Himachal Pradesh Tuesday decided to sign a memorandum of understanding with the central government for establishing two medical colleges in the state, an official said here.There will be an annual intake of 100 MBBS students per college.The official said a decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, during his March 1 visit, announced medical colleges in Nahan and Chamba towns besides two trauma centres and a burn centre in the state.The total cost of setting up the two medical colleges would be Rs.378 crore, an official statement informed.
The cabinet also gave its approval for giving pension to about 12,000 applicants under the Social Security Pension Scheme, enhancing the Social Security Pension from Rs.500 to Rs.550 per month.It was decided to provide a pension of Rs.1,000 per month to people above 80 years of age without any income limit condition. A decision was also taken to increase pension being given to physically challenged persons from Rs.500 to Rs.750 per month. All these decisions would be applicable from April 1, 2014.