Himachal Pradesh is embarking on a major upgrade of healthcare infrastructure, with around ₹500 crore being invested in advanced medical equipment at government medical colleges across the state, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Sunday.
The initiative, he said, is aimed at bringing sophisticated diagnostic technology closer to patients and reducing the need for residents to travel outside the state for specialised tests and treatment.
Addressing a public health camp at Kangu in the Nadaun Assembly constituency, Sukhu said modern diagnostic machines were being installed at medical colleges to improve the accuracy and speed of medical investigations. He claimed that some of the equipment being introduced in Himachal is currently available only at premier institutions such as AIIMS New Delhi.
The Chief Minister said that even AIIMS Bilaspur and major neighbouring cities such as Ludhiana and Jalandhar do not currently have access to comparable facilities in every area of advanced diagnostics.
The investment represents a significant shift in the state’s healthcare strategy, with the government seeking to combine infrastructure expansion with recruitment of specialised medical personnel.
Sukhu said that the availability of sophisticated equipment would allow doctors to identify diseases more accurately and initiate appropriate treatment without unnecessary delays. The broader objective, he said, was to strengthen government hospitals so that patients could access quality healthcare closer to their homes.
650 doctors and specialists to be recruited
Alongside the equipment upgrade, the state government plans to undertake a major recruitment exercise covering different levels of medical expertise.
According to Sukhu, the government will recruit 300 Medical Officers, 200 specialist doctors and 150 super-specialist doctors.
The recruitment drive is intended to address shortages of medical professionals and strengthen specialist services at government healthcare institutions.
Sukhu said specialist doctors were also being appointed at 70 Adarsh Medical Institutions across Himachal Pradesh. The idea, he said, was to ensure that residents in rural and semi-urban areas could access specialised healthcare without having to travel to major cities.
Hospitals in Nadaun, Kangu, Galore and Dhaneta have already seen doctor appointments as part of this effort, he added.
The combination of new equipment and additional medical staff is expected to be particularly important for districts where patients currently depend heavily on larger hospitals for specialist consultations and diagnostic services.
Hamirpur set for new Allied Health Sciences institution
The Chief Minister also announced a major academic initiative linked to healthcare.
Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College at Jolsappar in Hamirpur is expected to be inaugurated shortly, Sukhu said.
The campus will also house an Allied Health Sciences institution, which the Chief Minister described as the first of its kind in North India.
Sukhu said the Vice-Chancellor had been directed to ensure that admissions begin during the current academic session.
The proposed institution is expected to train professionals who play a critical role in modern healthcare, including technical and diagnostic support services. The establishment of such an institution in Hamirpur could help create a local pool of trained allied healthcare professionals while reducing dependence on institutions outside the state.
For Himachal Pradesh, the move also reflects an attempt to develop healthcare education alongside medical treatment facilities.
Health camps to expand across Hamirpur
Sukhu urged residents to take advantage of the public health camp organised at Kangu and said similar camps would be held in Nadaun and other parts of Hamirpur in the coming period.
Such camps are intended to bring basic screening and medical consultations closer to communities and help identify health problems at an earlier stage.
The government sees preventive healthcare as an important component of strengthening the state’s public health system, particularly in areas where access to specialised hospitals can be difficult because of Himachal’s mountainous terrain.
Kangu school to get modern facilities
The Chief Minister’s visit also included announcements related to education.
The Senior Secondary School at Kangu has been selected for development as a Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding School. Sukhu said a new school building would be constructed and students would receive modern educational facilities.
Construction of a new primary school building in the area is also expected to begin shortly.
The education-related announcements form part of the government’s broader effort to improve public institutions outside the state’s major urban centres.
Sukhu stresses fiscal discipline
Defending the government’s development agenda, Sukhu acknowledged the difficult financial circumstances facing Himachal Pradesh but said the state was steadily moving towards greater self-reliance.
He said financial constraints would not be allowed to undermine investment in essential sectors such as health and education.
The statement comes against the backdrop of continuing concerns over Himachal Pradesh’s fiscal position, including its debt burden and employee-related liabilities. The state government has repeatedly argued that fiscal discipline and additional revenue generation are necessary to maintain essential public services while continuing development spending.
Sukhu said his administration was ensuring that critical sectors received the funds required to maintain momentum.
The healthcare investment is particularly significant because Himachal Pradesh faces structural challenges in delivering medical services across a geographically difficult terrain. Long distances, limited specialist availability and the need for patients to travel to larger centres have traditionally been among the major challenges confronting the state’s public healthcare system.
By combining advanced diagnostic infrastructure with recruitment of Medical Officers, specialists and super-specialists, the government hopes to address both sides of that problem.
The success of the initiative, however, will ultimately depend on implementation — particularly the timely installation and maintenance of expensive equipment, availability of trained personnel and the ability of government hospitals to retain specialist doctors.
For Hamirpur and the Nadaun region, the announcements represent a broader development push spanning healthcare, medical education and school infrastructure.
If implemented as announced, the initiatives could significantly expand access to specialised medical services while creating a stronger ecosystem for healthcare education within Himachal Pradesh.
The state government’s stated objective is clear: to make advanced healthcare available closer to ordinary residents while simultaneously strengthening the institutions and workforce required to sustain that system.
