Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences

Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, often abbreviated as SKIMS, is a government medical institute and tertiary-care teaching hospital located at Soura in Srinagar, in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The institute functions under a special legislative framework and is governed by a Governing Body chaired by the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. SKIMS comprises a super-speciality hospital, academic and research facilities, a nursing college, a paramedical college, the State Cancer Institute, a maternity hospital, and affiliated medical institutions. History Origins The origins of SKIMS can be traced to November 1972, when a group of associates and admirers of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah proposed the establishment of a public charitable trust to create a medical institute in Srinagar on the occasion of his 68th birthday. In December 1972, Sheikh Abdullah approached the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Syed Mir Qasim, seeking government cooperation and the leasing of land at Soura for the proposed institution. Syed Qasim was among the ten founding trustees of the Sher-i-Kashmir National Medical Institute Trust, which was formally registered on 19 May 1973. Dr. Ali Mohammad Jan was also involved in the establishment of the trust and served as its vice chairman. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir, which had already been considering plans for a 500-bed hospital at Soura, sanctioned the lease of 292 kanals and 8 marlas of land at Zoonimar, Srinagar, to the Trust through a government order issued on 14 October 1973. The lease was granted at a consolidated annual rent of ₹101 for a period of 40 years. Around the same time, the Government Dispensary at Soura, along with its associated buildings and land, was transferred to the Trust. Establishment Construction of the institute began in 1976. In February 1979, the institution was declared a government hospital through Government Order No. 36-ME of 1979. A formal agreement between the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Sher-i-Kashmir National Medical Institute Trust was executed on 17 December 1980. Under the agreement, the Trust contributed the land at Soura, valued at approximately ₹1.17 crore, together with the Sher-i-Kashmir Hospital and Polyclinic, for the establishment of the institute. The Government assumed responsibility for financing construction, equipment procurement, staffing, and all recurring and non-recurring expenditures. The agreement established a Governing Body headed by the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, with cabinet ministers and representatives of the Trust serving as members. The hospital was partially commissioned on 5 December 1982 and became fully operational in 1983. During the same year, the institution was granted university-like status under a state legislative framework. In 1986, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir declared SKIMS a government organisation for all purposes through Government Order No. GD(Adm)10 of 1986. By July 2003, the state government had reportedly spent approximately ₹520 crore on the construction, development, equipment, and maintenance of the institute. The Campus subsequently expanded to occupy roughly 1,000 kanals of land. Governance and administration SKIMS operates as a semi-autonomous government institution. Historically, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir served as the Chairperson of the Governing Body. In July 2022, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir reconstituted the governing body, and designated the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir as its chairperson. The reconstituted body includes the Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Health Secretary, the Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology in the Government of India, the Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and the principals of major government medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir. In June 2024, Mohammad Ashraf Ganie was appointed Director of SKIMS. The administrative changes introduced after 2022 raised public discussion regarding the institute's autonomy. Medical professionals, former administrators, and political figures expressed differing views on these changes for the institution's governance and academic status. Campus The SKIMS campus is located at Soura in Srinagar. The institute has expanded significantly since its establishment and occupies a large government-owned campus that accommodates hospital, academic, research, residential, and support facilities The institution includes: SKIMS Hospital State Cancer Institute Maternity Hospital, located across the road to the east of the main SKIMS. Mader-e-Meharban Institute of Nursing Science and Research (MMINSR) College of Paramedical Sciences Research and academic departments SKIMS Medical College, Bemina In addition, SKIMS administers SKIMS Medical College & Hospital located in Bemina, Srinagar, which was established in 1989 as Jhelum Valley Medical College (JVC) and was taken over by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir in 1998. It functions under the semi-autonomous administration of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). Infrastructure According to its 2023 Bio-Medical Waste Management Annual Report, SKIMS operates as a 1,015-bed government hospital. The facility reported the use of both in-house and common biomedical waste treatment systems. Notable medical achievements In November 2025, a multidisciplinary team at SKIMS performed an 11-hour neurosurgical procedure to remove a rare holocord intramedullary spinal cord tumour from an 18-year-old patient. The operation involved a 17-level laminoplasty followed by tumour excision and was described by the institute as one of the most complex spinal surgeries undertaken in the region. See also 90 Feet Road References External links Official website