Odisha to have country's first public health varsity

State govt has alloted 50 acres of land for the proposed university at Gramdiha on city's suburbs

The first of its kind public health university in the country will come up in Odisha. The state government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the city-based Asian Institute of Public Health (AIPH) for setting up the health university on public private partnership (PPP) mode.

The state government has allotted 50 acres of land for the proposed university at Gramdiha on the city’s suburbs. Initially, Rs 100 crore will be invested on the university. The MoU was signed by state health secretary Pradipta K Mohapatra and Pinaki Panigrahi on behalf of AIPH in the presence of health minister Damodar Rout. “The establishment of a public health university is going to be a commendable step in the area of human service,” Rout said. AIPH will establish the university in collaboration with US-based University of Nebraska Medical Centre noted for its excellence in professional medical education.