Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh announces 7 medical colleges

Chandigarh: Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh on Thursday announced the establishment of seven medical colleges across the state, with two of them being govt medical colleges, two being institutions under public-private partnership (PPP) model, and three being private and minority organisations.Dr Balbir, while addressing a press conference, said construction of Shaheed Udham Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences in Hoshiarpur was set to begin on March 20, and was likely to be completed by March 2028. This project has received administrative approval for Rs 274.75 crore and will feature a 300-bedded hospital alongside a medical college with a 100-seat annual MBBS intake, he said. The minister was accompanied by principal secretary (health) Kumar Rahul, Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) special secretary-cum-MD Amit Talwar, and director (research and medical education) Dr Avnish Kumar. The minister highlighted that through a meticulous review of previous estimates, the CM Mann-led Punjab govt managed to reduce the project cost from an initial ₹550 crore estimate to ₹274 crore, effectively saving nearly ₹250 crore of public funds.Apart from Hoshiarpur, Dr Balbir Singh said that another govt medical college is also being established in Kapurthala, for which the tender process is complete and construction will start shortly. The colleges to be established under PPP mode will come up in Sangrur and SBS Nagar, with their tender processes underway, he said.