It is an undergraduate and postgraduate institution that enrolls 211 students yearly. The yearly MBBS intake is 125 from 2020 and selection is done through NEET(UG).[4] There is also a B.Sc. Nursing College.[5]
History
Proposal: 1994–2014
In 1994, after talking to the central government, Prasanta Sur, health minister in the then Left government, announced the initial decision to build an AIIMS-style hospital in Kalyani. Pranab Mukherjee, the then chairman of the Planning Commission, also approved Rs 10 crore in the sector. On September 26 that year, the then President Shankar Dayal Sharma laid the foundation stone of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science and Research on the land. It was then said that it would be developed as an AIIMS-style hospital.[6][7]
AIIMS Kalyani was set up as part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) initiative, announced by the Government of India in 2003 and officially launched in March 2006, for the purpose of "correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services", through setting up AIIMS Delhi-like institutions and upgrading government medical colleges.[8][9]
Establishing an AIIMS in West Bengal was proposed in 2012 as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan, with the original location proposed being Raiganj, 400 kilometres (250 mi) from the capital Kolkata, but by June 2014, the proposed location was changed to Kalyani, only 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the capital.[10]
PMSSY: Phase IV
Main entrance of AIIMS Kalyani
The AIIMS was officially announced in July 2014,[11] in the budget speech for 2014–15,[12] where the Minister of FinanceArun Jaitley announced a budget of ₹500 crore (equivalent to ₹799 crore or US$100 million in 2023) for setting up the four "Phase-IV" AIIMSs, in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra and the Purvanchal region in Uttar Pradesh.[11] In March 2015, the union cabinet gave an official approval for the location, on a 150-acre lot in the village Basantapur, near Kalyani.[13] A budget of ₹1,754 crore (US$220 million) was approved in October 2015[14] and the 179.82-acre lot of land was handed over from the West Bengal government to the central government in December of that year.[15]
Founding
Executive Directors
Dipika Deka 2018–2019
Gitanjali Batmanabane 2019–2020
Ramji Singh 2020–
The construction work of the institute's campus started in 2016.[16] The institute was established by the Union Government in exercise of the powers conferred by the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Act, 1956 (25 of 1956) as per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notification on 24 January 2018.[1] The mentoring institution was AIIMS Bhubaneswar,[17] the first director appointed was Dipika Deka[18] and Chitra Sarkar selected as president.[19] Deka resigned in May 2019, leaving the director's position open.[20] In March 2020, Ramji Singh was appointed as new director.[21]
Developments
The institute became operational with the first batch of 50 MBBS students,[22] which one of the six AIIMSs to become operational in 2019.[23] Classes started in September 2019.[17] Temporarily, classes of the first batch were taken at the College of Medicine & JNM Hospital campus in Kalyani, while students were already staying at the hostel on the campus.[17] In 2020, the number of MBBS seats was increased from 50 to 125.[24]
On 1 March 2022, first Academic season of B.Sc (Nursing) course with 60 number of seats capacity inaugurated by institute president.[25] In November 2022, Institute has been permitted to run postgraduate courses with 26 number of seats allocated for INI-CET January 2023 session.[26]
Logo
The seal of the institution highlights various famous structures, agricultural crops, places and rivers of Bengal. Above and below the seal, the name of the institution is written in Sanskrit and English respectively, and a total of two rice sheafs are depicted on each side. This is indicative of paddy, the main agricultural crop of Bengal. There is a picture of a book after Rod of Asclepius. The book represents the portrait of Kalyani AIIMS as an institution providing education to medical students. The blue waters in the lower part represent the Hooghly River and the bridge above the blue water represents the Howrah Bridge or Rabindra Setu. The roots-like part beneath the bars of Asclepius represents the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans formed by the Gangetic Delta, Brahmaputra, Meghna River which houses many Flora and fauna recognized by UNESCO World Heritage Site.The Bengal tiger symbolizes the pride of Bengal also the national animal of our country. The pictures of the two fish in the seal refer to the abundance of fish in the river of Bengal and a food source in Bengal.
The concept of seal design was conceived by Madhavan C, an assistant professor of physiology.[27]
Campuses
The campus of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani.
AIIMS Kalyani's 179.82 acres (0.7277 km2) campus is in Saguna, Kalyani, West Bengal, an affluent suburban residential community 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of downtown Kolkata. It is directly north of the NH 34 Connector (the road connects Kalyani with NH 34), directly west of the Jamuna river and about 12 km east of Hooghly river.[28][29] The campus is located in Seismic Zone III.[3]
The campus is divided into three parts: Residential area, Institutional area and Service area. Basically, the southern part of the campus is the Institutional area and the northern part is the Residential area. But Dharamshala block is located in the southern part of the campus, which is part of the Residential area. There are 10 buildings in the Institutional area and 16 in the Residential area. Also, the Service area is roughly located near the boundary wall at the western end of the campus, such as electrical substations.
From top left to bottom right (a) AYUSH block at AIIMS Kalyani; (b) Inpatient Department building; (c) Dharamshala (canteen); (d) Patient name registration room; (e) Solar panels on Outpatient Department (OPD) building's roof.
The campus consists of mostly housing and academic buildings for the MBBS students, B.Sc (Nursing) students, and staff. Infrastructure (buildings and roads etc.) covers a total area of 57650.21 square meters, which is about 7.92% of the total campus's area.[3] The hospital block is at the southern end of the campus, which is located near the main entrance to the campus. It covers a total area of 22,574.16 square meters. Ayush Block (Ayurveda and Homeopathy) is directly west of the Outpatient department (OPD) building, and only liquid oxygen plant of the institution is located to the west of the Inpatient department (IPD) building. There is only one canteen named "Dharamshala" within the campus, which is located west of Ayush Block.[3]
Inpatient department (IPD) building of AIIMS, Kalyani
Seven hostel buildings are located north of the parking lot (for AIIMS staff) and auditorium. The hostel buildings can accommodate a total of 1397 students. The complex of medical college building, nursing college building and laboratory building (medical) is to the north of the hospital building and to the west of the institution's administrative building. There are 5 residential buildings for staff, one guest house and an executive director's residence in the northern part of the campus. Granite, marble and vitrified tiles have been used for flooring in the buildings.[3]
The parking area within the campus has a total area of 68,981 square meters, which can accommodate about 2999 cars. Parking spaces are provided at suitable locations near the activity area. For smooth flow of vehicular traffic and to avoid accidents during vehicular movement, the road system of the campus is designed as per NBC code or regulations.[3]
Organisation and administration
Governance
The institute is governed by a board of administrative officers or governing body, which includes president and director of the institute, chief secretary of the Government of West Bengal, the vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta, director of IIT Kharagpur, secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and 5 others.[30] They monitor the operation of the institute and its funding. There are three committees are within the governing body: Standing Academic Committee, Standing Selection Committee and Standing Finance Committee.[31] In November 2018, Chitra Sarkar became the 1st president of the institute.[19] The institute is funded by the Government of India.[32][33]
Faculties and departments
The institute has 34 departments, which includes Anaesthesiology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, Cardiology, Physiology and 29 others.[34]
For MBBS courses, admission is based on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET–UG) rankings. Meanwhile, for postgraduate courses (MD, MS and MDS), one has to take a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET–PG) conducted by the National Board of Examinations. A merit list is prepared on the basis of the examination results, on the basis of which list the students are admitted. A candidate must have MBBS degree to get admission in MD or MS course. The institution admits medical students as well as nursing students. For B.Sc. nursing course, students need to clear the AIIMS Nursing Entrance Test. Admission is done on the basis of students's rank in merit list.
Courses
The institute offers both Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree courses. MBBS and B.Sc. Nursing courses are offered under Undergraduate degree. MD, MS, and MDS courses are offered under Postgraduate degree. The institute offers MD, MS, and MDS courses in 16 different subjects.[35]
Research
AIIMS Kalyani has been closely associated with research activities since its establishment. Research in medicine and allied sciences is one of the major functions of AIIMS Kalyani. A total of 12 research projects have been initiated by the faculty members of AIIMS Kalyani in 2019–20. The institute runs a Short Term Studentship (STS) scheme under Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).[36]
The Institute signed MoU with another premier Institution IISER Kolkata for further Research & Development oppotutnities in Jan 2020.[37] signed a MoU for development of a collaborative platform for academic and research promotion and potential faculty and students exchange program in near future with IIIT Kalyani in September 2021.[38]
In July 2023 signed an agreement with IIT Kharagpur for collaboration in education, research and medical services.[39]
Library
The central library at the campus was started in March 2021. It was inaugurated on March 8, 2021, by Executive Director Dr. Ramji Singh. Unified Library Services for AIIMS Kalyani Central Library started on 27 March 2021.[40]
The library building consists of three floors (ground, first and second floors) with a carpet area of 2,608.596 square feet and a seating capacity of about 250 persons.[40] The library is open up to 9pm, 7 days a week including Sundays and holidays, except national holidays. Its current collection consists of 800 printed books. The library also has a large number of e-resource material.[40]
Patient care
On 27 January 2021, outpatient department (OPD) service was opened at the permanent campus, with departments of general medicine, general surgery obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT and Psychiatry.[41]
Controversies
On May 20, 2022, a CID West Bengal lodged a FIR at Nadia Police Station based on a complaint filed by one Sariful Islam from Murshidabad. Sariful, also an applicant at AIIMS alleged corruption and use of power.[42] Four BJP MLA, MP including Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar have been named in FIR, accusing them of using their influence to get jobs for their relatives at AIIMS, Kalyani. Relatives of two BJP MLAs have already been questioned in the case.[43]
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