Ranchi, Apr 22 (PTI) The maiden hospital by the Azim Premji Foundation, being set up in Jharkhand, would offer free health services to the poor and the project is expected to be completed in January 2027, an official said on Tuesday.

The project, if successful, will be replicated across the country with 15 similar ventures, the official said.

The 230-bed super-speciality hospital and medical college is being constructed on about 150-acre Azim Premji University campus in Ranchi’s Itki block, Anand Swaminathan, who leads the health project at the foundation, said.

“The facility will eventually have 1,300 beds. We plan to begin operations with a 230-bed hospital by January 2027. Construction for both the hospital and medical college has commenced. This will be the foundation’s first hospital in the country,” Swaminathan told reporters.

“Following the success of this hospital, we aim to establish 15 more facilities across the country in future,” he added.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren laid the foundation stone for Rs 5,000-crore private university project on January 24 last year.

The first phase of the university is expected to be completed by July 2026, with academic sessions likely to commence the same year, he said.

Swaminathan emphasised that treatment would be free for the poor, with charges structured to remain affordable for others.

A school is also being developed on four acres within the university campus, offering free education up to Class 12.

The school will provide mid-day meals, health check-ups, uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks, Swaminathan said.

“We plan to enrol at least 1,200 students in the school, which will follow the CBSE curriculum,” he added.

Besides, the Foundation is making efforts to improve the health parameters of the members of tribal communities in Jharkhand.

It has identified 100 districts nationwide, half of which are tribal-majority with poor health indicators. In Jharkhand, the districts would include Ranchi, Gumla, Simdega, and Lohardaga, he said.

“We are currently working in two blocks – Dharmajaigarh and Lailunga – in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, and Bero and Itki blocks of in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district. Our team of health professionals collaborates with the government to strengthen frontline health systems,” Swaminathan said.

The Foundation envisages investment of up to Rs 7,500 crore per annum on health across the country, he said.

While the health status of tribal populations has improved over the past few decades, there remains a significant gap between health indicators among tribal and many other social groups.

National Family Health Survey-5 data shows that tribal people suffer from various health-related issues such as low immunisation coverage and institutional delivery, besides anaemia and child malnutrition. PTI SAN NAM NN