| Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the South Gujarat Medical College and Hospital in Surat on Wednesday. Modi said the proposed medical university will be set up at a cost of Rs 70 crore. |
| The university will have 100 MBBS seats and 750 beds for patients. |
| "We have realised that we require more facilities for higher education. That is why the new initiative," Modi said. |
| On splitting the Gujarat Agricultural University into four different universities, the chief minister said all the four different universities would specialise in a particular faculty and become centres of excellence. |
| "Years ago, a small pharmaceutical college had been set up in Ahmedabad which has now become a big establishment. Gujarat has also become the number one state in the production and export of pharmaceuticals," the chief minister said. |
| The Ayurvedic University in the state will be transformed into a world class institution, Modi said and expressed his willingness to set up a nursing institute in the private sector. |
| Earlier, laying the foundation stone for the college, deputy prime minister L K Advani said India had failed to progress because of the faulty economic policy followed in the past. The old policies ignored priority sectors such as health and education, Advani said. |
| "We have to change this situation," he said. |
| Lauding the achievements of the country in medical education, Advani said the doctors of Indian origin had been instrumental in boosting the country's foreign exchange reserve. |
| Union rural development minister and trust president Kashiram Rana said the medical college would help in creating new opportunities for the meritorious students of Gujarat. |
| "Students of Gujarat opting for medical education have to travel to distant places and pay huge amounts as donation to get admissions. This college will solve these problems," Rana said. |
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