"I had given a guarantee of (setting up) AIIMS to UP's Raebareli," PM Modi said
Development was taking place under his government at a rate many times faster than what happened in the past six to seven decades, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, and emphasised that his guarantee begins from where hope ends from others.
He was speaking after inaugurating All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rajkot in Gujarat, Bathinda in Punjab, Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, Kalyani in West Bengal and Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh.
At the function held here, the PM also dedicated to the nation various development works costing Rs 48,000 crore, including more than 200 health care infrastructure projects costing Rs 11,500 crore in 23 states and Union Territories.
"Modi's guarantee begins from where hope ends from others," he asserted, adding that even the country was saying this looking at the pace of development.
"For 50 years after Independence, there was only one AIIMS in the country, and that too in Delhi. In the seven decades since Independence, only seven AIIMS were approved but even these were never completed," PM Modi said in a swipe at previous governments.
"But in just 10 days, seven new AIIMS were either inaugurated or their foundation stones laid. That's why I am saying that we are developing the country many times faster than what happened in the last six to seven decades and are dedicating it at the feet of the citizens," he said.
In the past, people from different states used to get tired seeking AIIMS in their areas from the Union government, whereas today modern hospitals and medical facilities like AIIMS are opening one after the other, he said.
Asserting that he had fulfilled his guarantee of setting up a large number of AIIMS, PM Modi said his government had approved 10 AIIMS in the last 10 years.
"I had given a guarantee of (setting up) AIIMS to UP's Raebareli. The royal family of Congress only indulged in politics in Raebareli, while the work was done by Modi," he said.
India managed to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic because of changes in the health care system brought about in the last 10 years, the PM said.
"Today in Rajkot we got a glimpse of how the health sector of the world's fifth largest economy should be and what will be the level of health facilities in developed India," he said.
Modi said his government had carried out unprecedented expansion in AIIMS and medical colleges as well as critical infrastructure network by opening more than one lakh 'Ayushman Arogya Mandirs' in villages, and taking the number of medical colleges to 706 from 308-309 a decade back.
The number of MBBS and medical PG seats have increased during this period to more than one lakh and 70,000, respectively, from 50,000 and 30,000, he informed.
The priority of his government was towards prevention of diseases by increasing the capacity to fight them, the PM said.
"We have focused on nutrition, Yoga, AYUSH and cleanliness so that diseases can be prevented," he said.
Two hospitals and research centres for Yoga and naturopathy have been inaugurated in Maharashtra and Haryana as part of such efforts, the PM said.
It is the constant endeavour of the Union government to ensure the poor and the middle class get quality medical treatment, he said.
The Ayushman Bharat scheme has helped the poor save Rs 1 lakh crore, while medicines at 80 per cent discount have helped the poor and the middle class save Rs 30,000 crore, the PM told the gathering.
The Ujjwala Yojana (to provide clean fuel through LPG connections) has helped poor families save Rs 70,000 crore, he said.
Cheaper data has helped every mobile phone user save Rs 4,000 every month, and tax reforms have helped taxpayers save Rs 2.5 lakh crore, the PM said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)