New Delhi/Agartala, June 29 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday said the Centre would provide several modern medical machines and equipment, including 48 AI-enabled portable handheld X-ray devices, under the Prime Minister’s Fund to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the northeastern state.

In a Facebook post, the Chief Minister said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Tripura Health and Family Welfare Department in New Delhi on Monday for the supply, installation and operationalisation of advanced medical equipment in the state.

According to Saha, who also holds the Health and Family Welfare portfolio, the equipment to be provided under the Prime Minister’s Fund includes 48 AI-enabled portable handheld X-ray machines, three Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines and three Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) mammography systems.

“These advanced medical equipment will be installed at district hospitals in Dhalai, North Tripura and Gomati districts, significantly strengthening healthcare delivery and improving access to quality diagnostic services across the state,” the Chief Minister said.

Expressing his gratitude, Saha said: “I am grateful to Prime Minister Modi and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda for their continued support in upgrading Tripura’s healthcare infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, responding to the Tripura government’s proposal, the Union Ministry of AYUSH earlier this month approved the establishment of the Tripura Government Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital at Udaipur in Gomati district, with an intake capacity of 60 undergraduate seats from the academic session 2026-27.

Welcoming the development, the Chief Minister took to social media platform X and said: “The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), under the Union Ministry of AYUSH, has accepted our application for establishing the Tripura Government Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital at Udaipur, with an intake capacity of 60 seats from the academic session 2026-27.”

“My heartfelt gratitude and sincere thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visionary leadership and unwavering support in strengthening healthcare and medical education across the country,” Saha wrote.

He said the establishment of the new institution would significantly strengthen Ayurvedic education in the state, promote the Indian system of medicine and create fresh opportunities for aspiring students, while also improving healthcare services for the people of Tripura.

The Chief Minister also attached a copy of the communication issued by the AYUSH Ministry to his social media post.

In a letter addressed to Tripura Health and Family Welfare Secretary Kiran Gitte, President of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board for Indian System of Medicine under the NCISM, Dr Mukul Patel, informed him that the Commission had accepted the state government’s proposal for setting up the new Ayurvedic medical college.

The communication stated that the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine had decided to accept and consider applications for the establishment of new undergraduate Ayurveda medical colleges from the academic session 2026-27 with an intake capacity of 60 seats, subject to the fulfilment of the prescribed norms and statutory provisions.

Accordingly, the proposal submitted by the Tripura government to establish the Tripura Government Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital at Udaipur, with an annual intake of 60 undergraduate students for the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) course from the academic session 2026-27, has been accepted, the letter said.

Tripura currently has three medical colleges with around 550 MBBS seats and nearly 200 postgraduate medical seats.

These include the state-run Agartala Government Medical College and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital, the society-managed Tripura Medical College and Dr B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital, and the privately managed Tripura Santiniketan Medical College and Hospital.

The state also has a government-run dental college with an annual intake capacity of 63 students.

Earlier, Chief Minister Saha had said that the state government is continuously working to comprehensively strengthen medical education as well as healthcare infrastructure to ensure better medical services for the people of Tripura.

–IANS

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