Lucknow, February 20 : The Yogi government’s transformative steps have made Uttar Pradesh a leader in healthcare, overcoming its pre-2017 shortcomings, stated Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on Thursday.

Presenting the 2025-26 Budget, Finance Minister Suresh Khanna highlighted the state’s progress, stating that UP has moved beyond its ‘BIMARU’ tag to set new benchmarks in medical services, ensuring better healthcare access for all.

The Finance Minister mentioned that eight years ago, many people in different parts of Uttar Pradesh used to die every year due to infectious diseases. At that time, there were no proper facilities for disease detection, prevention, and treatment for the general public.

“However, under the Yogi government, the state efficiently handled the COVID-19 pandemic, earning global appreciation. Today, healthcare facilities in Uttar Pradesh have expanded significantly and continue to grow,” he added.

He informed that the state now has 80 medical colleges—44 run by the government and 36 by private institutions. Uttar Pradesh also has two AIIMS, along with IMS-BHU in Varanasi and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh. In 2024-25, 13 autonomous medical colleges have been established, in addition to three new medical colleges in Maharajganj, Sambhal, and Shamli under the PPP model.

“At present, the state has 11,800 MBBS seats and 3,971 PG seats available in government and private medical colleges, institutes, and universities,” he added.

The Finance Minister mentioned that the Central Government has planned to add 10,000 UG and PG medical seats across the country in 2025-26, out of which Uttar Pradesh will receive 1,500 seats. For this, a budget of approximately Rs 2,066 crore has been proposed.

In 2017, the total number of super-specialty seats in government medical colleges was 120, which has been increased to 250 in the academic session 2024-25. Additionally, Rs 27 crore has been allocated for establishing an autonomous state medical college in Ballia and Rs 25 crore for a similar college in Balrampur.

“Under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, 5.13 crore Ayushman cards have been issued in Uttar Pradesh, making it the leading state in the country for card distribution. Primary health units are being upgraded into 'Ayushman Arogya Mandirs,' with a total of 22,681 such centers currently established,” he added.

The Finance Minister mentioned that in order to improve rural healthcare, teleconsultation services have been provided through sub-centers since July 2020. The state government, under the National Health Mission (NHM), is also offering free dialysis services through the PPP model. Additionally, free CT scan facilities are being made available in district hospitals under the NHM's PPP initiative.

The Finance Minister stated that Uttar Pradesh currently has 2,110 Ayurvedic hospitals, 254 Unani hospitals, and 1,585 Homeopathic hospitals across various districts. In addition, the state has 8 Ayurvedic colleges, 2 Unani colleges, and 9 Homeopathic colleges, each with their own affiliated hospitals.

He also mentioned that for the 2025-26 financial year, the government aims to complete the construction of Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath Ayush University in Gorakhpur, finish building the Government Ayurvedic College in Ayodhya, and establish a Government Homeopathic Medical College in Varanasi.