Indian PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jammu, on Tuesday when he said the number of Medical Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir has increased from four to 12 in the last 10 years

The Prime Minister also inaugurated, launched and laid foundation stone of various other development works in the region and interacted with beneficiaries of Central schemes.

Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, Jammu & Kashmir; Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions of India; and Shri Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member of Parliament from Jammu were present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said, “The number of Medical Colleges in J&K has increased from 4 to 12 in the last 10 years."

"Similarly, in the same time period, MBBS seats in J&K has more than doubled from 500 to 1300,” he said.

Highlighting that “there were no PG medical seats in J&K before 2014”, he said that “today there are 650 PG medical seats in the Union Territory”.

35 new nursing and paramedic colleges are also coming up in the region which will lead to a considerable increase in nursing seats as well, he further stated.

On inaugurating AIIMS Jammu, the Prime Minister said, “The Union Government has added 15 new AIIMS in the last 10 years, including two in J&K alone.” He said that “after the commissioning of AIIMS Jammu, people of Jammu will no longer have to leave for Delhi to avail specialized medical treatment, which will help them save valuable time and resources.”

The Prime Minister highlighted the rapid speed of transformation of infrastructure in all the sectors of the country.

He reiterated his vision of India to become Viksit Bharat by 2047 and appealed to the people to work towards that vision.

He said that Viksit Jammu & Kashmir is a pre-requisite to Viksit Bharat and the various developmental and upliftment projects of the Central Government in J&K are aimed at fulfilling that vision into reality.

Expressing his elation on the occasion, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare highlighted the commitment of the Union Government for AIIMS Jammu whose foundation stone laying to inauguration took only 5 years.