New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS): With a project value of Rs 2,035 crore, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) hospital being set up at AIIMS Jhajjar in Haryana will be functional by next month, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda said on Friday.

Nadda, who was addressing at the 46th Annual Convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), added that the government had taken various steps to facilitate the setting up of new medical colleges for which norms have been rationalized.

"Since 2014-15, the Ministry has granted permission for establishment of 118 new medical colleges including 54 in the government sector. The country has now 502 medical colleges with more than 70,000 MBBS seats. We have been able to add over 18,600 UG seats and 12,000 PG seats. The country has now around 46,000 PG seats," he said.

The Minister also said that ensuring the highest standards of medical education was a top priority for the government.

"We have now planned for a rapid expansion of medical education in the country. The government has increased the age of retirement of doctors to 65 years and is setting up more medical and nursing schools, multi-skilling of doctors to overcome the shortage of specialists," he added.