Guwahati: The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has been given distinctive titles by the centre in honour of local heroes, freedom fighters, significant historical occurrences, local landmarks, or other factors that contribute to the region’s unique geographic identity.
According to official reports, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare requested proposals from the 23 AIIMS, and the majority of them have now provided a list of names.
An officer explained, “AIIMS, many of which are operational while others are being set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), are known by its generic name and distinguished only by their location”.
As per reports, “the Union health ministry has drafted a proposal to give specific names to all the 23 AIIMS, which include those fully functional, partially operational or under construction”.
Reportedly, “Suggestions were sought for assigning specific names to different AIIMS, which could be linked to local or regional heroes of prominence, freedom fighters, distinct geographical identity of the area where the institute is located and prominent historical events or monuments of the region”.
MBBS classes and outpatient department services have begun at 10 of the 16 AIIMS that were established between 2015 and 2022, while solely MBBS classes have begun at two additional institutions. The four remaining institutes are in various phases of development.