By Team Ayurved Sutra
Posted on
Budget allocation for AIIMS cut marginally
The allocation for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) witnessed a marginal drop in the budget for 2015‐16 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Overall, India’s health budget has been cut by 5.7 percent percent as Jaitley allocated Rs.33,152 crore against last fiscal’s Rs.35,163 crores, with a special focus on AYUSH and setting up of six more AIIMS‐like institutes in different parts of the country.
The ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) was allotted Rs.1,214 crore with the aim to propagate traditional methods of medicines in the country. AYUSH till last year was a department under the health ministry. Of the medical institutes, AIIMS got Rs.1,470 crore, down from last fiscal’s Rs.1,565 crore. In 2013‐14, it was Rs.1,355 crore. AIIMS is among India’s top medical colleges, with its hospital catering to almost 8,000 patients daily, mostly from the underprivileged sections. It has over 2,200 beds.With six more AIIMS‐like institutes, the number of such super specialty institutes has gone up to 14 in the country. However, many other hospitals and research institutes like Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Kalawati Saran Hospital, The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), The department of AIDS control saw a rise in the allotments.
