Guwahati, April 14 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the first AIIMS in the Northeast region of India, located in Guwahati, Assam.

The cost of constructing the hospital was Rs 1,123 crore, and it is expected to provide healthcare services to not only the people of Assam but also to other states in the region.

In addition to this, the Prime Minister also virtually inaugurated three medical colleges in Nalbari, Nagaon, and Kokrajhar, which will have 24 undergraduate departments and a 500-bed capacity.

The medical colleges will begin with an annual intake of 100 MBBS students, raising the total MBBS student intake to 1,500 in Assam.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister laid the foundation of the Assam Advanced Healthcare Innovation Institute (AAHII) with a budget of Rs 546 crore.

The AAHII is a joint initiative between the state government and IIT Guwahati and aims to promote inventions and innovations in medicine and healthcare. It also focuses on nurturing multidisciplinary research and development in frontier areas of medicine by combining engineering with healthcare.

Lastly, the Prime Minister launched the distribution of 1.1 crore Ayushman cards to beneficiaries. These cards will provide cashless healthcare medical treatment benefits of up to Rs five lakh to the recipients.