A young woman from a small Himachal Pradesh village has cracked one of India's most competitive healthcare recruitment exams — and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu wants the country to know her name. On Saturday, 10 October 2026, CM Sukhu took to X to celebrate Ayisha Kaundal of Plassi village, Chamral Panchayat in his own Nadaun Assembly constituency, who cleared the Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test (NORCET) and earned a berth as a Nursing Officer at AIIMS.

From Plassi Village to AIIMS: Ayisha's Journey

Ayisha Kaundal's achievement carries special weight precisely because of where she comes from. Plassi is a small village in Chamral Panchayat, part of the Nadaun segment in Hamirpur district — a predominantly rural stretch of the Beas river valley not typically associated with top-tier All India Institute of Medical Sciences placements. Her selection as a Nursing Officer at AIIMS, reached through the rigorous NORCET process, is the kind of outcome that redraws what is possible for young women from these hills.

CM Sukhu, writing in Hindi, called Ayisha's success a matter of pride for both the state and the constituency: 'प्रदेश और क्षेत्र को गौरवान्वित किया है' ('she has brought honour to the state and the region'). He extended heartfelt congratulations to her and her family, expressing full confidence that she will make an excellent contribution to the healthcare sector through her spirit of service and dedication.

What NORCET Means — and Why It Matters

The NORCET — Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test — is conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, on behalf of multiple AIIMS institutions across India. It is among the most competitive nursing recruitment pathways in the country, drawing hundreds of thousands of applicants for a limited pool of government positions. Clearing it is not merely an employment milestone; it is a gateway into the country's most prestigious public health infrastructure.

For a candidate from a rural panchayat in Himachal Pradesh's interior, the selection signals not just personal hard work but also the slow expansion of competitive coaching access and educational aspiration into smaller towns and villages across the state.

Sukhu's Constituency, Sukhu's Pride

Nadaun is the Assembly segment CM Sukhu has represented, and his decision to personally spotlight Ayisha's achievement on a public platform underlines a consistent political instinct: connecting state-level leadership directly to village-level stories. The congratulatory post is brief but specific — naming the panchayat, the village, the exam, and the destination — giving it a texture that goes beyond routine good wishes.

Ayisha Kaundal now joins AIIMS as a government nursing officer. The hills she grew up in are a little prouder today.