Lucknow, Feb 20 (PTI) Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, while presenting the 2025 Budget on Thursday, highlighted Uttar Pradesh's healthcare transformation, stating that the state has overcome its 'BIMARU' tag and is a leader in medical services.

As per a press statement, Khanna said under the Yogi government, Uttar Pradesh handled the Covid-19 pandemic effectively and expanded healthcare facilities. The state boasts of 80 medical colleges, two AIIMS, and key institutions like IMS-BHU and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

The Budget proposed Rs 2,066 crore for 1,500 new medical seats in 2025-26, with 13 autonomous medical colleges and three new ones under the PPP model. Uttar Pradesh has 11,800 MBBS seats and 3,971 PG seats.

The state has issued 5.13 crore Ayushman cards under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and established 22,681 'Ayushman Arogya Mandirs'.

Teleconsultation and free dialysis services are also available in rural areas, he said. Additionally, ayurvedic, unani, and homeopathic healthcare facilities are spread across the state.

For 2025-26, the government aims to complete the Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath Ayush University in Gorakhpur and new Ayurvedic and Homeopathic colleges in Ayodhya and Varanasi. PTI CDN TRB

Healthcare investment: budget expands medical education capacity and scales public health services and rural care access. The Budget allocates funding to expand medical education by creating new undergraduate seats, establishing autonomous medical colleges and additional colleges under a public-private partnership model, and prioritises completion of a state medical university and new Ayurvedic and Homeopathic colleges; it also strengthens public health access by scaling the Ayushman Bharat scheme through issuance of entitlement cards, creating numerous health facilities, and providing teleconsultation and free dialysis in rural areas.