PM Modi: Health Sector Budget Has Been Doubled to More Than 2 Lakh Crore Rupees

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the doctor community on Doctors’ Day through video conferencing today. He said this day, celebrated in the memory of Doctor BC Roy, is the symbol of the highest ideals of our medical fraternity.

PM Modi acknowledged the doctor’s contribution and recalled their heroic efforts during the pandemic and paid homage to those who laid down their lives in the service of humanity. He thanked the Doctors on behalf of 130 crore Indians for their services during the difficult times of the pandemic.

The Prime Minister said, ‘’Our scientists and doctors have found solutions for all the challenges thrown by Corona. Our doctors are facing this new and fast mutating virus on the basis of their experience and expertise.’’

PM further said, ‘’Loss of lives is always painful but many lives have been saved too. The Credit goes to hard-working doctors, healthcare workers, and frontline workers for saving many lives.’’

PM Modi underlined the focus of the government on strengthening healthcare. During the first wave, about 15 thousand crores were allocated for healthcare and this year, the health sector budget has been doubled to more than 2 lakh crore rupees. Rs 50 thousand crores have been allocated for credit guarantee schemes to develop health infrastructure in the under-served area.

The PM informed that new AIIMS medical colleges are being established. Work has been initiated on 15 AIIMS as opposed to the total six AIIMS that existed in 2014. The number of Medical colleges increased one and half times. Undergraduate medical seats have increased one and half times and PG seats



have grown by 80 %.

PM Modi reiterated the government’s commitment to the safety of doctors. He mentioned the stringent laws that have been brought in for preventing violence against the community. Along with this, a free insurance cover scheme has also been brought for the Covid warriors.

The Prime Minister urged doctors to continue to inspire and encourage people to get vaccinated and follow COVID-appropriate behavior. He also commended the medical fraternity for spreading awareness about Yoga. Work for propagating Yoga, which should have been done in the last century after Independence, is being done now, he added.

He praised the doctors for devoting their time to evidence-based studies on the benefits of yoga for dealing with post-Covid complications. He also asked if IMA can take up the evidence-based studies on yoga in a mission mode. He also advised that studies on yoga could be published in international journals. The Prime Minister stressed on the importance of documentation of experiences by doctors. Along with the experiences, symptoms of the patients and treatment plan needs to be documented. This can be taken up as a research study where the effects of various medicines and treatments are noted.

The PM further said that now is the time when the world takes cognizance and benefits from these scientific studies. COVID pandemic can be a good starting point for this. The Prime Minister wondered if we could study more deeply how vaccines are helping us, how early diagnosis helps. There is no documentation available about the last century’s pandemic but now we have the technology and our documentation about how we faced COVID.