Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of, and dedicated to the nation, projects worth over ₹4,700 crore in Chandigarh, covering healthcare, education and road infrastructure. He said Chandigarh connects Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, and is a major hub for medical services for the entire region.
Modi said more than ₹2,500 crore has been spent in recent years on making the city hi-tech, through the Integrated Command and Control Centre, smart traffic management, smart parking and digital governance. Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda were also present.
At the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, Modi inaugurated two 300-bed facilities. The Advanced Mother and Child Centre provides tertiary care for high-risk pregnancies, critically ill newborns and children needing specialised treatment. The Advanced Neurosciences Centre, built at a cost of ₹440 crore, brings neurology, neurosurgery, neuro-critical care and advanced diagnostics under one roof, and is meant to strengthen research, education and training.
Nadda said that for nearly five decades after 1967, PGIMER had only 25 beds for neurology and neurosurgery.
Modi also laid the foundation stone of a 150-bed Critical Care Block under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), to improve emergency preparedness, intensive care and disaster response. He announced that an MBBS college has been approved at PGIMER, with admissions expected to begin soon.
On the education side, Modi inaugurated the Kurukshetra Boys' Hostel and Mess at Punjab Engineering College and a new hostel for Government College, Sector-46, and laid the foundation stone of a Research Scholars Hostel. He said Chandigarh's institutions of education, engineering, medical science and research could become centres for technology, healthcare, startups and innovation.
He inaugurated the six-lane greenfield highway from IT City to Kurali, which is expected to reduce pressure on the airport road and ease traffic for residents of Mohali and Kharar. He also laid the foundation stone of the PR-7 Spur of the Ambala–Chandigarh Greenfield Highway, saying such projects will boost industry and trade.
Modi said 15 new AIIMS have been approved since 2014, and that the number of medical colleges has nearly doubled. Nadda put the number of AIIMS approved at 23 and said medical colleges have risen from 387 in 2014 to 818, with undergraduate seats at over 1.38 lakh. Of 75,000 additional undergraduate and postgraduate seats being created, 25,000 have been added, he said.
The Prime Minister said nearly 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs offer primary care with 12 health service packages, and that crores have been screened for hypertension, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases. Nadda described the Mandirs as the first point of contact for 140 crore citizens, with primary care being linked to secondary and tertiary care. He said the National Health Policy, 2017 laid the foundation for a system covering preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care.
Modi also cited more than 48 crore telemedicine consultations on the e-Sanjeevani platform, institutional deliveries above 90 per cent and an 86 per cent fall in maternal mortality. He said TB treatment coverage is above 90 per cent under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, and that, according to the World Health Organization, TB incidence has fallen 21 per cent in a decade.
Nadda said the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is emerging as the world's largest digital health platform, with nearly 90 crore ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) cards created.
Linking sanitation with health, Modi cited the Swachh Bharat Mission and said Swachh Survekshan rankings have encouraged cities such as Chandigarh to keep improving. He said cleanliness campaigns help prevent disease.
On the road to a developed India (Viksit Bharat), he said, the country must focus on future technologies, transportation and healthcare, and build institutions that grow stronger with time.
With reference to the facilities inaugurated or begun at PGIMER, Chandigarh, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Initiative / Platform : Figure or feature cited
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
According to the figures cited by the Union Health Minister, which one of the following is correct?
