Hyderabad: Telangana is planning to introduce a mandatory six-month robotic surgery training module for postgraduate (PG) medical students, state Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha said.
The state government will approach the National Medical Commission (NMC) for formal approval to integrate this curriculum into the standard three-year MD/MS program, the minister added.
Rajanarsimha made the announcement while inaugurating a state-level multispecialty robotic surgery workshop at Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) in Sanath Nagar.
“The department has already sent doctors for training to NIMS and MNJ. We now have discussions for PG students, with a proposal to include robotic training in their second year. This will slowly extend to UG students so that all of them get hands‑on experience,” he said.
The minister added that services would be expanded to TIMS, the new Osmania Hospital, Gandhi Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, the upcoming superspecialty hospital in Warangal and GGHs in district headquarters.
NIMS has already completed 1,000 robotic surgeries. Expertise from Dr Sudhir Srivastava, a global expert in robotic cardiac surgery, is being used to strengthen services, he said.
Dr Srivastava said young doctors must be trained in the latest technologies and offered to provide buses equipped with robotic simulation facilities for PG training.
Director of Medical Education Dr N Vani said the program should align with Telangana Rising plans and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s vision to provide advanced technology training for doctors and ensure accessibility of health services.