The Centre has urged 14 States to accelerate utilisation of central funds and expedite completion of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals approved under Centrally Sponsored Scheme for early commencement of UG courses.
The concern over the slow progress of these projects was strongly highlighted by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan as he reviewed them with health secretaries and directors (Medical Education) of 14 States through video conference on Thursday. A total of 157 new medical colleges have been sanctioned under this scheme since 2014, in three phases so far.
The States and Union Territories that participated in the review meeting were Andaman and Nicobar islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha and Punjab.
