Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that COVID-19 had prepared the country for future pandemics and that it was necessary to strengthen the healthcare sector.
He was speaking at a webinar on budget implementation relating to the health sector.
He said the demand for Indian doctors and nurses could increase globally, and that he expected an inflow of foreign students into India for medical education. The Prime Minister said that India should aspire to become a global supplier of cost-effective medical equipment.
He said the 15th Finance Commission will lead to local bodies receiving Rs 70,000 crore extra for healthcare spending.
He said that India was still dependent on imports of raw materials for bulk drugs and formulations and that the country needed to be self-reliant on this front. He added that the pharma mega parks scheme has been getting a good response.
India’s vital needs at this point were district hospitals, critical care centers, modern laboratories, and tele-medicines, he said, adding that a public-private partnership model for maintaining digital health records would be explored.
First Published: Feb 23, 2021 11:08 AM IST
