Imphal, December 18: As a follow up of the Centre's decision to upgrade the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) at par with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Sidhu Committee set up to expedite the upgradation process will be meeting at New Delhi on December 20. A highly placed source at RIMS told The Sangai Express that the Committee chaired by Governor Dr SS Sidhu with Chief Ministers of Manipur, Assam and Mizoram as members among others would discuss and lay out detailed points to the Centre on how the institute would obtain regional autonomy on its own after its proposed upgradation.

RIMS Director Dr L Fimate, Secretary NEC and Planning Advisor would also attend the meeting, the source said, adding that the meeting would discuss logistic issues in all spheres pertaining to the proposed upgradation of the institute.

By the beginning of the next fiscal year (April 1, 2007), the Institute would be taken over by the Union Ministry of Health and hence all responsibilities of the running the institute would be taken up by the Centre.

During his brief visit to the State on December 2, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has announced upgradation of RIMS to the status of AIIMS.

The upgradation process would be expedited initially with allocation of a total cost of Rs 230 crores of which Rs 130 crores is to be sanctioned by the NEC and the remaining Rs 100 crores by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Once the conversion takes place, the current intake capacity of 100 MBBS seats would be increased to 150, the sources added.

To a question on the probable development after the proposed upgradation, the source disclosed that Dental and Nursing courses would be opened at the institute after the upgradation.

A super speciality unit with 200 beds would also come up, the source added.

The source further said that the institute is also planning to renovate all its building in the near future and the plan for construction of new blocks including quarters and hostels is on the pipeline.

RIMS has so far produced over 2000 doctors including 491 specialists since its inception and many of them are serving in renown medical institutes of the country and abroad.

In the current the fiscal year, RIMS is engaging in nearly 60 research projects in different subject matter under the sponsorship of WHO, NACO, ICMR, NEC etc.

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