Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday inaugurated nine new government medical colleges across the state. Addressing the event via video conference, Rao, better known as KCR, said the number of government medical colleges in Telangana has gone up to 26 from five in 2014 when the state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

“Telangana’s medical education is reaching a significant milestone,” the chief minister’s office said in a social media post.

“No other State in the country has started as many medical colleges in a single year, with its own funds, as Telangana is doing. The State has created a new record in the history of medical education in the country.”

Kumrambhim Asifabad, Kamareddy, Khammam, Vikarabad, Jangaon, Rajanna Sirsilla, Nirmal, Jaishankar Bhopalpalli, and Karimnagar Medical Colleges were inaugurated by the chief minister.

KCR underlined that the number of medical seats has increased from 2,850 in 2014 to 8,516 now. He said another eight new government medical colleges will be opened next year.

“With this, Telangana is on track to become the first Indian state to have a government medical college in each of its districts,” Telangana CMO said.

Telangana health minister T Harish Rao claimed that the inauguration of nine new government medical colleges in a single day was the first in the history of the medical education field in the country.