Bhubaneswar, March 26: The Union minister of state for health and family welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda during his maiden visit to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here today announced that the facility will be made fully functional by 2019.

The minister was in the city to inaugurate a dedicated ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (Ayush) centre and a cath laboratory at the institute. He also launched the rotavirus vaccine under the universal immunisation programme at the national level from here.

The AIIMS, Bhubaneswar was formally inaugurated on February 26, 2014 by the then Union health minister, Gulam Nabi Azad.

"We are committed to improve the health care facility in the country. The AIIMS has become a household name for providing quality health care services to the people. We need to maintain the legacy. I am happy with the progress of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar and pledged today to make this institute fully functional within three years," said Nadda.

The minister inaugurated the 30-bed Ayush centre with the facility of both indoor and outdoor departments. The centre has the inpatient facility for ayurveda and outpatient facility for homoeopathy. He also declared open the second CT scan facility, digital radiography and mammography, one administrative block, DSA laboratory with intervention procedure and an eight-storey hostel building.

"We have proposed a decentralised system of work for all new AIIMS. In the plan, the director of the institute will have the power to finalise various works instead of waiting for the approval from New Delhi. This would expedite the work. We have also decided to start inviting international tender to undertake various works of AIIMS," said the minister.

During a review meeting on the AIIMS campus, he indicated to open a new satellite centre of the institute within a 10km radius of Bhubaneswar. Sources said the minister had hinted that the earlier plan of opening the satellite centre in Balasore might be scrapped. Instead a super-specialty hospital would be built there.

Earlier during the day, the minister also launched the rotavirus vaccine in four states of country, including Odisha. "We have achieved a new milestone towards expanding the coverage of full immunisation in the country that aimed to reduce infant and under-five mortality in the country," he said.

Notably, rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrhoea and death among the children less than five years of age. The introduction of the vaccine aims to save nearly 80,000 lives of children in the country annually. Today, the vaccine was introduced in three other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in the first phase.

"In past year, we have introduced four new vaccines such as polio, rotavirus, measles and rubella. Our government is committed to reduce morbidity and mortality in children. Strengthening routine immunisation is an essential investment in the country's children and will ensure a healthy future of the country," said Nadda.

State minister of health and family welfare department Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak was present on the occasion.