India needs 600 medical colleges, 50 AIIMS-like institutions and 200 super specialty hospitals, says Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday that the country requires at least 600 medical colleges, 50 AIIMS-like institutions, and 200 super-specialty hospitals, and that the public-private partnership model used in infrastructure development should be replicated in the health care and education sectors.

The Road Transport and Highways Minister was addressing at the COVID-19 fighters’ felicitation in Karad, Maharashtra’s Satara district.

He said the cooperative sector should also come forward to set up medical facilities.

“Once during a discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I told him about the scarcity of ventilators. He asked me how many ventilators were there in the country, to which I replied there must be around 2.5 lakh. But he told me that there were only 13,000 ventilators when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the country,” Mr. Gadkari said.

At the time, there was a severe shortage of oxygen, beds, and other medical services. However, physicians, paramedics, and nurses were quite helpful at those times, he added, adding, “I appreciate their work.” Apart from government-run hospitals, the Minister praised the role of medical facilities established by the cooperative and private sectors.

“The public-private investment model in the road and infrastructure development sector can be replicated in health care and education sectors. The country needs a minimum of 600 medical colleges, 50 AIIMS-like institutions and 200 super-specialty hospitals. The government is also thinking of providing help to those social organisations that work in medical and education sectors,” Mr. Gadkari said.