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New Delhi: Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, on Thursday said that digital healthcare can be an effective preventive tool against a host of diseases ranging from lifestyle disorders like Type 2 diabetes mellitus to infectious diseases like Covid.
Speaking on the topic of “India’s digital roadmap for Healthy India for accessible and affordable healthcare” at the 3rd Healthcare Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, he said, digital healthcare with a focus on prevention will be the focus in the years to come.
The minister said, public-private partnership (PPP) model for healthcare services is the need of the hour, especially to put an end to the urban-rural divide in healthcare services.
“We can leverage science and technology to bridge disparities between the urban and rural divide with a dedicated focus on affordability, inclusivity, and accessibility,” he added.
The minister said that India has made progress over the years in bettering its overall healthcare infrastructure, and that there has been “a transition over the entire disease spectrum as well as the evolution of therapeutic and preventive modalities available to us over the last half a century or so”.
“After the 1980s, there was globalization or the so-called ‘democratization’ of diseases, so we also started having lifestyle diseases, coronary diseases, etc, and coupled with that also the change in life expectancy,” he said, pointing out that the life expectancy has gone up close to 70 years of age.
The minister said science and technology are crucial tools in addressing the unmet needs of society and addressing the global challenges that we are facing today.
“The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) Bill will nudge companies to invest in research and development. The government is planning a unique PPP entity for which ₹36,000 crore of the research funding is to come from the private sector whereas the government will put in ₹14,000 crore for the same, to ensure greater participation of industry,” he said.
Singh said as India is in the frontline of diabetes research in the world, the prevention of diabetes in the youth and pregnant women is a priority.
“In a country with 70% population below the age of 40 and with the youth of today going to be the prime citizens of India@2047, preventive healthcare and widespread mass screening will help achieve our economy the expected rate of growth set out by PM Modi,” he added.
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Updated: 24 Aug 2023, 07:10 PM IST
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