The PM’s call for medical education reforms comes at a time when the country is evacuating a large number of Indian students studying in medical colleges in Ukraine and are caught in the crossfire of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for enhancing the quality and expansion of medical education in the country so that students from India do not have to go to small countries to study and face challenges. Medical education in the country has to be made more affordable and accessible and to achieve this a time-bound concrete plan has to be put in place, the PM suggested. He also called for increased participation from the private sector in expanding medical education and urged state governments to offer policy support.
The PM’s call for medical education reforms comes at a time when the country is evacuating a large number of Indian students studying in medical colleges in Ukraine and are caught in the crossfire of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. According to the ministry of education and science in Ukraine, there are over 18,095 students from India in Ukraine.
The PM pointed out that India students were going to small countries despite having a problem with the language. “Billions of rupees are going out of the country. Can’t our private sector come into this field in large numbers? Can’t our state governments make good policies in giving land for this? So that maximum doctors are ready with us, paramedics are ready,” he asked. The PM said he was committed to reforms in medical education and the creation of medical colleges. He stressed on making concrete plans so that it was implemented soon and files do not keep moving for six months.
Modi also spoke of expanding the health infrastructure, which was currently available only in big cities to remote areas at block level and in villages. “We have to develop ‘One India One Health’ in India,” he said. The private sector would have to come forward for this to happen. Better health infrastructure would increases the demand for health services and was a great way to increase employment, the PM said at post-budget webinar organised by the heath ministry.
Private sector should come forward and create infrastructure in Tier II and Tier III cities and develop facility for the patients of Ayushman Bharat scheme. He assured the private sector that they would be able to generate income and get a return on their investments. Public private partnership would be need to create a robust health care sector in the country, he said. The country’s health care objection cannot be achieved without self-reliance in research, medicines and medical equipment. “We have to tap the growth potential in the field of generics, bulk drugs, vaccines and bio-similars. That’s why we have started PLI schemes for medical equipment and raw material of medicines,” the PM said.
Remote delivery of health care would be easier with the coming of 5G and fibre networks and large private hospitals should link up with health care centres in remote areas and offer their services, the PM suggested.
