India produces largest number of medical graduates in world: VP at Medical College

The Vice President said that India has been in possession of a treasure trove of knowledge in the field of medicine since ancient times.

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Medical Students should be trained to adhere strictly to their code of ethics and they should serve in rural areas at least once before getting their first promotion. He was addressing the gathering at the 60th Annual Day Celebrations of the Maulana Azad Medical College, here today.

The Vice President said that India has been in possession of a treasure trove of knowledge in the field of medicine since ancient times. While all ancient civilizations of the world had developed their own medicinal systems, the healers of ancient India were well-respected and enjoyed state patronage, he added.

Shri Naidu said that India has made considerable progress in many health indicators. He further said that life expectancy at birth has increased, infant mortality and crude death rates have been greatly reduced, diseases such as smallpox and polio have been eradicated and leprosy has been nearly eliminated. While we have done reasonably well in controlling communicable ailments, the non-communicable diseases are increasing at an alarming rate and posing a major challenge on the health front, he added.

The Vice President said that even though India produces the largest number of medical graduates in the world, data shows that the doctor-population ratio in India is extremely inadequate. He further said that India's burden of non-communicable diseases, also called lifestyle diseases is escalating. The change in environment and resistance to drugs, especially antibiotics has led to the evolution of superbugs which threaten global health security, he added.

Shri Naidu said that we must ensure that our Primary Health Centres have proper facilities and diagnostic services. More holistically, we must focus our investments upon the social determinants of health: water, sanitation, nutrition, vaccination, early childhood care and so on, he said.

The Vice President said that even though India produces the largest number of medical graduates in the world, data shows that the doctor-population ratio in India is extremely inadequate. We need to enhance more Medical Colleges and every District in the country must have at least one Medical College, he said. We must impress upon our young doctors that the medical profession is a service to the society and not a lucrative business, he added.

The Vice President said that we have to focus more on Public-Private Partnership, especially in building infrastructure and promoting research and development.

The Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Delhi, Shri Sanjeev Khirwar, the Secretary, Department of Health Research and Director General, ICMR, Dr Balram Bhargava, the Director, GIPMER, Dr Archana Thakur, the Dean, MAMC, Dr Sanjay Tyagi and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

(With Inputs from PIB)