For developed India, emphasis will have to be given on future technology and health services: Modi

Chandigarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of various development projects worth more than Rs 4,700 crore in Chandigarh on Friday, said that to build a developed India, we will have to move ahead with a vision focused on future technology, innovation and modern health services. He said that during the Corona epidemic, India emerged not as a country asking for help from the world, but as a country providing help to the world.

The Prime Minister said that Chandigarh is not just a city, but a model of planned development, better lifestyle and modern medical facilities. Chandigarh is a major hub of health services for the people of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and the NDA government is continuously giving priority to its development.

He said that the country’s health infrastructure has expanded unprecedentedly in the last 12 years. After 2014, 15 new AIIMS were approved, hundreds of new medical colleges were established and specialized hospitals were expanded for the treatment of serious diseases like cancer. Now the number of medical colleges in the country has almost doubled and there has been a record increase in MBBS and postgraduate medical seats. He announced that MBBS college in PGI Chandigarh has also been approved and the admission process will start here soon.

The Prime Minister said that under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, about 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are being operated across the country, where 12 types of health services along with treatment are being provided. He informed that till now more than 48 crore online medical consultations have been given through e-Sanjeevani telemedicine service, due to which even people in remote areas are getting the facility of specialist doctors.

He said that the government is also rapidly taking forward the TB-free India campaign. Due to timely detection and treatment, the cure rate for TB has increased to more than 90 percent and according to the World Health Organization report, there has been a 21 percent reduction in TB infection in India in the last decade.

The Prime Minister said that at one time the world was worried about India’s health system, but during the Corona epidemic, India changed the thinking of the entire world. He said, “At the time of Corona, India was not asking for help, but was sending medicines and aid to the world.” He said that today people from all over the world are coming to India for treatment, which is the result of the reforms made in the health sector in the last 12 years.

He said that Chandigarh has prestigious institutions related to education, engineering, medical science and research, which can become a big center of new technology, health services, startups and innovation in future. The need of the hour is to pay special attention to future technology and health services in the journey of developed India.

Referring to his visit to Haryana, the Prime Minister said that the launch of the country’s first hydrogen train on the Jind-Sonipat railway section is a symbol of the country’s technological progress and an important step towards clean energy based transportation.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development projects worth more than Rs 4,700 crore. These include inauguration of Advanced Mother and Child Center and Advanced Neurosciences Center at PGIMER, laying of foundation stone of 150 bedded Critical Care Block, hostel projects of Punjab Engineering College and Government College Sector-46 and major road infrastructure projects like IT City-Kurali six-lane Greenfield Highway, Zirakpur Greenfield Bypass and PR-7 Spur Corridor.