PM Modi unveils Rs 4,700 crore development package for Chandigarh

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over Rs 4,700 crore in Chandigarh, covering healthcare, education and road infrastructure, and described the city as a “model of development for India” whose growth benefits the entire northern region.

Modi arrived at Punjab Engineering College after visiting Jind in Haryana, where he flagged off India’s first hydrogen-powered train and launched projects worth Rs 14,700 crore. Union health minister JP Nadda, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Punjab governor and Chandigarh administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, and Congress MP Manish Tewari were among those present.

“Coming among all of you today fills my heart with a unique sense of joy,” Modi said. “Chandigarh is not just a city; it has been a model of development for India. Chandigarh is known for its planned development, for a better lifestyle, better medical facilities, and along with all this, Chandigarh’s identity is the blessings of Maa Chandika.”

He said Chandigarh was witnessing a major boost in healthcare, education and connectivity, adding that the city’s development had always been a priority for the government. Modi said more than Rs 2,500 crore had been spent on initiatives including the Integrated Command and Control Center, Smart Traffic Management and Digital Governance to make the city high-tech.

Recalling the overhaul of India’s criminal justice system, Modi said the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita had begun from Chandigarh.

Highlighting the city’s importance to the region, Modi said Chandigarh connected Punjab and Haryana while also serving people from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. “For medical services, Chandigarh is a mega hub in this entire region,” he said.

At the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Modi inaugurated the 300-bed Advanced Mother and Child Centre to strengthen maternal care and the Advanced Neurosciences Centre, bringing neurology, neurosurgery and neuro-critical care under one roof. He also laid the foundation stone for a 150-bed state-of-the-art Critical Care Block under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

“These projects will provide even better treatment facilities to millions of people,” Modi said.

Recalling his visit to the institute’s convocation in 2015, the prime minister praised the expansion of its facilities over the past decade and appreciated its professors and young doctors for strengthening the institution.

Speaking on sanitation, Modi said the Swachh Bharat Mission had transformed public hygiene by building crores of toilets and eliminating open defecation. “Cleanliness is not a one-day activity; it is a way of life,” he said, adding that cleanliness campaigns had helped prevent many diseases across the country.

He also praised retired IPS officer Inderjit Singh Sidhu, known as the ‘Broom Warrior’, for promoting cleanliness and noted that the government had honoured him with a Padma award this year.

Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi said India had emerged as a country that extended help to the world rather than seeking assistance. “When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, India was not a nation seeking help; it was a nation extending help to the world,” he said.

The prime minister said the country’s healthcare system had expanded rapidly over the past 12 years with the establishment of 15 new AIIMS after 2014, hundreds of medical colleges and new speciality hospitals. He referred to the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Chandigarh, inaugurated in 2022, and said it was serving thousands of patients.

Highlighting primary healthcare, Modi said the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission was strengthening services through Critical Care Blocks and Public Health Labs. He said nearly 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs were providing health screening and comprehensive care across urban, rural and tribal areas.

Modi also highlighted the role of the e-Sanjeevani platform, saying more than 48 crore telemedicine consultations had taken place across the country, allowing people in remote areas to access specialist doctors.

He said over 90 per cent of childbirths in India now took place in healthcare institutions and cited an 86 per cent decline in maternal mortality along with a significant fall in infant mortality. He also highlighted preventive healthcare initiatives including Poshan Abhiyan, Mission Indradhanush, yoga promotion, HPV vaccination campaigns and the U-WIN platform.

On tuberculosis, Modi said the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan had helped increase awareness, screening and treatment. Referring to a recent World Health Organization report, he said tuberculosis infections had fallen by 21 per cent over the past decade while treatment coverage had crossed 90 per cent.

“In India, healthcare is no longer a privilege; it is becoming a right,” Modi said.

The prime minister also said the number of medical colleges had nearly doubled, postgraduate medical seats had increased significantly and an MBBS college had recently been approved at PGIMER. He said the expansion would create more opportunities for students while helping produce more doctors.

In the education sector, Modi inaugurated the Kurukshetra Boys Hostel at Punjab Engineering College and laid the foundation stone for new accommodation for research scholars. He said Chandigarh’s concentration of educational, engineering and medical institutions positioned it to emerge as a major hub for startups, research and innovation.

“It is our endeavor that our youth get the best possible labs and better faculty for advanced research,” he said, adding that a strong research ecosystem was essential for advances in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and deep-tech.

On infrastructure, Modi inaugurated a six-lane greenfield highway connecting IT City and Kurali to ease congestion on the airport road and laid the foundation stone for the PR Seven Spur road project. He said the projects would improve connectivity and support industry and business.

Referring to his earlier programme in Haryana, Modi said the country had also witnessed the launch of India’s first hydrogen-powered train between Jind and Sonipat, describing it as a significant step towards clean transportation.

Concluding his address, Modi said the government remained committed to creating future-ready infrastructure, healthcare and transport systems for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. “We must firmly make such bold decisions whose maximum benefits effortlessly reach all our coming generations,” he said.

Union health minister JP Nadda said the transformation of India’s healthcare sector under the 2017 National Health Policy had been unprecedented. “The policy was not just about treating illness, but also about ensuring that people do not fall ill in the first place,” Nadda said.

He also described Chandigarh as Modi’s “karmabhoomi”, saying it was from the city that the BJP expanded its organisation across Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.