BENGALURU: "I am happy that women are leading our country into the future in all fields including medical sciences," said President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday.
He was addressing the 23rd convocation ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences.
Kovind presented gold medals and cash prizes to the top sixteen students from affiliated colleges.
Dr. Mala M from Rajarajeshwari Dental College and Hospital, Dr. Vaishnavi Kamath from AJ Institute of Dental Sciences, and Dr. Safiya from Farooqia College of Pharmacy won three gold medals each.
"I am told that out of the 111 gold medal winners of this convocation, 87 are our daughters. This is almost 80% and is a tremendous achievement,” he added.
He said that India’s response to the pandemic had saved countless lives, and in this context, the role of an institute becomes important.
Kovind expressed joy in learning that Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences had trained over two lakh healthcare professionals, from doctors and nurses to administrators and hospital facility providers, to better respond to the outbreak.
This campaign, he said, contributed to create a uniform response to provide quality care for COVID-19 patients.
He said it emerged as a globally credible brand through the sustained efforts made by the leaders of the university since its inception.
The institute has more than 800 affiliated institutes.
Health scientists, he said, gained the upper hand in the Novel Coronavirus, and several vaccines had been produced in the required time.
Talking about ‘Atma-Nirbhar Bharat’, through the pandemic, Kovind said that the nation had not only manufactured the vaccine but has also reached out to other nations to provide the same. The largest vaccination drive in history is underway in India, he added.
Calling for more attention to public health care globally in a post-COVID world, Kovind said that Healthcare delivery in India is poised to undergo a change at all stages – prevention, diagnosis and treatment. No single entity in the healthcare sector can deliver results and achieve outcomes.
Medical Education Minister and the chancellor of the institute Dr. Sudhakar conferred the Doctor of Science Honoris Causa upon Dr. Alangar Sathyaranjandas Hegde.
Dr. S Sacchidanand, Vice-chancellor of RGUHS said that the institute had proposed to earmark a corpus of Rs 100 crores for research activities.
As many as 33,629 candidates were awarded degrees and prizes, of which 30 were in Ph.D., 115 were in super-specialty courses, 5,824 in postgraduate courses, 351 in postgraduate courses, 9 in certificate courses, 27,221 undergraduate courses. The overall pass percentage of all faculties sis 82 percent at the institute.