Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences to return to its earlier name KMC with RI tag
KIMS is one of the oldest government medical colleges in the State and was earlier known as Karnataka Medical College
Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), one of the oldest government medical colleges in the State which was earlier known as Karnataka Medical College (KMC), is all set to get back its earlier name with an RI (Research Institute) tag attached to it.
After the renaming, which is likely to take another two months, it will be known as Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute (KMC-RI).
According to the authorities, the proposal to rename the prestigious medical education institute in North Karnataka has already received assent from the State government and only the requisite procedures have to be followed before it is officially renamed it.
It was in 1957 that the Karnataka Medical College was established on a big campus of 104 acres with an objective of giving a boost to medical education and healthcare in North Karnataka region.
Subsequently, in 1996, the name was changed to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences and now, again, it is being changed to its earlier name KMC with RI (research institute) added to it.
Although the nomenclature was changed, the older generation still refer to it as KMC and even today city buses operating to the hospital have the name plate of KMC and not KIMS.
After the State government established new medical colleges and hospitals in various districts, there was confusion with regard to the name KIMS as the acronyms for institutes of medical sciences in Koppal, Karwar and Kalaburagi was also KIMS.
In order to clear the confusion, a proposal was sent to the State government suggesting to name the institute as Hubballi Institute of Medical Sciences.
However, when the authorities sought to retain the earlier name KMC with RI added to it, like in the case of BMCRI, the approval was given, according to Director of KIMS S.F. Kammar.
“This is the only government medical institute in the entire State which has the name of the State, Karnataka, in it. The founders of the institute preferred to call it Karnataka Medical College (KMC), instead of Hubballi medical college”, Dr Kammar told The Hindu.
The proposal received the government’s approval two months ago. However, because of the poll code of conduct, the process was delayed. Now, it will be placed before the meeting of the governing council of KIMS before sending it to the State government for ratification.
As the foundation day of the institute falls on September 6, the plan is to complete the requisite procedure before that.
Dr. Kammar said that while the renaming will touch emotionally the people of the region, the tag of research institute will help the institution in getting funds for research projects from ICMR, apart from tax exemptions.
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