Close on the heels of signing 39 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the country's realty giants, the government of Jammu and Kashmir has on Tuesday decided to tie up with Apollo Hospitals. A 250-bed multi-specialty hospital will be set up in Jammu.
In presence of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the MoU was signed between Ranjan Prakash Thakur, Principal Secretary to J and K Government, Industries & Commerce Department and Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd.
The hospital by Apollo will be the first to come up in Jammu as part of the Union Territory (UT) government's plan of establishing two medicities– one each at Meeran Sahab in Jammu and Sempora in Srinagar. Officials said that the Apollo venture would create around 1,000 jobs directly for medical and paramedical professionals and other staff.
The J&K govt signed MoU with Apollo Hospitals to establish multi-speciality hospital in Jammu. pic.twitter.com/vXomUO4mEi
— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) December 28, 2021
Speaking on the occasion, Sinha observed that the MoU is another major milestone for J and K. "We have embarked on a new journey of development & socio-economic growth, which will take J&K UT to levels never seen before”, he said. "With greater industry engagement and greater investment, J&K will grow from strength to strength in the years to come"
In addition to providing the best healthcare facilities, the venture will bring huge direct and indirect employment opportunities for the locals, Sinha said. He asserted that J&K is the only UT/State in the country with universal health insurance coverage for up to Rs. 5 lakh per family. “We are also having an extensive budget for the health sector”.
More healthcare projects and MoUs are in the pipeline to ensure best healthcare within the reach of every citizen of the UT, Sinha added.
In the first phase, Apollo Hospitals will set up a 250-bed hospital in the region. Well-known for clinical excellence, Apollo has a robust presence across the healthcare ecosystem, providing high-quality, patient-focused medical care.
Ranjan Prakash Thakur, Principal Secretary to J&K Government, Industries & Commerce Department spoke on the health facilities to be extended to the people of the UT through the MoU.
Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited shared the vision of the Apollo hospitals to establish state-of-the-art health facilities in the UT.
“We understand that the health sector creates vast job opportunities, and this project will also generate more than 1000 (in) direct employment. That is the responsibility which all of us collectively have set forth to discharge. Apart from this, it will also become the training centre not only for doctors, but also for the nurses, paramedics, technicians, and allied healthcare workers,” said Dr. Reddy.
Tomorrow when J&K would become a hub for healthcare tourism, people from the rest of the world can also be treated here. In a way, this project will help us heal the world, she added.
“We are committed to bring specialists in various healthcare sectors on board. Trained health personnel are required to efficiently look after the people in need of medical attention. We are happy to bring a good standard of training, learning and skilling in the health sector to J&K.”
“This is a very progressive step. We are thankful to the Lieutenant Governor for giving us this opportunity. I believe that it’s a giant leap of faith, but it is a project which will put us on the global map”, Dr. Reddy observed.
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