The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today said India will undergo a renewal through the combined efforts of 125 crore Indians. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai. He said, just as this 90 year old hospital has undergone kayakalp (renewal), India too, can undergo a kayakalp.
The Prime Minister expressed concern over India's health indicators such as infant mortality and maternal mortality. He said even if one child fell in a borewell, the entire country was worried, but we need to generate more awareness about the hundreds of children who are unable to survive due to lack of primary healthcare facilities. He said society and Government should together give priority to the poorest of poor and make whatever efforts we can to provide affordable health services. He said the Reliance Foundation Hospital was a step in that direction.
The Prime Minister said medical equipment was gaining increasing importance in the field of healthcare, and the need of the hour is for India to manufacture such equipment, as part of the 'Make in India' programme, so that it became available to the poorest of people even in remote corners of India.
Referring to the Digital India programme of the Union Government, he said one of the primary aims of this programme was to ensure advanced healthcare in remote areas through telemedicine, and access to the best education for poor.
The Prime Minister called for a renewed thrust on preventive healthcare, saying that treatment is expensive, while prevention is economical. He said clean drinking water for all would be the biggest source of preventive healthcare. He congratulated the Government of Madhya Pradesh for its initiative of washing hands.
The Prime Minister spoke of his suggestion at the United Nations for an International Yoga Day. He said holistic healthcare was a subject of interest across the world, and India could contribute a lot to this cause, through its rich heritage. He said India had a heritage where people desired the good of everyone. "A true leader works with the intention of wiping the tears of the poor," the Prime Minister said, reciting two shlokas. He congratulated the Reliance Foundation for its health outreach efforts in the neighbourhood communities.
Smt. Kokilaben Ambani presented a memento to the Prime Minister.
The Chairperson of Reliance Foundation Smt. Nita Ambani delivered the welcome address, and talked about the facilities available in the hospital. Shri Mukesh Ambani delivered a vote of thanks. The Governor of Maharashtra Shri C. Vidyasagar Rao, Shri Amitabh Bachchan, Shri Sachin Tendulkar, Rajya Sabha MP Shri Parimal Nathwani and many other distinguished guests and members of the Ambani family were also present on the occasion.
