•Interacts with Students of Dr. Radhakrishnan Government Medical College Hamirpur
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today interacted with students of Dr. Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur and answered their questions on various issues. During the interaction, students discussed several topics with the Chief Minister, including medical education, financial assistance, college infrastructure, overseas exposure visits and increasing the number of postgraduate (PG) seats.
Second-year student Babita asked the Chief Minister about the steps being taken by the state government to ensure that students do not have to discontinue their studies due to financial constraints. In response, the Chief Minister said that under the Dr. Y.S. Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojna, the state government is providing loans of up to Rs. 20 lakh at an interest rate of one percent to students belonging to families with an annual income of up to Rs. 12 lakh. He said the government aims to ensure that no student is deprived of education due to a lack of financial resources.
MBBS student Ayaan Chopra asked about the initiatives being undertaken to develop Government Medical College, Hamirpur, into a leading medical institution.
The Chief Minister said that the state government is continuously working to improve the quality of medical education. Special emphasis is being laid on modern technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with efforts to ensure quality education. He said that the state government has issued directions under a new system to make recruitment to government jobs more transparent and merit-based. Under this system, merit lists will be prepared by combining marks obtained in written examinations and interviews, ensuring that eligible candidates receive opportunities based on their merit.
MBBS student Pratibha asked about the measures being taken to enhance the safety of the medical college and develop its infrastructure. The Chief Minister informed her that a modern amphitheatre, an auditorium and a library are being constructed at the college. In addition, construction work has commenced on separate hostels for boys and girls, each with a capacity of 300 students.
He said that the layout plan for Government Medical College, Hamirpur has been prepared with the assistance of a Japanese company. Plans are also underway to establish a super-specialty block, a cancer hospital, a dental college and a nursing college at the institution in the future. Research activities will also be encouraged at the college.
Student Nishant asked about sending medical students abroad on exposure visits. The Chief Minister said that the selection of 10 postgraduate and 10 MBBS students from each of the state's medical colleges has almost been completed. The selected students will be sent abroad shortly, where they will have the opportunity to study best practices in the medical field.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that making Himachal a self-reliant state is his dream project. He said that the number of postgraduate seats at Government Medical College, Hamirpur had increased from eight to 57. He further said that the state previously had a total of 277 postgraduate seats across all government medical colleges. Through the state government's efforts, an additional 320 seats have been made available this year, taking the total number of postgraduate seats in Himachal Pradesh to 597.
Sh. Sukhu said that the state government is considering increasing the internship stipend paid to MBBS students. Efforts will be made to make the necessary budgetary provisions for the proposed increase. Reiterating the government's commitment, the Chief Minister said that the state government is dedicated to strengthening medical education, providing better opportunities to students and improving the state's healthcare infrastructure.
