Punjab to set up Ayurveda university in state

Jalandhar, May 26 (UNI) Punjab government is exploring the possibility of setting up an Ayurveda University in the state and to develop the Kandi area for herbal plantation.

This was stated by Medical Education and Research Secretary Jagjit Puri while talking to media persons here today after inspecting the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) complex, which was lying abondoned for the long period.

He said state government has appointed SK Mishra, former head of Ayush, Government of India, to explore the possibility of setting up an Ayurveda University at Hoshiarpur and to develop Kandi area around it for growing herbal medicinal plants.

To promote medical tourism in the state on the combination of hotels and hospitals, Mr Puri said government has decided to revamp existing medical colleges and hospitals in three phases.

In the first phase, he said, Rs 62 crore has been earmarked for the upliftment of medical colleges and hospitals in Amritsar, while in the second and third phases, medical institutes and hospitals in Patiala and Faridkot would be upgraded.

Mr Puri said the PIMS, which was established here with the primary objective of providing state of the art health care at an affordable price to the large population of this region and , would be made functional at the earliest.

From the next session, he said the state government was exploring the possibility of starting the PMT examination online. A committee headed by Infotech Managing Director RK Verma has been constitituted by the governmnet, which would submit its report within three months, for conduting the online exams, he added.

UNI