The Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) will be celebrating the Founders Day on March 29, 2003. Governor Surjeet Singh Barnala will be the chief guest and Health Minister Dr Kodela Sivaprasada Rao will be the guest of honour. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who is the Chancellor of the NIMS University, will preside over the programme.

Seventeen years ago, on March 26, 1986, the Nizam's Institute of Orthopedics and Specialities was renamed as Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences after it was taken over from the Nizam Trust. To mark the completion of 17 years, the hospital management has proposed to celebrate the NIMS Founders Day on March 29 as March 26 was a working day.

Addressing a media conference, NIMS Director Prof. Kakarla Subba Rao said the hospital founders (Nizam Trust), donors, former presidents, vice-presidents, directors, ministers, health secretaries faculty members, students and staff who lent their services for the development of the hospital as a super-speciality institution would be honoured on the occasion.

Giving details of the growth of NIMS, Prof. Subba Rao said the hospital, which was started with two departments and 250 beds, had grown into a premier health institute with more than 30 departments and 820 beds at present. The Institute offered several graduate, post-graduate and diploma courses in important disciplines. About 350 PG students qualified from NIMS were serving in various national and international medical institutes, he said.

According to Shanta Ram, Dean, NIMS would start new courses on rheumatology, surgical gastroenterology and medical oncology next year. These proposals had been submitted to the Centre and the Medical Council of India recently.

As part of the Founders Day celebrations, 2,700 faculty members would take a pledge to donate their organs, motivated by the theme, 'Live a second life - Give a second chance.' Sports and cultural programmes will be organised for the faculty, staff and students on the occasion.