Requesting Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan for setting up of one of the four proposed National Institutes of Virology (NIVs) in Bhubaneswar, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan wrote a letter to Vardhan on Monday.
“Owing to its strategic location and skilled manpower, Bhubaneswar is well-positioned to be considered as a location for one of the four proposed NIVs,” the letter said.
Referring to Bhubaneswar as a prime centre of medical research and education in eastern India, Pradhan stated that an NIV, Bhubaneswar would benefit from the proximity to the R&D centres of excellence such as AIIMS, ILS, ICMR-RMRC, ICAR-International Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease and boost the country’s collaborative research efforts. NIV Bhubaneswar can cater to the population of eastern, south-eastern and central Indian States.
This will also be in line with the Purvodaya vision of Prime Minister, the letter mentioned.
At present, an NIV is functioning in Pune that played a critical role in the fight against Covid.