Puducherry: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved a proposal to increase the admission strength for Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate courses at the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry.

In its meeting held in New Delhi on Thursday, the CCEA approved a proposal to develop the infrastructural facilities at JIPMER, within a period of 36 months, so as to comply with the Central Educational Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 at a total cost of Rs.384 crores.

The approval means that the UG and PG seats at the institute will be increased to 150 and 122 seats from the existing 75 and 77 respectively over a period of three years.

JIPMER traces its origin to 1823 when a medical school called 'Ecole de Medicine de Pondicherry' was established by the then French Government.

In November 1956, the Government of India took over the medical college in the wake of the 'de facto' transfer of Pondicherry. The college was upgraded to a regional centre and named JIPMER on July 13, 1964.

The premier medial college is under the direct administrative control of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.