New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the people to be more conscious about preventive healthcare because prevention was not only beneficial for a person but also for his or her family and society.

Modi also said the government has set a target to free India from tuberculosis by 2025 and that the government and insurance companies will jointly provide Rs 5 lakh insurance cover to about 10 crore families per year.

In his monthly radio programme “Mann Ki Baat”, the Prime Minister said: “Preventive healthcare is the least costly and the easiest one as well. As much as we are conscious about preventive healthcare, it will be beneficial for the person, his family and society.”

Modi also stressed on the need for sanitisation because “a healthy India is as vital as clean India”.

“I believe that healthy India and clean India are supplementary to each other. The country has moved ahead in the health sector with a conventional approach.

“Earlier, every health related work was the responsibility of the Union Health Ministry only. But in the current scenario, every department, state governments and other departments are working together for a healthy India.”

He said the first necessity for a healthy life is cleanliness.

“As all of us took up the responsibility, the result is that in the last four years or so, sanitation coverage has almost doubled and risen to around 80 per cent.”

Modi said yoga has attained worldwide recognition as a measure of preventive healthcare and urged people to start a movement right now.

“Yoga Day will be celebrated on June 21. Can we start working from now to encourage people for Yoga?”

He said the government had opened over 3,000 ‘Jan Aushadhi Kendras (people’s medicine centre) and was working continuously to open more such centres.

More than 800 medicines are being made available at these centres at an affordable price, he said.

Citing some key steps of his government for patients, the Prime Minister said: “The cost for heart stent for the patients has been reduced to 85 per cent. Knee implants cost has also been regulated and reduced by 50-70 per cent.

“Under ‘Ayushman Bharat Yojana’, the Indian government and insurance companies will jointly provide Rs 5 lakh for treatment to about 10 crore families or say 50 crore citizens per year.”

He said MBBS seats in present 479 medical colleges have been increased to about 68,000 and new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are being opened in various states with a view to provide better treatment to people across the country.

“One new medical college will be set up for every three districts.”

The Prime Minister said the government is working to make the country TB-free by 2025.

“This is an enormous task. Your cooperation is needed to create public awareness. All of us will need to make united efforts to become TB-free,” Modi added.

–IANS
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