In June 2023, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio expressed his vision for the Nagaland Institute of Medical Science & Research (NIMSR), stating that it should become an AIIMS-like regional institute. He emphasized the importance of NIMSR becoming the best in the region due to the state’s long-standing absence of a medical college.
Nine years after Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio laid the foundation stone for NIMSR in 2014, the institute achieved a significant milestone by inducting its first batch of students on 1 September 2023.
NIMSR currently offers 100 MBBS seats, with 85 reserved for Nagaland students and 15 as All India Quota (AIQ) seats. At the moment, 92 seats have been filled including all 85 state quota seats after the second round of NEET UG Counseling 2023. Those students, who secured admission through the All India Quota (AIQ) seats, hail from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi.
Under the leadership of NIMSR Dean-cum-Director, Dr Soumya Chakraborty, who previously served at ESIC Medical College Bihta, Patna, NIMSR boasts a dedicated faculty of 45 members.
NIMSR’s journey, which commenced in 2014, was marked by challenges. However, the institute’s transformation from receiving a “Show Cause Notice” to being recognized as “One of the best government hospitals” in terms of infrastructure can be attributed to the “will and determination,,” according to former Commissioner & Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Y Kikheto Sema, IAS.
A pivotal moment can be recalled when the Medical Assessment & Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) conducted a surprise visit to NIMSR, Kohima, on 10 January 2023, resulting in a ‘show-cause notice’ issued to the state on 1 February.
However, earlier in April of this year, Sema narrated that a subsequent NMC evaluation team, arriving on 27 March 2023, showed satisfaction in infrastructure, hospital facilities, and manpower. Then on 19 April 2023, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, P Paiwang Konyak, announced that the MARB NMC had approved 100 MBBS seats for the academic year 2022-24.
Dr Chakraborty, in an exclusive interview with Career360 published on9 September 2023, also revealed the challenges the college went through. She said the state government had proposed the establishment of the college to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2014-2015. Following approval from the central government, construction commenced in 2016-17.
“We faced challenges as the land allotted for the medical college was in the sinking zone of Kohima. Underground water started flowing into the building after completion of construction in 2018-19, and the soil caved in. It was further delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019-2021. Later, the engineers made arrangements so that the medical college buildings would never cave in. Construction began once again and was almost completed in 2023,” she told Career360.
Dr Chakraborty in the interview also provided insights into the institute’s campus. Covering 120 acres, the campus features Wi-Fi connectivity and a library equipped with computer-assisted learning facilities housing over 4,000 medical books.
“Nagaland focuses on sports a lot, and we have a very beautiful sports complex. We have skill labs, and all departments are equipped with the latest technology and tools for teaching. We have separate hostels for girls and boys. The hostel rooms are allotted on a twin-sharing basis. We have CCTV in hostels and the medical college, and there is a facility of reading rooms and indoor games in the hostels,” she told Career360.
Dr Chakraborty also informed that although currently, the institute is offering only MBBS, NIMSR has plans to introduce DNB and postgraduate programs. She also mentioned that a nursing college is also under development and will begin offering courses once fully operational.