Shimla: The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, on Tuesday approved the creation of 600 posts of Assistant Staff Nurses to strengthen healthcare services across Himachal Pradesh. The recruitment will be carried out through the HP Rajya Chayan Aayog, Hamirpur, under the Assistant Staff Nursing Policy.

In another major decision aimed at improving specialist healthcare services, the Cabinet gave its nod to provide a 20 percent incentive on basic pay to faculty doctors who have acquired super-speciality qualifications of Doctorate of Medicine (DoM) and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh). The move is expected to help retain skilled doctors in government medical colleges.

To address staff shortages in medical education, the Cabinet also approved filling 53 posts of Assistant Professors and 121 posts of teaching and non-teaching staff, including paramedical personnel, in all government medical colleges of the state. The decision is aimed at improving patient care and strengthening academic services in medical institutions.

Along with healthcare, the Cabinet cleared the filling of 40 vacant posts of Job Trainees, Junior Engineer (Civil) in the Jal Shakti Vibhag, and approved direct recruitment for 10 posts of Block Development Officer in the Rural Development Department.

The Cabinet also took decisions related to education and social welfare. It approved the creation of a dedicated sub-cadre for CBSE schools in 100 identified government schools with defined recruitment and performance norms, and expanded the ambit of the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Aashray Yojna to include more vulnerable children, including those with disabled parents and children who have been abandoned.