PM Modi took Indian traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda to the world, says Union Mos Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai
India moving towards becoming ‘Vishwa Guru’ in healthcare under PM Modi, says CU Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu
‘Healthcare for all’ became the prime mantra of Modi government, access to affordable health services was attained in last nine years, says Arogya Bharati President
Chandigarh : No government other than PM Modi’s made healthcare a foremost priority, PM Modi made Indian healthcare sector resilient and sustainable, reiterate Arogya Bharti office bearers during Annual general meeting
The delegates and Arogya Mitras from all over India hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for phenomenal transformation of public healthcare system in the country during the last nine years. They underscored a plethora of reformative measures like Aayushman Bharat undertaken by Modi government, which has made possible the access of affordable and quality health services for all citizens especially to the underprivileged and marginalized section in every corner of the country.
They highlighted that the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have taken Indian traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda to the world. The Arogya Bharti delegates were deliberating upon the Indian healthcare system at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Arogya Bharati held on Sunday (November 5) at the campus of Chandigarh University (CU). As many as 800 delegates and Arogya Mitras from every state of India are participating in this two-day meeting.
The two-day meeting of Arogya Bharati, which is a voluntary organization working in the sphere of healthcare in rural areas, is focused on charting a roadmap for the better implementation of government’s healthcare initiatives on the ground – with key focus on thrust areas.
The inaugural session was attended by Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit as the chief guest. Dr. Manoj Nesari, Advisor (Ayurveda), Ministry of Ayush, Government of India; Dr. Rakesh Pandit, National President of Arogya Bharti; Dr. Pravin Bhavsar, Patron Arogya Bharati; Dr. Rama Didi, Brahmakumaris Co-Director, Mohali; and Dr. T.N Manjunath, National Secretary Arogya Bharati were also present on the occasion among others.
Founded in 2002 in Kochi, Arogya Bharati works towards providing Ayurvedic, Homeopathy, and other traditional forms of medicine and services to people in a comprehensive and holistic manner.
Union Minister of State for AYUSH, Women and Child Development, Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai, said “The Government of India is always striving to ensure all-inclusive health for every citizen. The results of all the initiatives undertaken by the government are evident on ground. The Ministry of AYUSH is working to improve the healthcare system in many ways, be it medical education infrastructure or global exposure to medical professionals and educators. In addition, the Ministry has signed MoUs with 33 different countries of the world to promote collaborative research and development of Traditional Medicine. PM Modi took Indian traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda to the world. Medical practitioners should continue to contribute in their fields and make their services more beneficial for citizens.”
Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator, Banwarilal Purohit, during his address said that India can become a global healthcare hub. “India has the potential to become the hub in healthcare, be it Ayurveda, allopathy, homeopathy or any other medicine system. More institutions are needed so that we can excel in all these fields. The present government’s policies are liberal, which are an important factor to the growth in Indian healthcare sector,” he said.
He also said, “There is a tremendous scope of all medicine systems in India like Ayurveda, homeopathy, and allopathy. Every system of medicine has witnessed a boost during the last few years. Today, World’s best doctors are Indians, who have proved the potential of Indian healthcare system and medicines over the years, especially during COVID-19.”
Purohit said, “Indian Systems of Medicine are among the well-known global traditional systems of medicine. PM Modi has made Indian traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda globally popular. He took many unprecedented initiatives to boost infrastructure and promoting research in traditional medicine.”
He also added that PM Modi is working tremendously to promote Indian traditional medicine systems. “More research needs to be done to explore the benefits of the traditional medicine system and research institutions need to be established for this purpose so that we can bring revolution in India medicine system,” he added.
During his address at the meeting CU Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu accentuated the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s core philosophy of accessible and affordable healthcare for all. “India is moved towards building a robust healthcare system with a series of reforms and effective measures undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last nine years that has strengthened the public health and medical care systems on various fronts, across the country. Due to PM Modi’s visionary leadership, India today is heading towards becoming a ‘Vishwa Guru’ in healthcare,” said Satnam Singh Sandhu.
Satnam Singh Sandhu, said, “The focus of PM Modi has been on ensuring access to quality healthcare for all during the last nine years. To achieve this feat many effective measures and reforms were undertaken by the government that transformed the healthcare system in India. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is the world’s largest government-sponsored healthcare scheme, which offers INR 5 lakh per year for medical services and aims to benefit up to 500 million beneficiaries.”
He added, “There has been a huge rise in the medical college from 387 before 2014 to 660 in 2023 and an increase of 110% in MBBS seats from 51,348 before 2014 to 1,07,948 today. In the last nine years, a total of 273 medical colleges have been added, leading to a 70 % increase in the establishment of medical colleges with a whopping 98% increase in the number of Government medical colleges (GMC) alone and a 45% increase in the private sector, since 2014.”
While highlighting the focus on promoting the India’s traditional medicine system, Satnam Singh Sandhu said, “PM Modi has set the ball rolling for the revival of traditional systems of medicine. The aim is to provide a better health by the confluence of traditional and modern medicine. Indian traditional medicinal system like Ayurveda, has a very rich history of their effectiveness. Under PM Modi the agenda of integrating the benefits of both traditional and modern medicine remained at the forefront of government’s healthcare initiatives, for the benefit of mankind.”
Satnam Singh Sandhu lauded the voluntary efforts of Arogya Bharati to provide healthcare for all across the country, especially to those belonging to poor and marginalized sections of the society in rural areas. Since social media is a strong medium to connect with the people today, Satnam Sandhu on behalf of Chandigarh University, offered to help Arogya Bharati by taking its initiatives to all strata of the society in every corner of the country through digital platforms.
Dr. Rakesh Pandit, National President of Arogya Bharti, said, “In the last few years, the Indian healthcare system has undergone a revolutionary transformation due to the boost in both modern and traditional medicine such as Ayurveda and Homeopathy. Number of new institutions, colleges, and hospitals have been set up across the country, which has helped in delivering quality healthcare services to the last mile. The Modi government and Arogya Bharati together have ensured the implementation of an integrated healthcare system called ‘One Nation, One Health’, which has led to an improved Doctor-population Ratio of 1:834 in India that is better than World Health Organization’s (WHO) standard of 1:1000.”
He said, “Indian holistic approach followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led to developments in healthcare infrastructure and medical education, due to which the level of health services in India has improved tremendously. It has also increased manpower in the country.” He also said that both government and Arogya Bharati promote preventive measures in healthcare, which have proved to be beneficial during the COVID-19.
Dr. Rakesh also shared that Arogya Bharati conducts studies and research on various health issues from time to time and shares its recommendations to the government for contributing to building a healthier India. He said, “The basic idea of the government’s flagship scheme – Ayushman Bharat was also given by Arogya Bharati. As many as 26 Crore beneficiaries are registered under this scheme, out of which 49% are women recipients.” He also lauded Modi government’s initiatives for women welfare and said that only when women are empowered will the nation progress.
Dr. Ved Ishwar Chander Sardana, President of Arogya Bharti Punjab said, “Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power, he has given a new direction and pace to everything, be it health sector or education. Through ‘One Nation, One Health’, PM Modi has unified the nation and ensured equal benefits for the people of entire India. Under PM Modi’s leadership, India is heading towards a preventive health system from a curative health system. That is why today, instead of health centres, wellness centres are being built across the country.”
He added, “During the last 9 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken unprecedented initiatives for improving healthcare in the country, including the introduction of various welfare health schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and providing funds for their implementation. Modi government has also increased the budget allocation for the healthcare schemes from INR 37,330 Crores in 2014 to INR 89,155 Crores in 2023, which is a major step towards strengthening India’s healthcare system. It is due to PM Modi’s vision and dedication that the stature of healthcare in India has improved.”
Dr Satya Prakash Batra, president of Arogya Bharti’s Madhya Bharat Prant said that the PM Modi led government’s focus on the revival of traditional system of medicine has been phenomenal and something we have not seen before. “PM Modi has made the Indian traditional medicine system like Ayurveda globally popular. His government have made significant efforts in integrating traditional medicinal practices and the modern healthcare which is going to revolutionise the healthcare system not only in India but all over the globe,” he said, while highlighting that three national AYUSH institutes of eminence in Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani were established by PM Modi.
Dr Siddanagoud Patil, president of Arogya Bharti, Karnataka North, said that PM Modi used digital technology to ensure quality healthcare reaches all sections of the society. “Special focus has been laid upon overhauling the public healthcare system in the country and country has witnessed tremendous transformation in healthcare under PM Modi. At present, India has 65,660 hospitals and healthcare centres in 2023. India now has 34.33 lakh registered nursing personnel and 13 lakhs Allied and Healthcare Professionals, including 13 lakh allopathic doctors and 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors, he said.
Dr Pawan Gupta, President Arogya Bharti Haryana, said, “Arogya Bharati has been contributing to the government’s initiatives to provide medicines and healthcare services to every section of the society, in every nook and corner of the country. While Arogya Bharati has been providing Ayurvedic, Unani, and Homeopathic medicines and healthcare to people across the country, mainly in rural India for last 20 years, it is due to the efforts of current government that Indian medicines and treatment are gaining popularity across the world, which has enhanced the medical value travel in Ayurveda and other traditional forms of medicine. As a result, the Ayush-based healthcare and wellness economy is likely to grow to USD 70 billion by 2025.”
T.S Rao, President Arogya Bharti Andhra Pradesh, said, “Indian healthcare system has witnessed a major transformation during the last 9 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has given a call for an integrated healthcare system called ‘One Nation, One Health’. It has integrated modern and traditional systems of medicine, especially Ayurveda and other traditional forms of medicine in India have received a tremendous boost under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No other previous Indian government has promoted the traditional medicine system on this level. Today the world has faith in Indian doctors and medicine, and looks at India as the global leader for healthcare.”
