NIMS to be raised to AIIMS' level: YSR

The Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 120 crore over the next two years.

This was announced today by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at 'Dermacon-2006,' a five-day national conference of the Association of Dermatologists, Venerologists and Leprologists (IADVL).

Addressing the delegates, Reddy said, "NIMS will be upgraded over the next couple of years to a standard not less than the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)."

Recalling the host of conferences held last month in the city, the chief minister said that Hyderabad was fast becoming a favourite destination for national and international conferences.

In his presidential address, Suresh P Joshipura, president of IADVL, said that their team would do its best to persuade the Government of India to strictly implement the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Rules, 1995, to curb advertisements in print and electronic media claiming false, bogus and unproven treatment for various skin-related diseases.

"Our association would try to convince the Government of India and the Medical Council of India to implement a revised academic curriculum that would include Dermatology as a separate undergraduate subject with independent evaluation and recognise the degree of MD in Dermatology as an eligibility criteria for allied super-speciality courses," Joshipura said.

IADVL constitution, IADVL drug formulary, and books on recent advances in dermatology and scientific abstracts were released on the occasion.