Modi: Trying to lessen health sector’s foreign reliance: PM Modi | India News – Times of India

Some countries used Covid lifesavers as weapons: PM
“When the pandemic was at its peak, life-saving things like medicines, vaccines and medical devices had unfortunately become weapons for some countries. India has paid a lot of attention to these issues in the last few year’s budgets. We are constantly trying to minimise India’s dependence on foreign countries,” Modi said, while addressing a post-budget webinar on ‘health and medical research’, the ninth of a series of 12 post-budget webinars organised by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for effectively implementing the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023.
The PM said healthcare could be seen in terms of pre-Covid and post-Covid eras. “The world’s focus on healthcare is more than ever now, but India’s approach is not limited to healthcare only. Instead, we are going one step ahead and working on overall wellness. It means that we are emphasising holistic healthcare, be it humans, animals or plants,” he said.
Modi said his government has put forward a vision before the world and that is ‘One Earth-One Health’. “For several decades after independence, there was a lack of an integrated approach and a long-term vision regarding health in India. We have not confined healthcare only to the health ministry, but have emphasised the ‘whole of the government’ approach,” he added.
The PM said sometimes calamity also offers an opportunity to prove oneself. “This has been proved by the pharma sector during the Covid period,” he said, adding further that the way India’s pharma sector has gained trust of the entire world during the pandemic was unprecedented.
The market size of India’s pharma sector is around Rs 4 lakh crore today, the PM said, adding that if there is better coordination between the private sector and academia, it can grow Rs 10 lakh crore.
Highlighting the several steps taken by the government to further research in this sector, the PM said many new laboratories by ICMR have been opened up for the research industry.
Modi said ensuring affordable treatment in India has been the topmost priority of the government and the spirit behind the free treatment facility up to Rs 5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat.
The PM also highlighted the government’s efforts towards improving the health infrastructure in the country. More than 1.5 lakh health centres are being developed in close proximity to homes across the country. He said more than 260 new medical colleges have been opened in the last few years.