Agartala, May 15 (IANS) The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has sanctioned Rs 273.46 crore for the expansion and infrastructure development of Agartala Government Medical College, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha announced on Friday.

The Chief Minister, in a social media post, expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda for approving the substantial financial assistance aimed at strengthening medical education and healthcare infrastructure in the state.

“I would like to thank Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji and Hon’ble Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Shri J.P. Nadda Ji for sanctioning Rs 273.46 crore for infrastructure development of Agartala Government Medical College,” Saha said on Facebook.

According to the Chief Minister, the sanctioned funds would enable the state government to increase 100 MBBS seats and 83 Postgraduate seats across 19 critical and speciality disciplines from the academic session 2026-27.

With the addition of these seats, Tripura will have a total of 550 MBBS seats (in three medical colleges) and 196 postgraduate seats, marking a record increase in medical education capacity in the last four years, said Saha, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolio.

“We are committed to improving healthcare services for citizens as well as strengthening medical education opportunities for young aspirants in the state,” he added.

Tripura currently has three medical colleges — the state-run Agartala Government Medical College and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital, the society-run semi-government Tripura Medical College & Dr B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital, and the privately managed Tripura Santiniketan Medical College & Hospital.

Established in 2005, the Agartala Government Medical College and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital was the first medical college in the state.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chief Minister Saha had said that the Tripura government has accorded top priority to the expansion and modernisation of healthcare services across the state, resulting in an 80 per cent reduction in the number of patients referred outside Tripura for specialised medical treatment. He had also announced that a medical university would soon be established in the state.

In addition, more super-speciality hospitals are planned, along with a new medical college in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) area and a dedicated eye hospital. Saha, himself a dental surgeon, said the initiatives are aimed at ensuring that people in Tripura can access advanced medical treatment within the state itself, reducing the need for patients to travel outside for healthcare services.

–IANS

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