DURING his visit to Assam on April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Gauhati High Court, besides inaugurating the first AIIMS in the Northeast and dedicating various other projects worth over Rs. 10,900 crore to the nation.
In his address at the High Court function, PM Modi urged the legal community to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in courtrooms to facilitate ease-of-justice and stressed upon expansion of efforts to make court proceedings simple for the common man.
“In order to increase efficiency and make justice accessible, AI or Artificial Intelligence is also being included in legal systems around the world. We should also expand our efforts in terms of ‘ease of justice’ to make court proceedings simple for the common man through AI,” he said,
Simple legal draft
A major part of ease of justice also includes citizens having the correct knowledge of every aspect of the law, the PM said, adding, “This increases his confidence in the country and constitutional systems. That’s why we have started another process in the Government. When a new legal draft is prepared, emphasis is being laid on preparing a simple version of it as well. The effort is to ensure that the law is written in such a language that people can easily understand. A similar approach will prove to be very helpful for the courts of our country as well.” The operationalisation of AIIMS, along with a bouquet of other development initiatives, would serve as a reassurance and commitment to strengthening health infrastructure in the Northeast.
The projects launched by the PM included, laying the foundation stone of a bridge connecting Palashbari and Sualkuchi on the Brahmaputra River, a project for the beautification of Rang Ghar in Sivasagar, inauguration of a 500 TPD Menthol Plant in Namrup and dedicating to the nation five railway projects.
State-of the art AIIMS
The foundation stone of the AIIMS Guwahati was also laid by PM Modi, in May 2017. Built at a cost of more than Rs. 1,120 crore, it is a state-ofthe-art hospital with a capacity of 750 beds, including 30 AYUSH beds. The hospital will have an annual intake capacity of 100 MBBS students.
Till March 31, 2023, altogether 22 AIIMS have been sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), according to a statement by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in the Lok Sabha. Currently, 20 “AIIMS and AIIMS-like Institutions” are functioning in the country, said another answer tabled by the Ministry in the House.
In Assam, PM Modi also dedicated to the nation three medical colleges at Nalbari, Nagaon, and Kokrajhar, built at a cost of about Rs. 615 crores, Rs. 600 crores and Rs. 535 crores, respectively. Each medical college has an attached 500-bed teaching hospital with OPD/IPD services including emergency services, ICU facilities, OT, and diagnostic facilities etc. Each medical college will have an annual intake capacity of 100 MBBS students.
Ayushman Bharat cards
The PM also distributed Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) cards to three representative beneficiaries. This was followed by the distribution of about 1.1 crore AB-PMJAY cards in all districts of Assam.
Another important step was taken with the laying of foundation stone of Assam Advanced Health Care Innovation Institute (AAHII). It will serve the cause of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ in the health sphere.
The AAHII, to be built at a cost of about Rs. 546 crore, will facilitate cutting-edge inventions and R&D in medicine and healthcare, identify the nation’s unique problems related to health and promote the development of new technologies for solving those problems.
