President Droupadi Murmu today said India has turned into a healthcare hub of the world due to the best quality of treatments offered by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at very reasonable prices. Speaking at the 5th convocation ceremony of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar this evening, President Murmu said not only patients of our country, but patients across the world are coming for treatment to the AIIMS set up at different parts in India.

She commended the role of the medical researchers for successfully countering challenges from various epidemics in India and urged the medical practitioners to take their profession as a service to mankind. The President also expressed concern over the rising cases of depression and obesity in the society and urged the medical practitioners to advise their patients for a better lifestyle along with regular yoga, pranayama and healthy food.

She asked the medical practitioners to work on Japanese Encephalitis and anaemia, which are rampant among tribals of our country. On the occasion, President Murmu gave away 59 gold medals to 31 students and conferred degrees to 643 healthcare professionals of AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.

The President is on a two-day visit to her home state Odisha from today. She is scheduled to attend the 13th annual convocation of Ravenshaw University and lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment of three buildings of Ravenshaw Girls’ High School at Cuttack tomorrow. She is also scheduled to grace the birth anniversary celebration of Adikabi Sarala Das, a great Odia poet and scholar born in 15th Century and present the Kalinga Ratna Award for 2024 at Cuttack.