BENGALURU: India’s medical infrastructure has more than doubled in the last decade, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Bengaluru on Friday, attributing the growth to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “focused approach to strengthening healthcare services in the country”.
“The transformation of India’s health sector over the last 11 years was rooted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s belief that illness and the burden of treatment were among the biggest causes of poverty in the country,” Shah, who is also Union Cooperation Minister, said.
Speaking after inaugurating the Bengaluru campus of Adichunchanagiri University (ACU) - BGS Medical College and Hospital, Shah highlighted the scale of expansion of health infrastructure since 2014.
“The number of AIIMS institutions has increased from seven to 23. Medical colleges have gone up from 387 to 780. MBBS seats have risen from 51,000 to 1.18 lakh, and postgraduate seats from 31,000 to 74,000,” he said, adding that this expansion is not accidental. “It is the outcome of a focused national effort to address the healthcare needs of a growing nation,” Shah said.
“PM Modi had once said the government must ensure treatment for the poor, and after becoming the Prime Minister, he turned that vision into action. Today, 60 crore people in India receive free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat. That is not a scheme — it is a guarantee of dignity to the poor,” Shah said, adding multiple national programmes are contributing to a healthier population. PM Modi has addressed the country’s health issues with a holistic approach, he said.
Shah praised the contribution of Sri Adichunchanagiri Mutt in delivering healthcare and education to the poor through village-level health centres. The newly inaugurated university complex, built at a cost of Rs 200 crore on 16 acres, includes a hospital with 1,000 beds and educational facilities for 4,000 students at affordable cost, he said.
He described the mutt’s efforts under the leadership of Jagadguru Dr Balagangadharanatha Swami and Dr Nirmalanandanatha Swami as a model for other religious institutions. “This university reflects the blend of tradition and modernity. The mutt has strengthened social unity and provided education, shelter, health care, and spiritual guidance,” he said.
Dr Nirmalanandanatha Swami said the establishment of the university fulfils the vision of Balagangadharanatha Swami, who had long wanted to provide healthcare and education to rural communities.