SHIMLA 18 October, 2026
New milestones achieved by strengthening health education and services: Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu
Top priority being accorded to infrastructure expansion: Chief Minister
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today inaugurated Blocks 1 and 2 of Phase IV of the Armsdale Building at the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat. Approximately Rs. 9 crore has been spent on this construction project.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister said that infrastructure expansion was essential alongside development. The Secretariat building had been expanded, and offices would be shifted to the new premises shortly.
Replying to questions from media persons thereafter, the Chief Minister said that the number of postgraduate (PG) medical seats across the state’s six government medical colleges had been increased from 277 to 597, marking a historic addition of 320 seats.
He said that number of PG seats at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, has been increased from 139 to 230, an increase of 91 seats. At Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, the number of seats had risen from 99 to 156, up by 57 seats. At Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Mandi, the number of seats had risen from 24 to 79, an addition of 55 seats. At Dr. YS Parmar Government Medical College, Nahan, the PG seats has been increased from 3 to 35 seats, an increase of 32 seats. At Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College, Chamba, the seats have been increased from 4 to 32, adding 28 seats, while at Dr. Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur, the PG seats have been increased from 8 to 65 seats, addition of 57 seats.
The Chief Minister said that the state government was placing special emphasis on strengthening government medical colleges, expanding opportunities for PG medical education and improving the availability of specialised healthcare services.
Sh. Sukhu said that the increase in PG medical seats would provide young doctors with greater opportunities to pursue specialised medical education within the state. It would also increase the availability of trained specialist doctors in government hospitals.
He said that the state government was committed to providing specialised medical services to people close to their homes. Along with strengthening the infrastructure of healthcare institutions, the government was ensuring the adoption of modern technology.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that nearly 15 to 20 years old health equipment were being replaced with modern machines. He stated that healthcare institutions were being equipped with machinery at par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
The Chief Minister added that, until four years ago, the availability of doctors in the state’s medical colleges stood at only 35 percent. The present state government has increased this figure to over 70 percent. The government had set a target of raising doctor availability to between 80 to 85 percent by the next year.
Radiodiagnosis services had also been strengthened and efforts were underway to bring the waiting period for these services down to zero.
He said that the use of technology in healthcare services, combined with the availability of specialists, would help the people of Himachal Pradesh save approximately Rs. 1,000 crore annually, as they would no longer need to travel outside the state to access specialised medical services.
In response to another question, the Chief Minister said that the state government had constituted a commission for re-organisation of various Administrative Units in the state with the objective of improving public convenience and administrative efficiency. The commission would conduct a detailed study and submit its report to the government, following which decisions would be taken accordingly.
MLA Harish Janartha, Mayor Municipal Corporation Shimla Surender Chauhan; Principal Adviser (Media) to the Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan, Deputy Mayor Uma Kaushal, Officer on Special Duty Ritesh Kaprate, HIMCON Chairman Vikesh Chauhan, municipal councillors, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap, Director Information and Public Relations Rajiv Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police Mehar Panwar; Chief Engineer Vijay Chaudhary, office-bearers of various organisations and other dignitaries were present at the occasion.
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