Telangana plans free MRI scans at government hospitals under PPP model

Telangana's Health Minister, Damodar Rajanarsimha, has directed officials to bring MRI services into government hospitals through a public-private partnership model. A pilot will start at the Mahabubnagar government general hospital, with statewide expansion planned within two years. The minister said scans would remain free for patients under the PPP arrangement. The directions followed a review meeting on Friday in Hyderabad.

Reports say MRI is currently available only at a handful of government facilities, including Gandhi, Osmania and NIMS in Hyderabad. Officials told the minister the PPP route could reduce state costs by around 20 percent compared with the current approach. A team had also studied such arrangements in other states. For hospital administrators and radiologists in India, the move signals growing reliance on private partners to expand public diagnostic imaging.