Mehsana (Gujarat) [India], May 18 (ANI): Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated the newly constructed building of KK Patel and Madhuben K Patel Nursing College in Mehsana district of Gujarat.

Addressing the inauguration program, Union Minister Amit Shah said that this nursing college has been playing an important role in nursing education for the last 65 years. He said that this building equipped with facilities like lecture room, laboratory, library and office, will provide easy and accessible medical education to the youth of the region.

The Union Minister stated, 'With the aim of strengthening the previously weak healthcare system of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Since the implementation of this scheme, every poor citizen in the country now has an Ayushman card, through which they can receive free treatment up to five lakh rupees. He added that now every hospital is being upgraded to meet the standards of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.'

Shah appealed to the state hospitals to align their facilities with the standards of the Ayushman Bharat scheme so that both the general public and hospital management can benefit. He said that the government's effort is to ensure that every poor person has access to proper healthcare services near their home.

Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the country has brought about a radical transformation in the healthcare sector from 2014 to 2025. He stated that today, 6 million people possess the Ayushman card. Provision has been made for free treatment up to five lakh rupees for every citizen in India over the age of 70, with no fixed income limit for beneficiaries.

Shah added that PM Modi has further strengthened the country's healthcare sector through initiatives like the Swachh Bharat Mission, Fit India Movement, Har Ghar Jal (water to every household), toilets in every home, Mission Indradhanush for vaccinating every child, nutrition campaigns, apart from the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

The Union Minister said that before 2014, the health budget of the country was Rs 37 thousand crore, but PM Modi increased it to Rs 1 lakh 37 thousand crore in the year 2025-26. He said that by increasing the budget of the health sector, PM Modi set up the National Digital Health ecosystem, started the Ayushman Bharat scheme and built Ayushman Arogya Mandir.

Union Minister Shah said that in the year 2014, there were only seven AIIMS in the country, today there are 23 AIIMS. In the year 2014, there were 387 medical colleges, which have now increased to 780. Earlier there were 51 thousand MBBS seats, today their number has increased to 1 lakh 18 thousand. Earlier there were 31 thousand PG/MD/MS seats, which have now increased to 74 thousand.

Shah said that telemedicine facility was expanded along with the entire ecosystem of the health sector. The Prime Minister made the Jan Aushadhi Yojana effective, due to which cheap medicines worth Rs 25 thousand crores have been made available to the citizens in the last 10 years.

Union Minister of Cooperation said that under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, 730 large public health installations and 3382 tehsil-level public health installations have been built. If we look at all the achievements in a holistic manner, then Gujarat's son Narendra Modi has launched a very big campaign for the better health of 130 crore citizens of India.

Union Home Shah said that the nursing college inaugurated today spreads over an area of 3,700 square meters, and nearly all nursing-related courses, including B.Sc. Nursing, have already started at this institution. The construction of the women's hostel is also underway. Work on establishing a cancer hospital is expected to begin soon, which will greatly benefit the people of the region, especially the poor citizens, in the coming days. He said that it is the responsibility of the society to run the hospital started with donations and make it state-of-the-art.

Many dignitaries were present on the occasion. (ANI)