Karnataka will certainly get a unit of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Union Health Ministry will select a place depending on its merit and access to people, according to Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan.
Dr. Vardhan, who is on a two-day visit to the State to review health schemes, told presspersons on Saturday that the State government had suggested three places, including Bangalore, for setting up AIIMS. One of the conditions imposed by the Centre was to provide at least 200 acres of land to establish the unit, he said. The State government wrote back to him suggesting three places. The Health Ministry would initiate the process soon.
Dr. Vardhan said his Ministry had also received a proposal to consider the state-of-the-art hospital in Gulbarga which was being managed by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation for AIIMS. There was a request to run it through the Health Ministry instead of the ESIC. “We are examining it,” the Minister said.
“All the processes [for setting up an AIIMS unit] are under observation. We will strictly go by merit and select a place which is easily accessible to all,” he said.
Common CETTo a query, Dr. Vardhan said he was in favour of one common entrance test (CET) for medicine for the whole country in the interest of students. A petition was pending before the Supreme Court and the government was pursuing it seriously. Conducting the CET for the entire country would eliminate both direct and indirect corruption and the menace of capitation fee, he said. The government was optimistic that the apex court would give a favourable decision in the interest of the poor and meritorious students, he said.
On delays in admissions to professional courses, he said there should be definite guidelines to ensure timely admissions in all colleges. Unfortunately, many medical colleges do not take it seriously. The need of the hour was to have more number of medical colleges but with quality, he said.
Tobacco productsDr. Vardhan said the Supreme Court, after considering all factors, had sought the opinion of the Centre on banning all kinds of tobacco products. The government hiked the duty on tobacco products from 11 per cent to 72 per cent to make people give up addiction.
