Punjab to Establish Seven New Medical Colleges, Health Minister Announces

The government of Punjab has announced plans to establish seven new medical colleges in the state, a move expected to add around 600 seats for medical studies. The announcement was made by Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh on Wednesday. Speaking about the initiative, the minister said that construction work for the medical college in Hoshiarpur will begin on March 20. He noted that the expansion of medical education infrastructure will help students from the state pursue medical studies locally, reducing the need for them to go abroad for such education. Balbir Singh further informed that the Shaheed Udham Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences will also be established with 100 medical seats. A 200-bed hospital is already in place, and an additional 300-bed hospital will be constructed. The institute is expected to be completed within two years and is likely to be operational by 2028. The minister also stated that the tender and work order for the medical college in Kapurthala have already been issued. Meanwhile, the tendering process is currently underway for medical colleges in Sangrur and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr). These two institutions will be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. In addition, a medical college is being developed in Lehragaga by the Jain community, for which an agreement has been signed. Another medical college is under construction in Malerkotla for the Muslim minority community. The health minister said the initiative will provide better educational opportunities for students while also creating more employment opportunities in the healthcare sector. He added that existing government medical colleges in Amritsar, Patiala, and Faridkot are being upgraded to the postgraduate (PG) level. According to the minister, advanced healthcare facilities similar to those available at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research will also be introduced in these institutions. Facilities for liver transplant and kidney transplant have already been started, further strengthening the state’s healthcare infrastructure.