Addressing doctors on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that doctors are “another form of God”, as they can give a “new life” whether one is a victim of some disease or accident.
Referring to the violence against the health workers during the ongoing pandemic, the PM reiterated the Centre’s commitment towards the safety of doctors and announced that the government is providing free insurance cover to all Covid warriors. “The government is committed to safeguarding our doctors. Last year, we brought in several provisions against crimes against doctors. We are also providing free insurance cover to our Covid warriors,” he said.
The PM said that the way “our doctors have served the country is an example in itself. I express my gratitude to all the doctors on behalf of 130 crore Indians”.
The PM said at a time when the country is fighting the corona virus infection, doctors have saved millions of lives by working hard day and night. While doing this virtuous work, many doctors of the country have laid down their lives, the PM said. He paid tribute to doctors who lost their lives.
The Prime Minister said that his government has doubled the healthcare sector budget. PM Modi said that this year, the budget allocation for the health sector has been more than doubled i.e. more than Rs two lakh crore. “Now we have come up with a credit guarantee scheme of Rs 50,000 crore to strengthen health infrastructure in areas where there is a lack of health facilities.”
He said that till 2014, there were only six AIIMS in the country; work on 15 new AIIMS has started in the past seven years. The number of medical colleges has also increased by about one-and-a-half times. In a short span of time, there has been an increase of more than one-and-a-half times in undergraduate seats; also, there has been an increase of 80% in PG seats.
Meanwhile, PM Modi also mentioned yoga, and said: “Another good thing we have seen is that people from the medical fraternity have come forward to spread awareness about yoga. The work which should have been done in the last century after independence to propagate yoga, is being done now.”
Earlier on Thursday, PM Modi tweeted, “On Doctors’ Day, my greetings to all doctors. India’s strides in the world of medicine are commendable and have contributed to making our planet healthier.”
WITH AGENCY INPUTS