Ghaziabad, Oct 26 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday that India will be strong only when every citizen is healthy, asserting the country’s health system has acquired a new dimension under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of a hospital in Ghaziabad, Rajnath Singh said, “We are moving towards the India our ancestors dreamed of: A strong and healthy India. Every step, every policy, every effort is dedicated to the poor, deprived, and rural people of the country.”

“We believe that India will be strong only when every citizen is healthy. We aim to establish India as a developed nation by 2047. To achieve this goal, the good health of the nation’s citizens is essential,” he said.

“We have ensured that no poor person in India loses hope of life due to any disease. To this end, under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, 10 crore families in the country have been provided with health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per year. Now, all senior citizens above 70 years of age are included in this scheme. So that the government can stand by them as a protector at that stage of life when they need care the most,”

The Defence Minister said that today, through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras, generic medicines are being made available to the public at very affordable rates. Today, people in every village are benefiting from these centres.

He also highlighted the government’s focus on strengthening health infrastructure. “In 2014, there were 387 medical colleges in the country, which has now increased to 800. In 2014, there were only 50,000 MBBS seats, but today they have exceeded 120,000.”

A decision has also been made to establish 22 new AIIMS. Of these, 12 are operating at full capacity, and construction of the remaining is in full swing. When all these institutions are fully operational, our health network will be further strengthened, he said.

The Defence Minister said the PM Modi government takes all its decisions to benefit the poor, deprived and the marginalised rural residents and sought citizens’ support for achieving the target of Developed India@2047.

–IANS

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