Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government was working towards transforming the health sector of the country and is increasing its strength and self-reliance. He said that the government wants to ensure that every district in the country (India has over 650 administrative districts) has at least one medical college or an institution that provides post-graduate medical education.

Speaking at an event, after laying the foundation stone of four medical colleges in Rajasthan, Modi said, "This pandemic has taught a lot in the health sector across the world. Every country is engaged in dealing with this crisis in its own way. India has resolved to increase its strength, self-reliance during this time. The beginning of work on four medical colleges in Rajasthan and CIPET-Jaipur is a key step in this regard."

"Since 2014, the central government has approved 23 new medical colleges for Rajasthan. Out of this, seven medical colleges are already functional and we are laying the foundation for four of them today," he said.

Modi recalled that improving the health sector in Gujarat came as a challenge to him when he became the Chief Minister of the state in 2001. "From medical education to health infrastructure to medical facilities, we tried to change the situation," he said. 

Modi stated that when the NDA-led government came to power in New Delhi in 2014, there were 82,000 undergraduate and post graduate seats in medical colleges, but the number stands at over 140,000 now, according to ANI news agency. 

  "Today, India is moving towards an empowered network of 22 AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) from 6 AIIMS. In the last six-seven years, over 170 new medical colleges have been started and over 100 new medical colleges are being developed," he added. 

"We want to ensure that every district has at least one medical college or an institution that provides post-graduate medical education. We have made several reforms to ensure this in the last few years," he said. .

"There was a massive gap between primary healthcare and big hospitals. It was of paramount importance to remove these bottlenecks. To transform the medical system, we worked on a new medical system for the entire country. Initiatives such as Swachh Bharat, Ayushman Bharat and Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission are all part of that view," he added.

Modi on Thursday also inaugurated the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Rajasthan's Jaipur district through video conferencing (SAM)