Maharashtra Gets ₹3,708 Crore JICA Support for Medical Education & Nursing
The Maharashtra cabinet, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Monday approved a ₹3,708 crore project with financial support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to strengthen medical education, nursing, and healthcare services across the state.
The project, titled “Strengthening Tertiary Health Care Delivery, Medical Education System and Nursing System in Maharashtra,” aims to enhance infrastructure and provide advanced equipment to medical colleges, nursing institutions, and their associated hospitals.
As per the official release, funding will support newly established Government Medical Colleges in Wardha, Palghar, Ratnagiri, and Ahilyanagar. It will also be used to upgrade nursing colleges at GT Hospital and St George’s in Mumbai, as well as institutions in Dhule, Solapur, Ambajogai, Akola, IGMC Nagpur, Ratnagiri, Palghar, and Dharashiv. Additionally, new nursing colleges will be built in Baramati, Sangli (Miraj), and Kolhapur.
The government will also allocate funds for advanced medical equipment in Government Medical Colleges across Ahilyanagar, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Jalna, Mumbai, Nashik, Parbhani, Satara, Palghar, Ratnagiri, and Wardha.
Further, provisions have been made for human resource development and improving hospital management and administrative capacity under the Indo-Japan Academic Exchange Programme.
An official stated that the initiative is aimed at ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare services for citizens across the state.
In addition to this, the cabinet approved a comprehensive reform plan aligned with the “Viksit Maharashtra 2047” vision, focusing on simplifying the recruitment process and expanding opportunities for candidates.
The number of cadres under the Maharashtra Public Service Commission will be increased to 102. The revised combined examination system will now include 18 new services and 93 additional cadres.
In a significant move benefiting fresh graduates, the requirement of prior work experience for direct recruitment will largely be removed.
The cabinet has also approved a “No Interview Policy” for non-gazetted Group-B and Group-C posts to ensure faster and more transparent recruitment.
Inspired by the Union Public Service Commission’s “Pratibha Setu,” a new portal will be introduced to share data of candidates who reached the interview stage but were not selected in the final merit list with public and private sector employers, improving their job prospects.
The cabinet also identified outdated roles as “Dying Cadres” and plans to introduce new positions focused on Artificial Intelligence expertise.
Additionally, the recruitment process will adopt DigiLocker for instant and paperless verification of educational and caste certificates.
With Inputs From IANS
