Governor of Assam Shri Gulab Chand Kataria ji, Chief Minister Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma ji, my colleagues in the Union Cabinet, Health Minister of the country Mansukh Mandaviyaji and Dr. Bharati Pawar ji, Minister in Assam Government Keshab Mahanta ji, all the eminent personalities from the medical world, all the dignitaries connected with the video conference from different places and my dear brothers and sisters of Assam.
Greetings to all the Ahom people, brothers and sisters from the sacred land of Maa Kamakhya! Wishing you all a very Happy Rongali Bihu! On this auspicious occasion, the health infrastructure of Assam and the North East has got a new boost today. Today, North East got its first AIIMS. And Assam has got three new medical colleges. The foundation stone of a 500-bed super specialty hospital for modern research in collaboration with IIT Guwahati has also been laid. Delivering Ayushman cards to lakhs of friends of Assam has also started on mission mode. Apart from Assam, people from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur are also going to get a lot of benefits from the new AIIMS. Many congratulations and best wishes to all of you, my brothers and sisters of the North East, for all these health related projects.
Brothers and sisters,
There is a lot of buzz about connectivity related infrastructure in the North East in the last nine years. Whoever comes to the North East today is full of praise of the works related to road, rail and airports. However, there is another infrastructure in the North East where commendable work has taken place and that is the social infrastructure. Friends, the expansion of education and health facilities here is truly unprecedented. When I visited Dibrugarh last year, I had the opportunity to lay foundation stones and inaugurate several hospitals simultaneously in several districts of Assam. Today, I have had the privilege of handing over AIIMS and three medical colleges to you. Over the years, the facility of dental colleges has also expanded in Assam. These are also being helped by the ever-improving rail-road connectivity in the North East. In particular, the problems women used to face during pregnancy have now gone away. As a result, the risk to the life of mother and child has been greatly reduced.
Nowadays, one notices the emergence of a new disease. Wherever I go in the country, in the North, in the South, in the North East, I discuss the development works in the last nine years. However, some people get very upset. This is a new disease. They complain that they too have ruled the country for decades, so why don’t they get credit? Credit hungry people and the spirit of ruling the public have done a lot of harm to the country. Public is the form of God. They were credit-hungry, therefore, the North East seemed distant to them and they created a sense of alienation. We keep serving you with the spirit of service, with the spirit of being your ‘Sevak’ and with dedication. And therefore, the North East does not seem far away to us and the sense of belonging never contracts.
I am happy that today the people of the North East have taken upon themselves the reins of development. They are moving forward with the mantra of the development of North East to India’s development. In this new movement of development, the central government is working with all the states as a friend, as a ‘sevak’ and as a partner. Today’s event is also a living example of this.
Friends,
Our Northeast has been grappling with so many challenges for several decades. When politics of nepotism, regionalism, corruption and instability dominate a sector, then it becomes impossible for development to take place. And that’s what happened to our healthcare system. The AIIMS in Delhi was built in the 50s. People from every corner of the country used to come to Delhi AIIMS for treatment. But for decades, no one thought that AIIMS should be established in other parts of the country as well. Atal ji’s government made efforts in this regard for the first time. But everything came to a standstill after the change of his government. Even in the AIIMS that were set up, they remained in a dilapidated condition. We removed all these shortcomings after 2014. We started work on 15 new AIIMS in the last few years. In most of these AIIMS, facilities for both treatment and education have started. AIIMS Guwahati is also an example of the fact that whatever resolution our government takes, it fulfils it as well. It is the affection of the people of Assam that draws me here time and again. Your affection called me here even at the time of foundation stone laying ceremony and today I have got the opportunity to inaugurate it on the pious occasion of Bihu. This is your love.
Friends,
We have had a severe shortage of doctors and other medical professionals due to the policies of the previous governments. This deficiency was a major barrier to quality health service in India. Therefore, our government has worked on a large scale to increase medical infrastructure and medical professionals in the last nine years. In the 10 years before 2014, only about 150 medical colleges were built. In the last nine years, about 300 new medical colleges have been built during our rule. MBBS seats in the country have also doubled to more than one lakh in the last nine years. There has also been an increase of 110 per cent in the number of PG seats in medicine in the country in the last nine years. We have established the National Medical Commission for the expansion of medical education. We have also extended the facility of reservation to backward families so that their children can become doctors. For the first time, we have given the option of medical studies in Indian languages so that children from remote areas can also become doctors. An announcement has also been made in this year’s budget to open more than 150 nursing colleges. If I talk about the North East, then the number of medical colleges has more than doubled here in the last nine years. Work is in progress at many medical colleges. Many new medical colleges are going to be built here. In the last nine years, the number of medical seats in the North East has also doubled as compared to earlier.
Brothers and sisters,
Today, if so much work is happening in the health sector in India, it is because you formed a stable and strong government in 2014. The policy, intention and loyalty in the BJP governments are not based on any selfishness, but our policies are motivated by the spirit of Nation First, Countrymen First. That’s why we focused on mitigating the problems of the people of the country rather than eyeing the vote bank. We decided that our sisters do not have to travel far for treatment. We decided that no poor person should have to postpone his treatment due to lack of money. We tried to ensure that our poor families also get better treatment near their homes.
Friends,
I know how much the poor worry about not having money for treatment. Therefore, our government started the Ayushman Yojana, which provides free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. I know how much the poor and middle class people are anxious by expensive medicines. Therefore, our government opened more than 9,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras and hundreds of affordable medicines were made available at these centres. I know how much the poor and middle class people were spending on heart and knee surgeries. Therefore, our government controlled the prices of stents and knee implants. I know the concern of the poor when they need dialysis. Therefore, our government started a scheme of free dialysis in every district, and as a result, lakhs of people benefited from it. I know how important it is to detect serious illness in time. That’s why our government has opened more than 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres across the country, where necessary tests are being provided. I know that TB disease has been a huge challenge for the poor for decades. Therefore, our government started the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat campaign. We have set a target of eliminating TB five years before the rest of the world. I know how any disease destroys poor and middle class families. Therefore, our government focused on preventive health care by ensuring that diseases do not occur. We have continuously made people aware of health by popularising Yoga-Ayurveda and the Fit India campaign.
Friends,
Today, when I see the success of these government schemes, I consider myself blessed that God and the people have blessed me to serve the poor so much. The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has proved to be a major support for crores of poor people of the country today. In the past few years, the Ayushman Bharat scheme has saved the poor from spending Rs 80,000 crore. Due to Jan Aushadhi Kendras, the poor and middle class people have been saved from spending Rs 20,000 crore. The poor and middle class people are saving Rs 13,000 crore every year due to the reduction in the cost of stents and knee implants. With the facility of free dialysis, poor kidney patients have been saved from spending more than Rs 500 crore. Today, the campaign to give Ayushman Bharat cards to more than one crore citizens of Assam has also started. The people of Assam are going to get a lot of help from this campaign and their money will be saved.
Friends,
I often meet the beneficiaries of the schemes of our government in every nook and corner of the country. A large number of our mothers and sisters, sons and daughters, participate in this exchange. They tell me that there has been a huge difference in health facilities during the previous governments and now during the BJP government. You and I know that when it comes to health and treatment, our women are often left behind. Our mothers and sisters feel why to spend household money on their treatment and why to trouble others. The health of crores of women of the country was affected due to lack of resources and financial constraints.
The schemes started by our BJP-led government have greatly benefited our mothers and sisters and the health of women. Crores of toilets built under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan have saved women from many diseases. The gas connection under the Ujjwala scheme has freed the women from the deadly fumes. Crores of women have been saved from water-borne diseases with water available to every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The Mission Indradhanush has saved crores of women from serious diseases by giving them free vaccination. The Ayushman Bharat Yojana has assured women free hospital treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana has ensured financial help to women during pregnancy. The Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyan has helped in providing nutritious food to women. This is how work is done when the government is sensitive and when there is a feeling of service towards the poor.
Friends,
Our government is also modernizing India’s health sector according to the needs of the 21st century. Today, digital health IDs are being given to the countrymen under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission. Hospitals and health professionals across the country are being brought on a single platform. With this facility, the complete health record of the citizens of the country will be available on just one click. This will help treatment in hospitals and it will be easy to reach the right doctor. I am happy that so far about 38 crore digital IDs have been created under this scheme. So far, more than two lakh health facilities and more than 1.5 lakh health professionals have been verified. Today, e-Sanjeevani is also becoming the preferred medium of treatment for people sitting at home. About 10 crore friends across the country have taken advantage of this facility. This is ensuring saving of both time and money.
Brothers and sisters,
The major basis for change in India’s healthcare system is ‘Sabka Prayas’ (everyone’s effort). We have witnessed the power of ‘Sabka Prayas’ during the Corona crisis. Today the world is praising the world’s biggest, fastest and most effective Covid vaccination campaign. We made Made in India vaccines and delivered them far and wide within a short span of time. Everyone from ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and primary healthcare workers to the pharmaceutical sector did a wonderful job. Such a big Mahayagya becomes successful only when there is ‘Sabka Prayas’ and ‘Sabka Vishwas’. We have to move forward with the spirit of ‘Sabka Prayas’. Let us take forward the mission of Healthy India and Prosperous India with ‘Sabka Prayas’. Once again, I congratulate the people of Assam for AIIMS and medical colleges. I thank you for your love that you came in such large numbers to bless me. With this, I end my speech.
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.
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DS/VK/AK
