NEW DELHI: As the network of All India Institutes of Medical Sciences expands across the country, artificial intelligence in diagnostics and faster faculty recruitment must go hand in hand, Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said on Friday.Addressing a leadership conclave of Presidents and Executive Directors of newly established AIIMS, Nadda urged institutes to integrate artificial intelligence into diagnostics and clinical decision-making, and to institutionalise telemedicine as a regular component of patient care.He stressed that expansion in infrastructure must be matched by strengthening human resources. Calling for accelerated faculty recruitment without compromising academic standards or quality of healthcare delivery, the Minister suggested holding at least four interview cycles annually. He also emphasised regular conduct of structured recruitment mechanisms such as NORCET and the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) for nursing and non-faculty staff to ensure timely appointments.The emphasis on hiring comes amid significant staffing gaps. In a recent reply in Parliament, the government acknowledged that nearly one in three faculty posts across AIIMS are vacant, while over 17,000 non-faculty positions — including nurses, technicians and support staff — remain unfilled across 20 operational institutes. The vacancies have raised concerns about service delivery even as patient load rises.Nadda reiterated that patient care, teaching and research must advance in balance, anchored in a patient-centric model. He called for structured patient feedback systems, greater transparency in decision-making and closer collaboration among AIIMS institutions, many of which are at different stages of development.The Minister also directed that Jan Aushadhi Kendras and AMRIT pharmacies be made functional in every AIIMS campus to improve access to affordable medicines. He encouraged collaborative research with premier institutions in areas such as rare diseases, genetic disorders and medical technology innovation.Cautioning that increased capacity should not dilute established standards, Nadda said AIIMS must continue to set benchmarks in healthcare and medical education while preserving its institutional ethos.
