Pune’s ESIC Hospital in Bibvewadi has received approval to start a 50-seat MBBS medical college from the 2027-28 academic year, while a 500-bed hospital being built on the premises is expected to become operational by the end of December, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday.
The medical college proposal had been rejected twice earlier and was approved after an appeal process, Fadnavis said after a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party and Mahayuti office-bearers at a hotel in Bavdhan. The new institution will expand medical education capacity in Pune and add doctors’ training infrastructure linked to an Employees’ State Insurance Corporation hospital.
Admissions to the college are scheduled to begin in 2027-28, with an annual intake of 50 MBBS students. The associated 500-bed hospital, which is under construction at the ESIC premises, is expected to increase treatment capacity for insured workers, their families and other patients served by the facility, as well as residents from Pune and surrounding areas.
Minister of State Madhuri Misal said the approval was secured after the Chief Minister took special interest in the proposal. She also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda for their support. The account of the approval and timeline was provided by Fadnavis and Misal during the meeting and subsequent interaction with reporters.
The project links two public needs that often compete for limited capacity in fast-growing cities: access to specialised healthcare and the availability of trained medical professionals. The 50-seat intake is limited in scale, but the college’s operations will be tied to a large hospital facility if the December timeline is met. The supplied report does not provide the hospital’s total project cost, the planned departments or the number of additional staff to be recruited.
Fadnavis’s remarks also covered the performance of Pune’s BJP corporators ahead of Legislative Council elections. He said corporators would have their work reviewed before decisions on future party positions and asked them to remain active among residents, resolve civic problems and maintain contact with voters. The warning followed the absence of more than 100 corporators from the launch of campaigning for BJP candidates in the Pune division’s Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies. Show-cause notices were issued to those absent, with five days given for written explanations.
The Chief Minister also urged corporators to work to improve voter turnout in Pune, comparing the city with the Konkan division, where he said turnout reaches 80 per cent. His comments placed local public engagement and organisational performance alongside the announcement on the ESIC facility.
Fadnavis further said the state government would take steps to ensure that Maharashtra Public Service Commission examinations, results and appointments are completed on time. Recruitment is planned against projected vacancies for the next three years, while a judicial inquiry commission has been established to improve transparency in the commission. He said reforms would follow the commission’s report.
The immediate milestones for the healthcare project are the expected commissioning of the 500-bed ESIC hospital by the end of December and the planned start of MBBS admissions in the 2027-28 academic year.
