The number of medical colleges in the country has doubled in the past nine years, and the government is coming up with one critical care unit in every district in the nation, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.

Inaugurating a regional cancer centre at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) here on Saturday, he said the number of MBBS seats in the country increased from 50,000 in 2014 to 1,07,000 now.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister also inaugurated a new undergraduate medical college, a new building of a nursing college, eight modular operation theatres and other facilities.

"In the last nine years, the number of medical colleges has doubled in the country. A total of 1,70,000 Health and Wellness Centres have been created across India. We are also building one critical care unit in every district in the country," he said, while addressing a gathering.

He also laid the foundation stone for a 150-bed critical care block at NEIGRIHMS.

"The new facilities at NEIGRIHMS will provide much-needed healthcare services to the people of the northeast. The central government is committed to improve the health infrastructure in the region,” he said.

"It is our plan to develop NEIGRIHMS as an institute of national importance," Mandaviya said.

While other countries follow a three-layered health system, India boasts of its four-tier mechanism - ASHA, primary, secondary and tertiary services, he added.

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