Chandigarh, Sept. 8 -- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Researcg (PGIMER) Chandigarh marked its 63rd Institute Foundation Day with a focus on the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The chief guest, Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, vice-chancellor, Banaras Hindu University, described PGIMER as a "true national asset" and said AI would transform healthcare by empowering doctors rather than replacing them. Speaking on AI in Healthcare, Chaturvedi said AI could help doctors analyse clinical records, pathology reports and scientific literature, while enabling researchers to explore questions that were earlier too time consuming or expensive. He, however, cautioned that AI systems trained mainly on western datasets may not adequately reflect Indian patients and disease patterns. He stressed that India should become a creator of healthcare AI solutions suited to Indian realities, rather than merely a consumer. PGIMER director Vivek Lal highlighted the institute's expansion and growing patient capacity. He said the inauguration of the Advanced Mother & Child Centre and Advanced Neuroscience Centre on July 17 had increased PGIMER's capacity from 2,200 to around 3,000 beds. Lal further highlighted affordable healthcare initiatives, including Ayushman Bharat and Amrit Pharmacy, saying these had resulted in savings running into crores for patients. Despite increasing patient footfall, he said PGIMER's waiting lists were declining. The Foundation Day celebrations also saw 35 PGIMER employees honoured for outstanding service. Appreciation certificates and mementoes were presented to employees from various departments, including nursing, laboratory services, administration, sanitation, security and hospital support services. Sanjeev Handa, dean (research), proposed the vote of thanks....