Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel has said that the country has witnessed a profound transformation in its healthcare landscape under the Narendra Modi government in the past eleven years. The Minister said that the government has made its best efforts to strengthen the entire healthcare system from primary to tertiary healthcare.

 

Addressing the 7th Convocation Ceremony of Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi today, Mrs Patel said, the aim of the government is to make healthcare accessible and affordable with quality. She said the government is running several schemes to provide financial protection to the poor and needy population.

 

The Union Minister informed that more than 62 crore people are being provided with free health coverage up to 5 lakh rupees under the Ayushman Bharat – PMJAY scheme, the largest health coverage scheme in the world. She added that there are also schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana and Amrit Pharmacies are also providing medicines, medical devices and surgical implants at discounted rates.

                              

Union Minister Anupriya Patel said that the number of medical colleges has increased from 387 in 2014 to over 800, while the number of MBBS seats has gone up from 51 thousand to one lakh 28 thousand seats and Post Graduate seats from 31 thousand to around 82,000 seats at present. Mrs Patel said that over one lakh 78 thousand Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs are also operational across the country to provide comprehensive primary care services to the people.

 

On the occasion,  Director, VMMC and  Safdarjung Hospital, Dr  Sandeep Bansal, said that Safdarjung Hospital is one of the largest government hospitals in the country and serves lakhs of patients annually by providing comprehensive and affordable healthcare.

 

On this occasion, more than 217 postgraduate students, 136 undergraduate students and 40 super-speciality students were awarded degrees, and 43 students were awarded with medals in recognition of their outstanding performance and dedication.