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Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone of four new medical colleges in Rajasthan. He also inaugurated the Institute of Petrochemicals Technology (IPT) located at Sitapura, Jaipur.
Medical colleges are located at Banswara, Sirohi, Hanumangarh and Dausa.
The program featured short video presentations on medical colleges and institutions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government is making efforts to ensure that every district of the country has a medical college or an institute for postgraduate medical education.
He also said that the government’s focus is on preventive health care, and Ayurveda and Yoga are being promoted, adding that the gap in medical education and delivery of health services is being bridged.
Modi said more than 170 medical colleges have been completed in six years and work on more than 100 new medical colleges is going on at a brisk pace.
Talking about the then Medical Council of India (MCI), he said that its decisions were questioned and its transparency was accused. The Prime Minister said that this has adversely affected the quality of medical education and the delivery of health services.
He said that after efforts and many challenges, the government is finally able to bring about reforms by setting up a National Medical Commission in place of MCI. Prime Minister Modi said that the effect of the commission is now visible.
Modi said that when he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat 20 years ago, there were many challenges in the field of medical infrastructure, medical education and treatment facilities, but he accepted the challenges and tried to change the situation with collective efforts.
He said that the shortcomings which he felt in the health sector as a Chief Minister are now being removed in the country.
Modi said the Center has worked on a national approach and a new national policy to transform the health sector.
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“Health is a state subject and I know what the difficulties are, because I was also a chief minister. We worked on that. The problem here was that the health system was divided and there was a lack of connectivity and a collective approach at the national level,” he said.
“There was also a gap between traditional and modern medical systems, and there was a need to address gaps in governance as well. So, we started working on a new national health policy,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that from Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to Ayushman Bharat and now Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, many such efforts are being made.
Emphasizing on the need to spread the health facilities network across the country, he said that it is very important to spread our network rapidly to every nook and corner of the country, be it AIIMS or medical colleges.
“Today we can say with satisfaction that India is moving from six AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) to a strong network of more than 22 AIIMS,” he said.
Modi said that in 2014, the total seats for undergraduate and postgraduate medical studies in the country were close to 82,000, which has now increased to 1.40 lakh.
“The success of the Central Government’s free for all (COVID-19) vaccine campaign is a reflection of its efforts. Today, more than 88 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been given in India,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of skilled manpower for the petrochemical sector, he said that high level of skill will not only add to India’s strength but will also play a big role in realizing the resolve of self-reliant India.
“Skilled manpower is the need of the day for one of the fastest growing petrochemical sector,” he said.
On COVID-19, Modi said the biggest pandemic in 100 years has taught the world’s health sector a lot and India has resolved to enhance its self-reliance capacity in this calamity.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also addressed the function virtually, while Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was present at the function held at CIPET in Jaipur.
In the program, Union Ministers Gajendra Shekhawat, Bhupendra Yadav, Kailash Chaudhary, Arjun Meghwal, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra and others also participated in the program through video conferencing.
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