Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh is set to establish its first-ever Nature Cure Medical College in Visakhapatnam, with admissions scheduled to begin from the academic year 2026-27. Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said on Sunday that the new institution, located on the VIMS campus, will launch the Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences (BNYS) program with an intake of 50 students. He stressed that the aim is to strengthen alternative medicine and make it more accessible to the public. Alongside this, the government is preparing to open two AYUSH Integrated Hospitals, one at Visakhapatnam and another at Kakinada.

The Visakhapatnam facility being constructed at a cost of Rs.14.85 crores, will be a 50-bed hospital offering Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Unani treatments. At Kakinada, a similar 50-bed hospital has been built on the Government Polytechnic campus and work is underway to equip it with the required apparatus. The Minister informed that the Union government has recently released long-pending funds which include Rs. 7.17 crores for the Kakinada hospital, Rs. 4.18 crores for the Visakhapatnam hospital, and Rs. 4.08 crores for the Nature Cure College. At Visakhapatnam, the state government is also planning a 50-bed Naturopathy Hospital at an estimated cost of Rs.16 crores and additional equipment at the newly completed Ayurvedic pharmacy and quality testing laboratory. Proposals have also been sent for establishing two Ayurvedic medical colleges at Kakinada and Dharmavaram, each with an attached 50-bed hospital.