Announcing this at the 29th convocation of the PGI today, Union Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee said that PGI, along with two other superspecialty hospitals in the country, has been chosen for the implementation of the project in Bhutan and Sri Lanka this year.

The minister added that the first phase of the project is likely to start from September this year.

“The MoU between the governments has been signed and telemedicine services would begin this year in Bhutan and Sri Lanka,” said Mukherjee. PGI is already linked to all the major hospitals in the region since the launch of the telemedicine project in 2005 to entertain the tedious cases requiring consultation and digital transfer of clinical data.

While praising the faculty of the PGIMER, Mukherjee said: “Since PGI has some of the best faculty in India, I urge doctors to focus their energies on answering the health needs of the country. We need a lot more grassroots research on the epidemiology of our diseases, on infections, nutrition and its interaction with disease processes, simplified treatment regimens, and so on.”

Earlier, Anbumani Ramadoss, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and also the president of the Institute, listed out the achievements of the various schemes including the National Rural Health Mission.

PGI Director Prof KK Talwar apprised the gathering of the achievements of the institute and its plans. Ramadoss also said that the Centre would provide Rs 1,000 crore for the upgradation of the medical college in Amritsar.