PM lays Foundation Stone of AIIMS at Rajkot
PM lays Foundation Stone of AIIMS at Rajkot
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of AIIMS Rajkot through a video conference on Thursday. Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Governor Gujarat Acharaya Devvrat, Chief Minister Gujarat Vijay Rupani were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the PM remembered the efforts of the scores of doctors, health workers, scavengers and other frontline corona warriors who have constantly put their lives at stake to protect humanity. He lauded the efforts of the scientists and to all those who provided food to the poor in this difficult period with full dedication.
He said India is in a much better position as a result of the effective steps and India’s record of saving victims of Corona has been much better than other countries. He said in India, every necessary preparation about the vaccine is going on. He said that efforts are in the final stages for making the vaccine made in India, rapidly reaching every nook and corner. He said India’s preparation is in full swing, to run the World’s largest Immunization Campaign. He called to move forward together to make vaccination successful just the way last year we tried to prevent infection.
Modi said that AIIMS Rajkot will boost health infrastructure, medical education and provide employment opportunities in Gujarat. About 5 thousand direct jobs and many indirect jobs would be created. Lauding the efforts of Gujarat in fighting COVID, the PM said that Gujarat has shown the path in fighting COVID. He credited the robust medical infrastructure in Gujarat, for its better handling of Corona challenge. He said that two decades of relentless effort, dedication and resolve is behind this success of Gujarat in the medical sector.
The PM said even after so many decades after independence in the country only 6 AIIMS were established. During Atal ji’s government in 2003, steps were taken to establish 6 more AIIMS. He added that in the last 6 years, work on 10 new AIIMS were started and many have been inaugurated. He said along with AIIMS, 20 Super Specialty Hospitals are also being constructed.
The PM emphasized that before 2014, different aspects of the health sector were working towards different directions and approaches. After 2014, the health sector has worked holistically and emphasis was on preventive care, while also giving priority to modern treatment facilities. He said that the Government reduced the cost of treating the poor and at the same time, also emphasized on increasing the number of doctors rapidly.
He said under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the work to establish about 1.5 million Health and Wellness Center in remote areas were done and among those about 50000 centers have already started functioning. About 5 thousand among those are in Gujarat alone. He said about 7000 Jan Aushadhi Center provided medicines at low cost to about 3.5 lakh poor patients. He listed the initiatives of the Government for improving the health of the people.
The PM said if 2020 was the year of health challenges, 2021 is going to become the year of health solutions. The world will move towards health solutions with better awareness. He said India will play a major role in the health solutions as it played in the meeting the challenges of 2020. He said India’s contribution for the health solutions of 2021 will be critical for the scaling of the solutions. Given the competence of Indian medical professionals and service motivation, along with expertise like mass immunization experience India will provide smart and affordable solutions to the world. Health startups are integrating health solutions and technology and making health care accessible. “India is going to play an important role in both the future of health and health of the future,” Modi said.
The PM said that as the diseases are becoming globalised, it is time for coordinated global response for global health solutions. India has done this as a global player. India proved its mettle by adapting, evolving and expanding as per demand. “India moved with the world and did value addition in the collective efforts. India is emerging as the nerve centre of global health, in 2021 we need to further strengthen this role of India,” he added.
