Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's speech at the PGI Annual Convocation

I am truly delighted to be here today in your midst on the festive occasion of Baisakhi. I wish all of you and the people of this beautiful city, happiness and prosperity on this sacred occasion. It is also for me a great pleasure to be back at this institution after a gap of nearly 10 years When I think of the PGI, I am reminded of the old saying 'when creative political leadership combines with professionals, indeed with a sense of duty and sense of purpose, wonders can be achieved.' And as I look at this institute, I am reminded of the contribution of the combined leadership of Sardar Pratap Singh Khairon, Dr. Tulsi Das, Dr. Santokh Singh Anand, Dr.P.N.Chutani towards this institute that is now a symbol of excellence, a jewel of our country and a source of pride to all of us. I congratulate all those students who have won their diplomas and medals after examinations. May God bless each and every one of you.

The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research has today emerged as one of our premier institutes of higher level and training. Jawahar Lal Nehru used to refer to public sector enterprises and institutions of higher learning as the new temples of modern India. Your institute is also truly a new temple, a tribute to the creativity of the people of our country. The fame of your institution has spread worldwide and one often encounters doctors and researchers from this institute at some of the best hospitals and institutions all over the world.

The students passing out this year know, like many generations of their predecessors, that they belong to a very distinguished, elite of our educational system. I therefore urge my student friends to remain conscious of the fact that their education and training have been made possible by the teachers and other staff who have chosen to stay here and dedicate themselves to the cause of teaching and research.

There is no doubt in my mind that teaching is one of the most noble of professions. I consider myself as one of you, I have strayed into politics by shear chance. And it is all the more noble a profession in our country, we still do not reward adequately the intellectual contributions of our teachers. Even though our scriptures pay glowing tributes to the role of teachers in re-fashioning our society and polity. Therefore, it is essential for us as a nation to invest in the development of the entire knowledge pyramid - from the base of elementary and primary education to the apex of advanced training and research. We live in a world where human knowledge is growing at an exponential pace. It was unimaginable even two decades ago to think that knowledge, human knowledge, would be growing so fast.

The challenge before our country is to operate on the frontiers of knowledge, a country of one billion people cannot be satisfied with anything but the very best in the world. That should be our ambition, that should be our goal and that should be the spirit which guides our researchers, our teachers and our students.

Our government remains committed to the achievement of this objective. India will be a glowing example in the new knowledge economy that is now on the world horizon. And for this it is essential that our educational system must be truly forward looking and meet the needs of the 21st century.

Ladies and gentlemen, apart from education, our govt. has placed equal emphasis on health. Indeed these are two of the areas of social development where we are committed to urgent action. Only yesterday, as the Hon'ble Minister of Health pointed out the National Rural Health Mission was launched.. I have great expectations of this mission. We have talked a great deal about peoples health in peoples own hand even before India became independent. There is no dearth of ideas. As I said before we hope to move forward at a determined pace to realize our chosen destiny. This mission which aims at improving the delivery mechanisms at the grass roots by involving local communities gives practical shape to the idea of peoples health in peoples own hands. However, it would be wrong on my part to say that we have all the answers to reach out to all the men and women of this country of one billion people when it comes to their health needs.

We have yet to find an answer to the problem that governments have grappled with from the very beginning of development planning, namely : how to address this simple problem of health care even as we invest in high quality medical training and research.

In China an attempt was made to address this problem through the institution of barefoot doctors. We have our own experiments with primary health care, registered medical practitioners and so on but we need to think differently and think creatively to realize this goal.

We still confront the problem that even as we have some of the world's best medical institutions here, and we talk of medical tourism and telemedicine to serve the global market, at home we are still unable to provide comprehensive healthcare for all our citizens. Our government is trying to address this challenge once again through a new instrument called ASHA, the Accredited Social Health Activist. The National Rural Health Mission brings together both govt. and non-govt. agencies including local bodies and creating a new institutional structure for health care. I hope our medical fraternity will come forward and help to make this experiment a story of success.

Ladies and gentlemen, both in economics and in medicine it is easy to get lost in the rarified atmosphere of high level research and forget the ground realities of our great nation. A not uncommon perception among the public is that institutions running with public money end up as ivory towers. The mission of PGI and similar institutes of excellence would remain incomplete unless the interest of our people, the aam aadmi, is addressed and addressed effectively and purposely. It is only when the life of the tribal living in a remote district of Orissa is touched by your research and the most under privileged child in your ward goes back home satisfied with your care, that you will know that your mission has been well and truly accomplished.

I do appreciate the distinct role of tertiary, secondary and primary level institutions. Institutions like yours must link more effectively with the community and address its needs. You must respond the felt needs of the community at the grass roots. Medical and para-medical personnel have to be imbibed by a sense of welfare of the community they serve. Yours is not an ordinary commercial college, it is a call for ethical living and those of you who are privileged to be in this field have an obligation to provide that leadership. Premier tertiary level institutions have to be filled up as role models for lower level institutions, I urge you to restore pride in working in public institutions. I am not against the involvement of the private sector in the health care but excessive privatization of health care does trouble me because we are in danger of creating two worlds separated by an insurmountable distance -- a world of high class medical care available to a privileged few while the great mass of our people do not have access even to ordinary health care facilities. This we must never allow to happen. It is indeed at a level of state and local government that we need a new commitment to public health and to public institutions in health care.

The role of the public sector in the provision of health services can not be wished away.

We must have a population that is healthy both physically and mentally we can not aspire to become a super-power someday if our population remains uneducated or unhealthy. India today is at a peculiar cross road of history, not only are we burdened with communicable diseases tuberculosis and malaria - the so called diseases of our past, but we are also burdened with diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease - the so called diseases of our future.

We have to devise imaginative ways and means to tackle both simultaneously. This is not an easy task while there are innumerable contenders for limited financial resources. And yet something tells me that we will be able to find a way this time. I have great faith in our nation's resilience and genius and in the expertise and diligence of the medical profession.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, the health of the nation does not lie in the hands of doctors and para-medicals alone. We need multi-sectoral approaches and multi-pronged attacks on the health problems afflicting us. In this era of super specialization it is crucial that we do not get over compartmentalized.

Friends, I am very happy to see the success of the tele-medicine initiative. I am glad the two of our leading institutions ISRO and PGI have joined hands in a project that combines the best elements of information technology, communication technology and medical technology to create a facility that reaches out to the very door step of the patient. India needs a thousand such examples. I am proud of PGI for having once again lived up to its reputation.

As our country gets used to increasing prosperity, we have to deal with previously unanticipated issues and you have my assurance that the govt. will remain committed to continued strengthening and up gradation of the facilities at this prestigious national institute.

Friends, students and researchers I wish you well as you live the portals of this great institution to face the world outside. The future is not always set. It is full of uncertainties but what is happening in our country, gives me confidence that our learned people both men and women can look forward to a future of brightness, a future of commitment, a future which will give them both professional and personal satisfaction. I hope and I pray that you are successful in pursuing the noble path and doing so, you will make your institution, your family and our country proud.

Thank you.