Existing District And Referral Hospitals Converted Into Medical Colleges Will Continue To Receive Funding From Centre, Says Health Ministry

New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has clarified that existing district and referral hospitals which have been converted into Medical Colleges will continue to receive funding from the Central Government. Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has written a letter to States and Union Territories in this regard.

The Ministry of Health has said that of these 157 medical colleges, 108 have already become functional as of now. Of the 157 colleges approved, 40 are located in the aspirational districts. The Ministry said, a centrally sponsored scheme to provide central funding support for opening new medical colleges by strengthening and upgrading the district hospitals was introduced in 2014. The Ministry said, the government is taking concerted efforts to increase the number of medical colleges. At present, there are 706 medical colleges in the country.