Guwahati, Nov 4: The Assam government on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mumbai-based Bright Star Investments Pvt Ltd for ramping up infrastructure of the academic block of the second medical college in Guwahati.
Commissioner and secretary to the Assam government, Siddharth Singh, and promoter and founder of Bright Star Investments Pvt. Ltd, Radhakishnan Damani, signed the MoU at a function at Janata Bhawan here in the presence of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and health minister Keshab Mahanta.
This is for the first time that the state government has collaborated with the private sector for building infrastructure of a medical college in the state.
Terming the occasion historic, chief minister Sarma said the tie-up would herald a new beginning in Assam’s medical education.
He thanked the company’s founder for coming forward with the philanthropic gesture and for choosing Assam as the first state to start the noble collaboration.
“Almost six decades ago, in 1960, the first medical college in Guwahati was established to cater to the needs of the people of the state as well as the neighbouring states. Since then, the population in the state has grown manifold and so has the number of students aspiring to pursue medical education,” Sarma said.
“Considering the ever-growing demand, the government has taken several steps for augmenting opportunities for medical education and advanced healthcare facilities by setting up medical colleges in different parts of the state. However, a second medical college in Guwahati, which is the nerve centre of Northeast’s economic and social activities, was a long felt need,” he said.
“Therefore, taking a pragmatic step to address this requirement, the state government has taken up the task of establishing a second medical college in Guwahati with the provision of a 1000-bed hospital and academic block with hostels for boys and girls for an annual intake of 100 MBBS students,” he added.
It may be noted that Bright Star Investments has come up with a CSR contribution of Rs 150 crore for infrastructure development of the academic block, under-graduate and intern hostels of the medical college here.
The chief minister further informed that the state government was working with a vision to set up one medical college in every district of Assam.
“Already, the government has taken steps for setting up 15 new medical colleges in addition to the nine existing ones. Of the 15 new medical colleges, seven are being constructed at Nalbari, Nagaon, Kokrajhar, Tinsukia, Charaideo, Biswanath Chariali and the second medical college in Guwahati,” Sarma said.
“The government is going to start construction of five more medical colleges at Golaghat, Bongaigaon, Marigaon, Tamulpur and Dhemaji during this month and work for three medical colleges proposed at Sivasagar, Karimganj and Goalpara will be taken up soon,” he said.