IIT Kharagpur to invest Rs 230 crore to start medical course

Institute expected to start course in 2016 which will be recognised by Medical Council of India

Country's premier technology institute, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), will  invest around Rs 230 crore for its 400 bed super specialty hospital in the campus which will impart undergraduate medical course to students.

The institute is expected to start the course in 2016 which will be recognised by Medical Council of India (MCI).

This will be the first time that an IIT will impart medical education. Centre has already given its approval to IIT Kharagpur for the project and substantial amount of the fund is with IIT Kharagpur.

According to institute director S K Som, IIT Kahargpur will be the first IIT to have technology driven medical course and other IIT may also join in later.

Som said that according to Medical Council of India, which is under the health ministry, a  400 specialty bed hospital is required to start imparting medical education. “We have been pioneers on many fronts even in technology space and we are the first IIT to start this process. We have got the nod from centre and also a substantial part of fund has been sent by centre,” he said.

The 45 acre plot inside IIT Kharagpur campus has been allocated for the hospital. Out of the total project cost of Rs 230 crore,  Rs 150 crore will be paid by centre and rest has to be managed by the institute. “Funding won't be an issue as Rs 75 crore out of Centre's Rs 150 crore is already with us. We are looking to generate the rest,” he added.

State run enterprise HSCC has been chosen for the project. HSCC provides professional consultancy services in the health care sector to both state-run and private hospitals. “An expression of interest will be generated inviting architects soon. Construction work should start in another three months,” added Som.  

According to him the institute runs a master's degree course in medical bio technology but that was not enough thus, the institute was looking to provide a proper integrated medical course.
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"What we are looking at is to provide a integrated course to the students. Being in the same campus with IIT, the facility will have some of the best features in the medical education scenario of India,” he added.

The institute is also planning to tie up with AIIMS as well. “Apart from AIIMS, we are looking to tie up with  international universities in US as well,” claimed the institute director.