New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that in the next five years, there will not be a single district in the country without a medical college.
Shah unveiled the statue of Maharaja Agrasen, inaugurated the newly constructed ICU, and laid the foundation stone for the PG hostel in Hisar, Haryana, a Home Ministry statement said.
In his address, Shah said that the Modi government has made significant strides in the field of medical infrastructure.
He said the government has spent Rs 64,000 crore on public health centres and community health centres, building a strong foundation for medical infrastructure.
He also highlighted the establishment of 730 integrated public health labs, 4,382 block public health units and 602 new critical care boxes over the past 10 years.
He further stated that in the year 2013-14, the country’s health budget was Rs 33,000 crore, which PM Modi has more than tripled, raising it to Rs 1.33 lakh crore in the 2025-26 budget.
The Home Minister said that in 2014, there were seven AIIMS in the country, while in 2024, there are 23 AIIMS. Similarly, in 2014, there were 387 medical colleges in the country, and today there are 766.
He mentioned that the number of MBBS seats, which was 51,000 in 2014, has now increased to 1.15 lakh and an additional 85,000 seats will be added over the next five years.
He also stated that in 2014, there were 31,000 PG seats, which have now increased to 73,000.
He mentioned that today, along with the statue of Maharaja Agrasen, the newly constructed ICU has been inaugurated, and the foundation stone for the PG hostel has also been laid and these initiatives represent another step towards advancing this institution.
Shah said Maharaja Agrasen paved the way for the prosperity and welfare of every individual without burdening the state.
Maharaja Agrasen worked to nurture the values of the entire state. He ensured that no one in his kingdom went to bed hungry, no one lived without a roof over their head, and no one was without work, he informed.
He said that these three things were guaranteed by Maharaja Agrasen through his good governance. Today, every individual in all the clans of the Agarwal community is an entrepreneur, dedicated to the country, serving others and contributing to the nation’s development.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also following the path shown by Maharaja Agrasen. During the Prime Minister’s 10-year tenure, 25 crore people in the country have risen above the poverty line. Modi has provided four crore houses, five kg free ration per person per month to 81 crore people, gas connections to 11 crore families and toilets to 12 crore families,” he claimed.
Shah said that Haryana is the best example of politics based on principles, with like-minded people in the double-engine government.
He alleged that in previous governments, corruption in jobs was due to casteism, and jobs were obtained through bribes and recommendations, he claimed.
He also claimed the Saini government in Haryana provided 80,000 jobs to youths in a transparent manner, without bribes or recommendations.
He pointed out that Haryana’s athletes have won three times more medals in the last 10 years, Haryana is the largest exporter of Basmati rice, and one in every 10 soldiers in the army is from Haryana.
Haryana is the state where the highest number of 24 crops is purchased at the minimum support price (MSP).
Furthermore, Haryana was the first state to give land ownership rights within the red lines (Lal Dore), ensured that no Panchayat head is illiterate, and has 50 per cent participation of women in Panchayats.
The Home Minister said that Haryana’s budget, which was previously Rs 37,000 crore, has now been increased to Rs two lakh crore under the Nayab Saini government.
Mentioning that between 2004 and 2014, Haryana received Rs 41,000 crore from the central government, while the Modi government has provided Haryana with Rs 1.43 lakh crore between 2014 and 2024.
Shah said the land of Haryana has worked to enrich and preserve India’s culture, values, and traditions since ancient times. From Mahabharata to the freedom struggle and even after independence, Haryana’s contribution to the development of the country has always been far greater than that of the larger states, he added.
UNI
