evidence: In 2003, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee realised the significance of AIIMS and in his Independence Day speech announced the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) scheme under which "six new hospitals with modern facilities, like those available at AIIMS in Delhi, will be established in backward states in the next three years". [...] Officially launched in 2006, six AIIMS-like medical institutes were announced in Patna, Bhopal, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur and Rishikesh with an original budget of Rs 332 crore. Though initiated under Vajpayee’s administration, the bulk of the work was completed under the United Progressive Alliance in 2012. [...] In his tenure, he has approved a total of 16 new AIIMS of which nine are set to be fully operational in 2022, while two AIIMS would become functional a year later in 2023.