Developed India of 2047 should also be healthy: PM Modi

A developed India of 2047 should also be a healthy India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, underlining that the country will have to focus on the nutrition of children to achieve that goal. "Viksit Bharat 2047 should also be a healthy Bharat.

And for a healthy Bharat, there is a need to pay attention to the nutrition of today's children starting now. Keeping this in mind, we have implemented a nutrition campaign for the first generation of Viksit Bharat," Modi said, addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 78th Independence Day.

He further said there has been tremendous progress as far as infrastructure is concerned in the last 10 years and listed projects, such as broadband connectivity, building new schools in villages and forest areas, construction of hospitals in far and remote areas, setting up Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and work on medical colleges, among others.

The prime minister further announced that the country will have 75,000 more medical seats in the next five years. Modi said the number of medical seats has been increased to nearly one lakh in the country over the last 10 years but many from the middle class still go to other countries and spend "lakhs and crores" on medical education there.

"Around 25,000 youngsters go abroad for medical education every year and they go to such countries, I get surprised when I hear about them. So we have decided that 75,000 new seats will be created in the medical line in the next five years," the prime minister said.