⚖️ Polity & GovernanceMAINS · GS2.13 · GS2.10

New AIIMS cross 6 crore OPD consultations since 2021-22

The new AIIMS set up under PMSSY have recorded over 6 crore outpatient consultations to 31 October 2026. Yearly numbers rose from 50.03 lakh in 2021-22 to 144.96 lakh in 2025-26, and 18 of the 22 approved institutes are fully functional.

What happened

The new AIIMS under PMSSY have together recorded over 6 crore OPD consultations since 2021-22, as on 31 October 2026.
Of 22 new AIIMS approved in various phases, 18 are fully functional, offering OPD and IPD care, emergency and trauma services, diagnostics, education and research.
Yearly consultations climbed from 50.03 lakh (2021-22) to 77.95 lakh, 100.52 lakh, 129.98 lakh and 144.96 lakh (2025-26).
In 2026-27 the new AIIMS logged 97.41 lakh OPD patients up to October 2026.
The cumulative figure across these years is about 6.01 crore; the release says the expansion addresses regional disparities in tertiary care.

For Prelims

PMSSY: Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, a central scheme with two parts: setting up new AIIMS, and upgrading government medical colleges through super-specialty blocks.
New AIIMS: 22 approved in phases under PMSSY; the release counts 18 as fully functional, while an earlier PIB reply said undergraduate courses had started in 19.
Super-specialty blocks: the other PMSSY component; 75 projects approved, of which 71 were complete by August 2026 (PRID 2296130).
OPD and IPD: outpatient department (consultations without admission) and inpatient department (admitted patients); the release reports only OPD volumes.
Consultation count: 6.01 crore combines five full years (about 5.03 crore, 2021-22 to 2025-26) and 97.41 lakh in April-October 2026-27.
Tertiary care: specialist and super-specialist hospital care, usually reached by referral from primary and secondary facilities; the release says the new AIIMS also run emergency and trauma services and diagnostics.
Constitutional position: public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries are in the State List of the Seventh Schedule; the Centre funds new AIIMS under a central sector scheme.
Out-of-pocket spending: PIB reports its share of total health expenditure fell from about 62 per cent in 2014-15 to 43.4 per cent in 2021-22.

For UPSC: New AIIMS under PMSSY: 22 approved, 18 fully functional; over 6 crore OPD consultations since 2021-22; 144.96 lakh in 2025-26 against 50.03 lakh in 2021-22.

What it is NOT: The release does not give institute-wise consultation counts, inpatient admissions, surgeries, bed numbers or emergency volumes. It does not say how many consultations are repeat visits, how faculty and staff vacancies stand, what the 18 'fully functional' institutes were measured against, or what the programme has cost. It does not list the four institutes that are not yet fully functional, or say how many patients travel from other States.

For Mains

Syllabus: GS2.13 · GS2.10 · Linkage L1

Anchor

Specialist care in India has long clustered in a few large cities. A new generation of AIIMS is a deliberate attempt to put tertiary care within reach of regions that had none.

Substantiation (data)

OPD consultations rose from 50.03 lakh in 2021-22 to 144.96 lakh in 2025-26, nearly three times, with 97.41 lakh more by October 2026. Of 22 approved institutes, 18 are fully functional.

Position

Rising footfall shows that patients use these institutes once they open. The scheme also adds medical seats and research capacity, which a hospital count alone does not capture.

Counterpoint

Footfall is not outcome. Year-on-year growth fell from about 56 per cent to 11.5 per cent, the count mixes institutes of different ages, and OPD volume says nothing on waiting time, referral quality or staff vacancies.

Way forward

Publish institute-wise data on OPD, admissions, surgeries and vacancies; link each institute to a referral network of district hospitals; and report outcomes, not only visits, so tertiary care eases household costs.

Conclusion

The numbers confirm demand for tertiary care outside the old centres. Whether that demand is met well, and paid for fairly, is the next test.

Deploys into: Health, education and human resources: tertiary care and medical seats · Centre-State roles in public health · Out-of-pocket expenditure and financial protection · Measuring outputs and outcomes of public institutions

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare · 2026-11-10 · PRID 2334756 · PIB source ↗