GUWAHATI, July 10: Assam Finance Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah, while presenting the Assam Budget 2026, unveiled a major healthcare expansion plan under the initiative “Arogya Asom, Sustha Asom – Building a Healthier Tomorrow.”

The minister announced that, during the tenure of the present government, every Health Sub-Centre in Assam will be strengthened with at least one MBBS doctor, supported by the required number of ANMs and GNMs. He said this would be the first initiative of its kind in the country.

To improve healthcare services in tea garden areas, the government will upgrade Tea Garden Hospitals with better infrastructure, diagnostic facilities, medicines, medical equipment, and dedicated doctors and healthcare personnel.

The government also plans to strengthen existing First Referral Units (FRUs) and establish new ones to ensure that every Assembly constituency (LAC) has at least one 50-bedded FRU.

As part of the expansion, the Finance Minister proposed the creation of around 33,240 posts across health institutions in the state. These include 6,814 MBBS doctors, 82 AYUSH doctors, 22 Dental Surgeons, 10,942 Staff Nurses, 4,669 Pharmacists, 4,669 Laboratory Technicians, 67 Radiographers, 1,283 ANMs, 4,625 LDAs/Accountants, and 67 Dressers.

Mallabaruah further announced that Assam, which currently has 14 medical colleges with 10 more under construction, will establish four new medical colleges in Goalpara, Hailakandi, Hojai, and Bajali. With these additions, the total number of medical colleges in the state will rise to 28, moving closer to the government’s vision of having a medical college in every district.