From Ayurveda to Ayushman Bharat: PM Modi highlights India’s shift towards preventive and holistic healthcare

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday highlighted India's push for preventive and holistic healthcare, noting rapid improvements in health infrastructure and the growing global popularity of Yoga and Ayurveda.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for accelerating the process of linking the country's education sector to the real-world economy. During a press conference, the PM said that there has been a rapid strengthening of health infrastructure across the country, while Yoga and Ayurveda continue to gain global popularity.

Speaking during a series of post-Budget webinars on the theme "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Fulfilling Aspirations of People", he stressed the need for greater focus on emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, automation, the digital economy, and design-driven manufacturing. Modi said education, skill development, health, tourism, sports and culture play a key role in fulfilling the aspirations of the people.

"Fulfilling the aspirations of the people is not just a subject, but it is the core objective and resolution of this government," he said at the webinar attended by stakeholders from government ministries, departments and private sector experts.

Strengthening Health Infrastructure and Expanding Access

Talking about the preventive health care growth in the country, the PM said that India is working on a vision of preventive and holistic health today and in the past few years, the country's health infrastructure has been strengthened. He emphasised that new medical colleges have opened in hundreds of districts and through the Ayushman Bharat scheme, access to health services has been extended to villages via wellness centres.

Modi also talked about the "youth power" of the country and said it becomes "national power" only when it is healthy, disciplined, and brimming with self-confidence. "That is why, in the past few years, sports have been viewed as an important stream of national development," he said.

The prime minister said initiatives like Khelo India have infused a new energy into the country's sports ecosystem and sports infrastructure is being strengthened across the country.

Boosting STEM and Opportunities for Young Researchers

The prime minister said another important sector is STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. "It is heartening to see that the daughters of our country have a great interest in STEM. Today, when we talk about futuristic technologies, it is important that no daughter is held back due to a lack of opportunities. We must create a research ecosystem where young researchers get ample opportunities to work on new ideas," he said.

He said the health sector has been strengthened and the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which is a government health insurance scheme, and Arogya Mandirs, which are health and wellness centers, have led to greater penetration of health services in rural areas.

Referring to the 'care economy', through which trained caregivers help senior citizens, Modi said that as the senior citizen population increases, the demand for caregivers will also rise. He urged the development of new training models.

Success of Telemedicine

On digital transformation in healthcare, PM Modi spoke about the success of telemedicine in reaching remote areas. While acknowledging its growth, he stressed the need for further simplifying the user experience and building greater public awareness. "I believe there is still a need to increase awareness and ease of use in telemedicine,'' he said.

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