PMINDIA

Pays tributes to Sir M M Visvesvaraya

“With ‘Sabka Prayas’, India is on the path of becoming a developed nation”

“Karnataka has a glorious tradition of religious and social institutions that serve the poor”

“Our government works for the welfare of the poor. It has given an option of medical education in all Indian languages including Kannada”

“We have given priority to the health of the poor and middle class”

“We are giving top priority to women in health-related policies”

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Chikkaballapur today. SMSIMSR will provide medical education and quality medical care – completely free of cost – to all. The institute will start functioning in the academic year 2023.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister noted that Chikballapur is the birthplace of one of the architects of modern India, Sir M M Visvesvaraya and expressed gratitude for getting the opportunity to pay tribute to his samadhi and visit his museum. “I bow my head before this virtuous land”, the Prime Minister remarked. He emphasized that it was the land of Chikballapur that was the source of inspiration for Sir Visvesvaraya to come up with new innovations and develop new engineering projects for the farmers and the general populace.

The Prime Minister called Satya Sai Gram a wonderful model of service. He lauded the mission being undertaken by the institution through education and health initiatives. He said that today’s inauguration of the medical college has further strengthened this mission.

The Prime Minister referred to the nation’s resolution to be a developed nation during the Amrit Kaal and people’s curiosity about accomplishing such a mammoth resolution in such a short time. “There is just one answer, a strong, resolute and resourceful answer i.e Sabka Prayas. This is going to be surely realized by the effort of every countrymen”, the Prime Minister said.

He highlighted the role of social and religious institutions in the journey of achieving ‘Viksit Bharat’ and the great tradition of saints, ashrams and mutts. These social and religious bodies, along with faith and spiritual aspects, have been empowering the poor, dalits, backwards and adivasis. “Work done by your institute strengthens the spirit of ‘Sabka Prayas’, ” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister elaborated upon the motto of the Sri Satya Sai University ‘Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam’ Meaning expertise in the action is yoga. Shri Modi illustrated that with the government’s effort in the medical field. The Prime Minister pointed out that there were less than 380 medical colleges in the country before 2014 but the numbers have gone up to more than 650 today. He also underlined that 40 medical colleges have been developed in aspirational districts of the country that were once lagging behind in terms of development.

In the last 9 years, the Prime Minister mentioned that the number of medical seats in the country has doubled. He noted that the number of doctors produced by the country in the next 10 years will be the same as the number of doctors produced in India since the time of independence. Underlining that Karnataka is also reaping the benefits of the development carried out in the country, the Prime Minister informed that the state is home to roughly 70 medical colleges in the country and the medical college inaugurated in Chikballapur is an example of the efforts of the double engine government. He informed about the decision taken to develop more than 150 nursing institutions in the country as part of this year’s Budget and said that it will create new opportunities for the youth in the nursing sector.

The Prime Minister mentioned the challenge of language in medical education and lamented that insufficient efforts were made in the past to promote local languages in medical education. He said that these political parties were not willing to see youth from villages and backward places find a place in the medical and engineering professions. “Our government works for the welfare of the poor. It has given an option of medical education in all Indian languages including Kannada”, the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister lamented the practice in politics that has been going on in the country for a long time where the poor were considered only as vote banks. “Our government has considered serving the poor as its highest duty. We have given priority to the health of the poor and middle class”, Shri Modi said. He gave the example of Jan Aushadhi Kendras or low-price medicine and informed that there are about 10,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country today, out of which more than 1000 are located in Karnataka. He added that such an initiative has allowed the poor to save thousands of crores of rupees on medicines.

The Prime Minister also threw light on the past when the poor could not afford the hospitals for treatment. He emphasized that the present government took notice of this concern of the poor and resolved it with the Ayushman Bharat Yojana which has opened the doors of hospitals for poor families. Underlining that lakhs of people in Karnataka have also benefited from this scheme, the Prime Minister said, “The Government has guaranteed free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh to the poor.” The Prime Minister gave examples of expensive surgery procedures such as heart surgery, knee replacement, and dialysis etc and pointed out that the government has taken all necessary steps to reduce the expensive fees.

“We are giving top priority to mothers and sisters in health-related policies”, the Prime Minister remarked. Underlining that the health of the whole generation improves when the health and nutrition of our mothers improve, the Prime Minister said that the government is giving special emphasis towards this and gave the example of schemes to build toilets, provide free gas connections, provide tap water to every household, provide free sanitary pads and send money directly to the bank for nutritious food. He underlined the special attention given by the government towards breast cancer and informed that health and wellness centers are being opened in the villages and efforts are being made to screen such diseases in the early stages itself. The Prime Minister congratulated Bommai ji and his team for setting up more than 9,000 health and wellness centers in the state.

The Prime Minister praised the Karnataka government for strengthening and empowering ANM and ASHA workers. He informed that 50 thousand ANM and ASHA workers and about 1 lakh registered nurses and health workers of Karnataka received modern gadgets and the double-engine government is trying to provide them with all possible facilities.

The Prime Minister said that, along with health, the double-engine government is paying full attention to the economic empowerment of women. Calling Karnataka a land of Milk and Silk, the Prime Minister informed about the Kisan Credit Card for cattle rearing farmers, a massive vaccination drive for cattle with an expense of 12 thousand crores. It is also the effort of the Double-Engine government to increase the participation of women in dairy co-operatives. Self-help groups of women in the villages are also being empowered, the Prime Minister said. “When the country is healthy and ‘Sabka Prayas’ is devoted to development, then we will achieve the goal of a developed India faster”, he said.

In the end, the Prime Minister recalled his long association with Bhagwan Sai Baba and the Sansthan. He said “I am not a guest here, I am part of this place and land. Every time I come amidst you the bond gets renewed and the desire for stronger ties emerges in the heart”, he concluded.

Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basvaraj Bommai, Chairman of Sri Satya Sai Sanjeevani Center for Child Heart Care, Dr C Srinivas, and Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai were present on the occasion among others.

Background

In an initiative to help students avail new opportunities and provide accessible and affordable healthcare in this region, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SMSIMSR). It was established by Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence at Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur. Situated in a rural area and established with a vision of de-commercialising medical education and healthcare, SMSIMSR will provide medical education and quality medical care – completely free of cost – to all. The institute will start functioning in the academic year 2023.