Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new campus of the NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute, the only medical college in the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on April 17. The institute, which had been operating from a leased building, is now set to shift to its own campus spread across 35 acres in Silvassa.

It has become a beacon of hope and a symbol of the growing aspirations of the people of the region, around 40 per cent of whom are tribals. Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the medical college in 2019, as per a report by PTI. 

Further, the infrastructure has come up at a cost of Rs 203 crore and features state-of-the-art amenities such as a multi-storey library, academic block with four lecture halls and an auditorium, club house, residential accommodation for faculty and hostels for students, and provision for outdoor and indoor games.

Speaking on this, the Union Territory's health secretary Dr Arun T said, "Pursuing higher education, especially medical education, has been a far-fetched dream for students of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Earlier, before the establishment of the medical college, only 10-12 students from the Union Territory could get the opportunity to avail seats in medical colleges all over India from the central pool quota allotted to the Union Territory each year."

The dean of NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute Dr Ramchandra Goyal said "The medical college started in the 2019-20 academic year with a capacity of 150 MBBS students. The number has gradually increased to 177 with 27 seats for students from the Economically Weaker Sections. At present, there are 682 students enrolled in the college. The target is to increase the number of seats to 200."

Besides the NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute, Modi will also lay the foundation stone for the proposed Ayurvedic Hospital and Wellness Centre, planned to come up in a serene area near Madhuban Dam on 40 acres of land with lush green surroundings. It is estimated to cost Rs 70 crore, as per a report by PTI.