Health dept appoints VC for proposed medical university

Ranchi: The health department on Friday appointed Dr Sudhir Kumar Gupta, head of the department of Forensics Medicine and Toxicology at AIIMS New Delhi, as the vice chancellor for its proposed medical university. The varsity, which will a first of its kind in Jharkhand, is proposed to come up in Brambe on the outskirts of the state capital.

The state govt had announced to set up the university in its budget speech for the 2026-27 FY last month. All existing govt-run medical colleges in Jharkhand, which are either autonomous or affiliated to various universities, will be brought under the new varsity once it becomes functional.

In a notification, the department said Gupta will helm the varsity for three years or till he turns 70, whichever is earlier.

Department officials said that the varsity will initially come up at the Panchayati Raj Training Institute (PRTI) campus located at Brambe on Ranchi outskirts. “We have sought immediate transfer of this campus for early commencement of the medical university,” Ajoy Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary of the department, said.

Once operational, the medical varsity will offer courses related to various streams such as general medicine, dental, nursing and paramedical studies. “All the institutes/medical entities offering different courses across the state will come under the ambit of this varsity,” said another official.

“This will bring uniformity in teaching, examinations, affiliation and recognition-related functions. Until now, these institutions had to face coordination problems as they are affiliated to different universities," he added.

Singh, on the other hand, said once the varsity is ready, the process of increasing undergraduate and postgraduate seats will also become simpler and more effective. “Research activities in the medical field will also receive a boost,” he said.

Notably, the govt had announced to set up the university last year. State health minister Irfan Ansari had sought the Centre’s assistance for the project. In December last year, Ansari announced that they had identified the PRTI campus in Brambe, which is spread on over 60 acres, for initially setting up of the medical varsity.

Speaking to TOI on earlier occasion, Ansari had said that it is one of the ambitious projects of the state govt and health department to boost health education and medical services in Jharkhand. “For the first time after state’s formation in 2000, the govt is now aggressively working towards setting up of medical varsity which will be a boon for the state,” he said.