India, Feb. 5 -- The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has become the first civic body in Maharashtra to receive the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification from the union ministry of health and family welfare for three of its urban primary health centres - Thergaon, Jijamata and Nehru Nagar.

With this, the PCMC has entered an elite group of urban local bodies in the country whose public health facilities meet national benchmarks in clinical care and patient services. The certification is a major boost to the credibility of civic health services and will strengthen the citizens' trust in government-run medical facilities, read a statement released on Wednesday.

According to civic officials, the NQAS certifi...