Guwahati, Nov 05, 2022, IANS

Guwahati, Nov 5 (IANS) While signing an MoU with Bright Star Investments Pvt Ltd for infrastructure development of the second medical college in Guwahati, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that within the next five years, Assam will have 24 medical colleges which will greatly improve the availability of doctors and healthcare in the state.

He said the state government is working with a vision to set up one medical college in each district in Assam.

Already, the government has taken steps for setting up 15 new medical colleges in addition to the nine existing ones. Out of the 15 new medical colleges, seven are being constructed in Nalbari, Nagaon, Kokrajhar, Tinsukia, Charaideo, Biswanath Chariali, along with the second medical college in Guwahati.

Sarma informed that the government is going to start construction of five more medical colleges at Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Marigaon, Tamulpur and Dhemaji during this month, while work for three more medical colleges at Sivasagar, Karimganj and Goalpara will be taken up very soon.

With the increase in medical colleges in the state, the number of MBBS seats has also increased from 726 in 2014 to 1,200 in 2022. Till 2014, the total number of post-graduate (PG) seats in Assam was 395, which has gone up to 711 in 2022.

Similarly, 44 super-specialty seats are now available in various institutions. The state will have 2,700 MBBS seats once the construction of the proposed medical colleges is completed, the CM said.

"It is for the first time that the Assam government has collaborated with the private sector for building infrastructure for a medical college in the state," he added.

In 1960, the first medical college in Guwahati was established to cater to the needs of the people of Assam as well as the neighbouring states.