New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government has approved Rs 1,570 to open 157 new medical nursing colleges and this will be completed in the next 24 months. The minister further said a National Medical Policy has been approved in the Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking on the objective of the nursing colleges, the Union Health Minister said the aim is to provide quality, affordable and equitable nursing education in the country and help increase the number of nursing professionals.
Co-location of these nursing colleges with medical colleges will also allow optimal utilisation of the existing infrastructure, skill labs, clinical facilities and faculty, he said, adding that the government also plans to complete the project within two years with detailed timelines laid out for every stage of planning as well as execution.
Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet also approved National Medical Devices Policy with an aim to boost domestic production and reduce imports of such equipment. Mandaviya said it will promote domestic production of medical devices. The policy is expected to help the medical devices sector grow from the present USD 11 billion to USD 50 billion in the next five years, he said.
Notably, last year, the government had floated an approach paper on the draft national medical devices policy 2022 for consultation. The government has already initiated implementation of the PLI Scheme for medical devices and extended support for setting up of four medical device parks in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
Addressing the Cabinet briefing, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said the government paid tributes to 10 DRG jawans and one driver who lost their lives in an IED attack by naxals in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh earlier in the day. Tribute was also paid to Shiromani Akali Dal patron and former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday, Anurag Thakur said.