additional study as compared to Indian students to be able to prescribe medicines and practise. What is the harm in having one more year of MBBS study in India," he said when asked what the Government was doing about the proposed MCI move.
   
The Minister said mandatory rural posting for doctors was also being mulled. "Yes we are thinking on those lines. We are short of seven lakh doctors in villages," he said.    

The proposed one year increase in MBBS duration is being contemplated to set aside the additional year for mandatory rural service of MBBS graduates.
   
The proposal is to award the MBBS degree only after the completion of 5.5 years of regular MBBS course and one year of rural posting which would be linked to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
   
The proposal comes in the wake of poor healthcare facilities in rural India and government aiming at providing better medical treatment and facilities to the rural population.
   
The government has also focussed much attention on its flagship NRHM program, on which a major chunk of the country's health budget is spent for provision of improved healthcare facilities in rural areas of the country.