New Delhi, June 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government is transforming the country's health infrastructure that is fit for "New India".

Speaking after inaugurating five projects worth Rs 1,700 crore at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital, Modi said: The government is building a suitable health infrastructure across the country for a New India that will have quality and adequate hospitals, more beds, better facilities and best doctors." 

"The health sector in the country has got a new direction with major policy interventions by the government in the last four years. The Centre with the help of states is putting up an advanced health infrastructure in the country including in tier 2 and tier 3 cities," he said.

The Prime Minister said his government wants to provide quality healthcare to the citizens at lowest possible cost as the burden of disease is the major cause of poverty. For this, his government has initiated more AIIMS-like hospitals in the last four years than done in the last 70 years, he said.

"Thirteen new AIIMS have been announced in the last four year, of which work has started on eight of them. Apart from this, construction of super-specialty hospitals at 15 medical colleges across the country is underway," he said. 

"New avenues for medical education are being introduced. Our government is upgrading hospitals as medical colleges in 58 districts. In this budget, the government announced setting up of 24 new medical colleges. We aim to have at least one medical college in three Lok Sabha seats."

The Prime Minister said about 25,000 new under-graduate and graduate seats have been added in medical colleges in the last four years.

Earlier, Modi laid the foundation stone for National Centre for Ageing, and inaugurated the underground tunnel between AIIMS and Trauma Centre and Power Grid Vishram Sadan at AIIMS. He also inaugurated new emergency and super-specialty blocks at Safdarjung Hospital.

"Facilities at Safdarjung Hospital have been made more advanced with an investment of over Rs 1,300 crore. A super-specialty block and an emergency block have been dedicated to the nation. Safdarjung Hospital has become the country's biggest emergency care hospital with 500-bed capacity just for medical emergency," he said.

The National Centre for Ageing will provide state of art clinical care to the elderly population and play a key role in guiding research in geriatric medicine and related specialties. The Centre will provide multi-specialty healthcare, will have 200 general ward beds and will be developed at a cost of Rs 330 crore by February 2020.

The 997-meter tunnel, to be built at a cost of Rs 44 crore to connect AIIMS and Jai Prakash Narayan Apex (JPNA) Trauma Centre, will significantly reduce the commute time.

The Power Grid Vishram Sadan, built at a cost of Rs 32.67 crore, has a 300-bedded night shelter facility meant for the patients and their relatives visiting AIIMS and Trauma Centre at a nominal cost. The 11-floor facility with a helipad on the roof for heli-ambulances is funded by the state-run Power Grid Corporation.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Unidentified miscreants allegedly broke into a jewellery shop here and decamped with approximately 70 kg of silver articles worth crores of rupees, police said on Friday.

The incident was reported at a jewellery shop near 8th Mile, Havanur, on April 28, they said.

According to police, the accused are suspected to have entered the premises from the rear after breaking open the lock and drilling a hole through the wall of the shop.

The incident came to light at around 7 am on April 28 when shop staff opened the premises and discovered signs of forced entry and extensive damage to the rear section of the building, following which they alerted police authorities.

Preliminary estimates indicate that around 70 kg of silver articles, worth crores, were stolen. Most of the silver items displayed in the cupboards were taken, while valuables kept in the locker remained intact, a senior police officer said.

Police said CCTV cameras inside the shop were not functioning. Efforts are underway to identify the suspects using footage from cameras installed in the vicinity.

The miscreants also allegedly took away the Digital Video Recorder (of CCTV) of an adjacent shop, the officer added.

Investigators are also examining the tools and techniques used to gain access to the shop, suspecting the involvement of a professional gang with prior knowledge of the store layout.

A case has been registered at Bagalagunte Police Station, and further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the accused, police said.