The Tamil Nadu government has allocated Rs 3,391 crore for health and family care for the year 2009-10, up from Rs 2,741 crore a year ago and 128 per cent in the last five years. The state government initiated various modernisation programme, setting up new hospitals and Asia’s largest blood bank in Chennai.

Also Read   Related Stories News Now - TN govt to spend Rs 520 cr on Agri Deptt - TN against Sibal's move to make class 10th exam optional - Green energy gets a leg up - GMR Infra bags Rs 1,100cr state highway project in TN - Address labour and infra issues to get investments : SICCI to TN govt - TN govt plans to build 17,000 disaster-resistant houses with World Bank   Also Read   Related Stories News Now - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - L N Mittal doubles his stake in Ophir Energy - Indian handicraft firms to participate in Munich fair - Microsoft eyes Indian smartphone mkt - RIL Hazira unit bags 'Excellent Energy Efficient Unit Award' More

According to State Health Department’s policy note, which was presented in the assembly by the State Health Minister M R K Panneerselvam, allocation for the health care segment increased from Rs 1,487 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 3,391 crore, an increased of around 128 per cent.

The Minister told the assembly house that Rs 517 crore has been allocated for an insurance scheme to cover one crore people living below poverty line. The scheme will allow them to access specialist treatment upto Rs 1 lakh for 51 life threatening diseases. A provision of Rs 143.69 crore has been allocated toward ESI Scheme in hospitals.

The minister also said General Hospital in Chennai will be expanded at a cost of Rs 70 crore on the Central Jail land, which is being demolished now. Similarly the government hospitals in Salem and Madurai will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 200 crore and Rs 150 crore respectively.

Besides this, another Rs 160 crore will be spent on constructing additional buildings for various hospitals across the sate. The department will also carry out civil works with an outlay of Rs 325 crore in the state hospitals.

As part of modernisation programme in government hospitals to make it on par with the private hospitals, the government has allocated Rs 350 crore to buy new equipments.

A mega blood bank, which will be Asia’s biggest, will be constructed at a cost of Rs 400 crore in Chennai, said the minister.

The government is also planning to set up medical colleges in Villipuram, Tiruvarur and Sivaganai with an outlay of around Rs 298 crore.

Two government Nursing Colleges and 21 Nursing Training Institutes in the state will be upgraded with an outlay of Rs 153 crore.

Panneerselvam noted number of out patients increased to over 19.14 crore in 2008-09 from 17.80 crore. Similarly number of inpatients increased to over 1.54 crore from 1.49 crore.

Other Stories      - Sensex makes remarkable recovery, regains 17K - L N Mittal doubles his stake in Ophir Energy - Indian handicraft firms to participate in Munich fair - Microsoft eyes Indian smartphone mkt - RIL Hazira unit bags 'Excellent Energy Efficient Unit Award' More

Tags : Tamil Nadu | health care | hospitals | medical colleges   Read Business news in  Advertisements   Get financial advisory and solutions for your projects   Holidays starting at a delightful EMI of Rs 3481   Switch on and say hello to Monday morning !   Your dream home can now be a reality.   Visit Fortis for a preventive health check-up & get a 20% discount.   Follow the ups and downs of your investments. Try our new Portfolio Tracker   Kolkata Dock \ Freight contract for the British Gurkhas Nepal   Find how Midsize Businesses use ERP to gain competitive advantage   Trading in Forex is now as easy as 1-2-3   Discover an economical and cost effective way to market your products and services   Giftwithlove.com: Same day delivery of Flowers and Cakes to India   Download the E-book on the Future of Business Intelligence   Learn Best Practices for improving customer satisfaction   Know your customers better... download the free e-book on CRM