All efforts are being taken, including hiring the best faculty and doctors, to make the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Gujarat's Rajkot among the best in the country, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said on Saturday.

He also inaugurated the Virus Research and Diagnostic (VRD) Lab at AIIMS Rajkot, which aims to end the state's dependency on National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune in Maharashtra.

"Despite suffering from delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AIIMS Rajkot has emerged as one of the fastest growing institutes. Its OPD, IPD and trauma (department) have seen a sharp increase in patient visits. The government's effort is to ensure it gets the best faculty members and doctors so as to make Rajkot AIIMS a high ranking institute to serve humanity and the people of Saurashtra," he told reporters.

The VRD Lab he inaugurated is a Biological Safety Level (BSL) 2 category lab, which will soon be upgraded to BSL 3, Nadda said, adding it is a self-sufficient institution for virus detection that removes the dependency on NIV Pune.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned access of tertiary medical care to the poor by ensuring regional balance, and setting up of AIIMS in different parts of the country is an effort in the same direction, Nadda asserted.

"There was only one AIIMS in the country during Congress rule from 1960 to 1998. In 1998-2004, under the leadership of then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the country got six new AIIMS. In the UPA regime that followed, only one AIIMS was opened at Rae Bareli. PM Modi dedicated 22 AIIMS to the country in the last 10 years, 18 of which are operational, and work on four others is underway," Nadda said.

"I would like to assure you AIIMS Rajkot will be developed as one of the best AIIMS and no stone will left unturned to bring high end facilities to the institution," Nadda added.

Queried about Chandipura virus cases in Gujarat, he said experts were working on it and the situation was under control.