Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced that 157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.
In her Budget proposals presented in Parliament, she also informed that a mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047 will be launched, which will entail awareness creation, universal screening of seven crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counseling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments.
On medical research, she said that facilities in select ICMR Labs will be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams for encouraging collaborative research and innovation.
To promote research in the medical sector and innovation, the finance minister said that facilities in select ICMR Labs will be made available for public and private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams.
A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be taken up through centers of excellence, the Finance Minister announced. “We shall also encourage industry to invest in research and development in specific priority areas,” she added.
Highlighting the importance of futuristic medical technologies and high-end manufacturing in the medical sector, Sitharaman stated that dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing and research.