India to get record number of doctors in next 10 years: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country will get a record number of new doctors in the coming 10 years due to the central government’s plan of establishing a medical college in every district.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the KK Patel Super Speciality Hospital in Gujarat’s Bhuj district via video conferencing, the PM said, “The goal of having at least one medical college in every district and ensuring that medical education was in reach of everyone will result in the country getting a record numbers of doctors after 10 years. He said two decades ago, Gujarat had just nine medical colleges with around 1,100 MBBS seats, but the medical education scenario has improved vastly in the last 20 years. “Today we have more than 36 medical colleges with 6,000 seats,” he added.

The Prime Minister, however, cautioned that adding lakhs of hospital beds may not be sufficient if people do not adopt a healthy lifestyle.

“I have to share this with you, my brothers and sisters. This is Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Whatever number of hospitals we set up, just whatever number, add lakhs of (hospital) beds, they are not going to solve the problem ever. But instead, if we create social awareness, if we all perform our duty… create such an atmosphere and a situation wherein we will not have to visit a hospital in the first place… The solution to all the problems is (to remain healthy and) to avoid the need for visiting a hospital,” he said.