Kerala MP Kodikunnil Suresh Criticizes Centre Over AIIMS Denial to State

Rapid Summary

• Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh expressed dissatisfaction over the Union government’s refusal to approve an AIIMS in Kerala.
• The issue was raised by Mr. Suresh during a Lok Sabha session on August 8, 2025.
• Kerala proposed four potential sites for AIIMS: Kinaloor (Kozhikode), Kattakada (Thiruvananthapuram), Kottayam, and Ernakulam.
• Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav acknowledged that none of these proposals were approved under the current phase of the Pradhan mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
• Choice measures taken include sanctioned super-speciality blocks at major medical institutions like Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha MCH, Kozhikode MCH, and more.
• Mr. Suresh argued these measures fall short of providing thorough advanced healthcare akin to AIIMS standards.
• He called for immediate inclusion of Kerala in future phases of AIIMS expansion citing health indicators, population density, strategic importance, reduced patient migration needs, hospital burden relief efforts, and strengthened medical research.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The debate on establishing an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala shines a light on larger systemic concerns regarding equitable healthcare distribution across states.While Kerala is lauded for it’s strong public health infrastructure and high health indicators relative to other states,it lacks access to a premier institution like AIIMS.This creates disparities in availability of advanced tertiary care within the state’s borders.

The Centre’s decision not to include any proposed sites from Kerala under the current PMSSY phase suggests competing priorities or resource allocation challenges at a national level. If addressed promptly as MP Kodikunnil suresh recommends-especially considering patient migration trends and increasing pressure on other hospitals-it could alleviate notable gaps within advanced health services while benefiting medical education output in southern India.

Though precise feasibility evaluations might potentially be needed by all parties before future allocations are finalized objectively ensuring ideality / viability perspective exertions beyond politics showcasing exclusivity fairness obvious methodology approval capacity implementation levels .

Read more: The Hindu