CHANDIGARH: Tikshan Sood, Medical Education and Research Minister said that Punjab government will start Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Jalandhar in this year.

Talking to media persons after presiding over valedictory session of an educational seminar at
DBIMCS, Mandi Gobindgarh, and Tikshan Sood said that PIMS, Jalandhar is an ambitious project and the state government wants to run PIMS on the pattern of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

He said that the state government wants to provide best health services in its medical colleges of the state so that super specialty blocks, radiotherapy units are being set up there on priority basis. He said that when SAD-BJP alliance government took over, it faced problem of shortage of staff in its medical colleges otherwise Medical Council of India (MCI) will reduce its seats, so the government immediately took initiatives and fulfill all requirements by enhancing  retirement age, promoting doctors and making new recruitment.

He said that now appointments are being made in his department as per requirement and this
process will continue in future also. He said that it will be mandatory for the institutes under his department to make their websites. He said that with the help of websites various information
regarding the institutes could be collected. 

Talking about achievements of his department, the minister said that PMET was conducted in fair and transparent manner this year and students easily got admissions under easy process.
Commenting on his controversial order about donating eyes, the minister said that he was not well conveyed. He said that when fault came to his notice, he immediately issued order to withdraw it. He informed that the state government had initiated number of steps to revamp the Medical Education system in general and Ayurvedic discipline in particular in the state.

Expressing anguish over the unwholesome attitude adopted by the previous Congress government for Ayurveda in the state, Sood said that they had not spend even a single penny for its development  but the present SAD-BJP government was fully aware in this regard and would bring revolutionary change in popularizing Ayurveda.

He said that  the state government had conceived the idea to setup AYUSH University to promote Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Naturopathy and Homeopathy systems of medicine in the state.
 Earlier, DBIMCS authorities honoured the minister.