Ludhiana among 10 cities in country to get ESIC Medical College: MP Arora

Ludhiana, November 9, 2024: A new government medical college is set to open in Ludhiana, providing a significant boost to medical education and research in the area. This will be the first public medical institution in the city, complementing the existing private Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

The ESI Corporation approved the establishment of 10 new ESIC medical colleges in the country. Other nine cities to get these colleges are Andheri (Maharashtra), Basaidarapur (Delhi), Guwahati-Beltola (Assam), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Naroda-Bapunagar (Gujarat), Noida, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand).

Giving this information here on Friday, MP (Rajya Sabha) Sanjeev Arora added that the college will be established by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, with an initial intake of 50 MBBS undergraduate seats. He added Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has agreed to allocate 10 acres for the college campus, with plans for it to begin operations by the next academic year.

At a recent meeting held under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann recently, Arora was given the task of finding suitable land in consultation with the Municipal Commissioner, Ludhiana for the project. Arora said though the ESIC originally requested 20 acres, the state government will initially provide a 10-acre site, with additional land allocated as needed.

Arora, who is also a member of the Centre’s Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, shared that the campus will be located near the ESIC Model Hospital to allow for a shared facility between the college and the hospital. The 300-bed ESIC Model Hospital, which already offers secondary care and teaching facilities in Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Paediatrics, is expected to expand its teaching services to General Surgery as well.

The new college campus will be constructed according to a phased schedule, including facilities, equipment, and infrastructure for the academic block required for the first-year MBBS curriculum. Until the campus is complete, the fourth floor of the current hospital will serve as a temporary academic block, providing five labs, a dissection hall, and a lecture theatre.

Additional facilities are planned as well, with expansions to the library and space for faculty offices and study rooms. An older structure will be replaced with a new five-floor building for the academic block’s future expansion.

According to ESIC’s notification, the new medical college will offer 50 seats and be attached to the existing hospital. Staff accommodations and student hostels will be built following National Medical Commission (NMC) guidelines. The college will be managed by ESIC under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and a Dean will oversee its operations.

Arora said some of the key features of ESIC Medical College, Ludhiana, include that it will focus on research and innovation in medical sciences and may develop centres for postgraduate programs in the future.

He said on his initiative Director, Medical Education, Punjab has already issued an essentiality certificate to ESIC Model Hospital, Ludhiana for starting a new Undergraduate medical college for Academic year 2025-26 with an annual intake of 50 MBBS seats.

Arora said there was a dire need that new medical colleges should be established by the government so that the physical shortage of the doctors and trained medical manpower shall be reduced and also to strengthen the health care delivery system.

He hoped that the establishment of a new medical college by Employees State Insurance Corporation, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India shall also increase medical seats and enhance health infrastructure in the state of Punjab. He said the establishment of a new medical college in the city will be a great achievement not only for Ludhiana people but also for the whole of the state.