Providing better healthcare biggest priority: PM Modi ahead of Darbhanga AIIMS inauguration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to providing better healthcare and improving the living conditions of the country’s citizens.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister will visit Bihar to lay the foundation stone for AIIMS Darbhanga, as well as multiple development projects worth ₹12,100 crore across the state.

Taking to X, PM Modi posted, “Providing better health facilities to the countrymen and making their lives easier is our biggest priority. In this direction, today at around 10:45 a.m., along with laying the foundation stone of Darbhanga AIIMS in Bihar, we will have the privilege of inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of many other projects.”

He will travel to Darbhanga and inaugurate, lay the foundation stone, and dedicate several development projects to the country.

To provide a major boost to health infrastructure in the region, Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone of AIIMS Darbhanga, which is worth more than ₹1,260 crore. The project will include a super-speciality hospital/AYUSH block, medical college, nursing college, night shelter, and residential facilities, among others. It will also provide tertiary healthcare services to the people of Bihar and nearby regions.

A special focus on development projects will enhance connectivity in the region across road and railway sectors.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for multiple National Highway projects worth around ₹5,070 crore in Bihar. These include the inauguration of the four-lane Galgalia-Araria section of NH-327E, which will provide an alternate route from Araria on the East-West Corridor (NH-27) to the neighbouring state of West Bengal at Galgalia. He will also inaugurate two rail overbridges on NH-322 and NH-31, as well as a major bridge on NH-110 at Bandhuganj, which will connect Jehanabad to Bihar Sharif.

Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone for eight National Highway projects, including the construction of a two-lane road with paved shoulders from Ramnagar to Rosera, the Bihar-West Bengal border to Manihari section of NH-131A, and the Hajipur to Bachhwara via Mahnar and Mohiuddin Nagar section, among others. He will also lay the foundation for the Raniganj Bypass on NH-327E, and several other bypass projects on NH-333A, NH-82, and NH-33.

The Prime Minister will dedicate and lay the foundation stone for railway projects worth more than ₹1,740 crore. This includes the foundation stone for the Sonenagar Bypass Railway line from Chiralapothu to Bagha Bishunpur in Aurangabad, worth over ₹220 crore. He will also dedicate several railway projects worth over ₹1,520 crore, including the gauge conversion of the Jhanjharpur-Laukaha Bazar Rail section and the Darbhanga Bypass Railway Line, which will ease railway traffic congestion at Darbhanga Junction. Additionally, railway line doubling projects will facilitate better regional connectivity.

Prime Minister Modi will flag off MEMU train services in the Jhanjharpur-Laukaha Bazar section, which will provide easier access to jobs, education, and healthcare facilities in nearby towns and cities.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate 18 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras at various railway stations across India. This initiative will ensure the availability of affordable medicines for passengers at railway stations and promote the use of generic medicines, thereby reducing overall healthcare costs.

In the petroleum and natural gas sector, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for several initiatives worth more than ₹4,020 crore. This includes the development of a City Gas Distribution network in five major districts of Bihar – Darbhanga, Madhubani, Supaul, Sitamarhi, and Sheohar – by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. The network will bring piped natural gas to households and provide clean energy options to commercial and industrial sectors. He will also lay the foundation for a bitumen manufacturing unit at Barauni Refinery by Indian Oil Corporation Limited, which will help reduce reliance on imported bitumen.