All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a medical college and hospital in Delhi, India.
AIIMS is considered one of the most prestigious medical schools in India[1][1][2] and is globally recognized for providing low-cost (up to tertiary-level) medical care to a large number of patients.[3] It was established as an institute of national importance by an Act of Parliament with the objects to develop patterns of teaching in Undergraduate and Post-graduate Medical Education in all its branches so as to demonstrate a high standard of Medical Education in India; to bring together in one place educational facilities of the highest order for the training of personnel in all important branches of health activity; and to attain self-sufficiency in Post-graduate Medical Education. AIIMS is often cited in popular press as "Harvard of the East".
AIIMS was inaugurated in 1956, and was built with a grant from the New Zealand Government. AIIMS was established in New Delhi after former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's intitial proposal to set up the institute in Calcutta was turned down by the then Chief Minister of West Bengal Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy.[4].It was the vision of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first Health Minister of India, to establish an institute of such nature in India. She envisioned an autonomous medical institute where students, doctors and teachers would live and learn side by side, with freedom to experiment with teaching and curriculum.
AIIMS is located in Ansari Nagar in southern Delhi. It is adjacent to the South Extension market, and lies on the Inner Ring Road. Across AIIMS is Safdarjung hospital and associated Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University). Also, adjacently lies the headquarters of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the body that coordinates and funds medical research in India. In vicinity, also lies National Medical Library, run by the Directorate-General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Government of India. It has a vast collection of scientific and medical journals that can be accessed by researchers. Farthest along the stretch is the NAMS house, the official building of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, which is a prestigious body of eminent doctors from across India.
