Golden Jubilee milestone heralds a new epoch of advanced integrative healthcare, clinical research and homoeopathic education
Kolkata, September 3, 2026: Marking an illustrious half-century of unwavering commitment to healthcare, education, clinical excellence and public service, the National Institute of Homoeopathy (NIH), Kolkata, commemorated its Golden Jubilee with the inauguration of a state-of-the-art modular Operation Theatre (OT) complex and a specialised Centre of Excellence, signifying a consequential augmentation of the country’s integrative healthcare infrastructure.
The landmark facilities were inaugurated in the gracious presence of Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, alongside Shri Sukanta Majumdar, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Education, and Shri Jyotirmay Singh Mahato, Hon’ble Member of Parliament. The distinguished gathering also included the Secretary and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush, senior administrative functionaries, eminent medical professionals and other dignitaries.
The dual milestone not only celebrates five decades of institutional accomplishment but also charts an ambitious trajectory for NIH towards the future of healthcare. The newly established Centre of Excellence is envisaged as a dynamic nucleus for holistic patient care, advanced clinical research and sophisticated therapeutic interventions. It is designed to forge a meaningful and functional confluence between India’s rich traditional systems of medicine and contemporary medical research.
Complementing this endeavour is the newly commissioned high-technology modular Operation Theatre, equipped with advanced laminar airflow systems, high-definition digital imaging platforms and ergonomic robotic integration. The sophisticated infrastructure is intended to reinforce stringent patient-safety protocols, substantially mitigate infection-related risks and facilitate streamlined, technologically advanced surgical workflows.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Prataprao Jadhav observed that the inauguration represents a pivotal advancement in India’s aspiration towards universal and integrative healthcare. He emphasised that advanced operational infrastructure and dedicated Centres of Excellence would enable the country to harmoniously juxtapose its profound traditional medical heritage with cutting-edge technological innovation, thereby aspiring to global standards of clinical care.
Minister Holds Extensive Interaction with NIH Students
A day prior to the inauguration, on September 2, 2026, the Hon’ble Ayush Minister, accompanied by senior officials of the Ministry of Ayush, held an extensive and constructive interaction with students of the National Institute of Homoeopathy to understand their perspectives, concerns and aspirations concerning the institute’s future development.
During the interaction, it emerged that the students expressed considerable appreciation for the institute’s academic ambience, patient-care ecosystem and clinical learning facilities. NIH provides students with an invaluable opportunity to interact with and train on a substantial patient base, including individuals afflicted with rare diseases. Postgraduate trainees and interns, meanwhile, are making significant contributions to patient-care services while simultaneously acquiring robust clinical and academic exposure.
The students’ demands for a new hospital building, an animal house and a pharmaceutical analysis laboratory were acknowledged as well-founded and legitimate requirements. These necessities have been taken up under the appropriate government scheme for phased fulfilment.
The students’ representations concerning enhancement of stipends for postgraduate students and interns, housestaffship, and disparities relating to NTET examinations will also be examined in consultation with concerned Ayush institutions and regulatory commissions, with the objective of developing a more uniform, equitable and coherent framework across the system.
The demand for zone-wise homoeopathic institutes is likewise being addressed by the Ministry as part of its broader endeavour to strengthen, expand and systematically develop the various Ayush systems throughout the country.
NIH’s Growing Patient Trust and Academic Transformation
On several occasions, the Hon’ble Ayush Minister has appreciated the impressive patient turnout at NIH for homoeopathic treatment. The confidence reposed by a large number of patients in the institution, he noted, reflects NIH’s significant contribution to homoeopathic healthcare delivery as well as clinical education and training.
The Minister also commended the work of the present Director, Dr. Pralay Sharma, for his efforts towards transforming NIH into a Centre of Excellence. Among the institution’s notable initiatives are the organisation of Continuing Medical Education (CME) programmes for teachers and doctors and the establishment of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with eminent institutions to foster research, academic excellence and institutional collaboration.
He further expressed confidence that, with sustained support from the Ministry of Ayush, the dedication of faculty members, doctors, postgraduate trainees and interns, and the intellectual enthusiasm of students, NIH would continue its emergence as a pre-eminent national centre for homoeopathic education, research and patient care.
Infrastructure to Nurture Future Healthcare Professionals
Shri Sukanta Majumdar, Union Minister of State for Education, lauded the collaborative and sophisticated infrastructure created at NIH. He emphasised that the newly inaugurated facilities would function as a premier academic and clinical hub, fostering medical innovation while nurturing and preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Shri Jyotirmay Singh Mahato, Member of Parliament, highlighted the far-reaching regional significance of the infrastructural augmentation. According to him, the enhanced medical capabilities would enable local communities to access sophisticated clinical services closer to home, substantially reducing the necessity for patients to undertake arduous journeys to distant centres for complex and advanced treatment.
Highlighting the importance of legislative and local support, Shri Samik Bhattacharya, Hon’ble MP, described NIH’s 50-year journey of clinical and academic service as a phenomenal achievement. He noted that the institution has consistently contributed towards elevating healthcare standards in Bengal and asserted that the new modular Operation Theatre would ensure that NIH remains at the forefront of contemporary medical technology in the decades ahead.
“A Long-Cherished Dream Come True”: Dr. Pralay Sharma
Delivering a special address on the historic occasion, Dr. Pralay Sharma, Director, National Institute of Homoeopathy, described the inauguration of the advanced modular Operation Theatre and Centre of Excellence as the fulfilment of a long-cherished institutional dream.
As NIH enters its Golden Jubilee year, Dr. Sharma reaffirmed that the institution is much more than a conventional medical establishment. Describing NIH as a sentiment, a unified family and a national movement dedicated to the service of humanity, he underlined the profound ethos underpinning the institute’s five-decade journey.
He expressed the conviction that the newly created infrastructure would empower researchers and students to constructively bridge the interface between traditional medicine and modern surgical precision, while establishing new benchmarks in patient care and institutional excellence.
The Golden Jubilee celebrations, therefore, stand not merely as a commemoration of NIH’s distinguished past, but as a graceful declaration of its aspirations for the future—where tradition and technology converge, knowledge translates into compassionate care, and a venerable legacy continues to illuminate the evolving landscape of Indian healthcare.
