PM’s address at the foundation stone laying ceremony of AB Vajpayee Medical University in Lucknow
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 25 Dec, 2019

The Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Mrs. Anandi Ben Patel, my senior- cabinet colleague and representative of the same place Shri Rajnath Singh, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanathji, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Keshav Prasadji, Shri Dinesh Sharmaji, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Shri Narayan Dixitji, Ministers of UP Government, MPs from UP and ladies and gentlemen present here! The MP from Lucknow welcomed me, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh welcomed, and the MP from Kashi also gives me a lot of thanks. Today, I am fortunate to have got the opportunity to attend the second important event and I have got the opportunity to talk about Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji, and honour his vision in both the events. Before coming here, I was launching the Atal Jal Yojana in Delhi. Under this Rs 6000 crore scheme, work will be done to improve the level of ground water in 7 states of the country including Uttar Pradesh. With this, the Rohtang tunnel connecting Himachal with Ladakh has been named as Atal Tunnel. Coincidentally, today we are also celebrating the Good Governance Day, Atal Ji’s statue has been unveiled in the building from which the UP government functions. His magnificent statue will continue to inspire people working in Lok Bhawan for good governance and public service. Friends, besides, the foundation stone of Atal Medical University dedicated to Atal ji has been laid. Lucknow, which has been the Karma Bhumi of Atal ji for years, has been the parliamentary seat of Atal ji, and anyone getting the opportunity to go there and lay the foundation stone of the institution related to education, health, will consider it his privilege in life. I too am fortunate for these moments. When Atal ji was an MP from Lucknow, he had started work on many development projects here. Be it the work of the ring road, the drainage system in the old Lucknow, the airport being modernized, the Balmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana, the biotech park, the new identity given by Atal ji to Lucknow. Now as an MP, Shri Rajnath ji is handling this legacy. He is also grooming the city. Friends, Atal ji used to say that life cannot be seen in pieces; it has to be seen in totality. This is equally true for the Government and for good governance as well. It is the appropriate criterion for good governance. Good governance is also not possible unless we see and think of the problems in entirety, and try to solve them in that way. I am satisfied that Yogi Ji’s government is doing its best to realize this idea of inclusiveness. Atal Medical University reflects the same idea. This University will provide uniformity in medical education in UP. There will be uniformity, and a natural uniqueness right from the course to the exam. Be it medical college, dental college, paramedical college, nursing, or every course and degree related to medicine, this university will pursue all these systems and disciplines under the same supervision. Affiliation of all institutes such as the government, semi government or private medical institutes, will be from this university. Same academic session calendar will be applicable everywhere, and examinations will be held on time in a transparent manner. With the formation of this university, the quality of medical education in UP is going to improve further. Friends, our vision and direction for the development of the health sector of the entire country including UP has been clear from day one. We have also focused on improving health as well as the facilities associated with it. The government’s road map for the health sector is- First – Preventive healthcare should be emphasized, Second, trying to expand affordable healthcare as much as possible, Third-Supply Side Interventions, i.e. ensuring the supply in view of every demand in this sector And fourth-Mission Mode intervention means to run health related schemes on mission mode. If you see all the schemes of the government, then they go through this path, and proceed according to this road map. Friends, the easiest way to save on the expenses on illness is to avoid falling sick. This is Preventive Healthcare. And for this, the more we make people aware with evidences, or the more the ordinary citizens are serious about it, the more immunity will increase in them and the body will be healthy. Swachh Bharat- In a way, if there is a massive campaign on Preventive Healthcare, then Yoga is also a zero cost healthcare under Preventive Healthcare. Ujjwala Yojana to liberate mothers from smoke-this is also Preventive Healthcare. At the same time, motivating every citizen of the country to stay fit by making them a part of Fit India Movement, along with promoting Ayurveda is also Preventive Healthcare. This is because nowadays the demand for Holistic Healthcare is increasing. Everyone wants to avoid the side effects of medicines and AYUSH; Ayurveda can play a major role in it. So every such initiative is making an important contribution in prevention of diseases. The more we push for preventive healthcare, the lesser will be our concerns for the Heath Sector. On the one hand, while it is helping in the prevention of Communicable Diseases, on the other hand it is proving to be effective in curing those diseases which occur due to lifestyle. Friends, one link of Preventive Healthcare is the construction of more than 1.25 lakh wellness centers in rural areas of the country. These centers will help in treating the early symptoms of the disease and treat them early. Similarly, the special emphasis of the government has also been on expanding the immunization program. With the addition of new vaccines, we have been successful in extending vaccination campaign to far-flung areas. Recently we had launched it in Kanpur, against the foot and mouth disease for animal health. This, too, is useful for animal health as well as for preventive health care for humans. If the animal is not ill, then it does not become the reason for spreading the disease. That is, in a way, holistic approach has to be pushed forward according to the need. Friends, In order to promote the second dimension of health care, i.e. Affordability, many historical steps have been taken by the government for the same. Due to Ayushman Bharat, about 70 lakh poor patients of the country have received free treatment. This Ayushman Bharat Yojana is the biggest scheme in the world. There is a list of beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat in India is greater than the total population of America, Canada and Mexico. And in such a short time, 70 lakh people have taken the benefits of the scheme. And most of these people had thought that it was better to wait for death; the sooner the death comes, the better. They were ready to suffer for as many days as possible, but would not throw the burden of debt at the children by getting treatment and getting the operation done. They were not willing to get treated for heart disease or cancer; they had given up hope. But after the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, they got a new life, new faith and a new enthusiasm and 70 lakh people got treatment without spending a single rupee. And I am glad that Uttar Pradesh has proactively taken this scheme forward. In Uttar Pradesh alone, about 11 lakh such people have taken advantage of this scheme! Similarly, cheap medicines have been made available with the Jan Aushadhi Scheme . That is, if you go to the chemist shops and purchase, it costs 100 rupees, but it is available for only 30-40 rupees in Jan Aushadhi Kendras . Those who have to take medicines on a regular basis, are saving on medical bills up to 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 rupees a month. That is, these Jan Aushadhi Kendras are becoming very popular all over the country and people like the medicines of Jan Aushadhi Kendra. At the same time, the prices of Stents and Knee Caps have also been reduced significantly. Friends, as healthcare is available to the poorest of the poor, the demand for healthcare is also increasing. As the demand is increasing, opportunities have opened up for new hospitals, new clinics, and new nursing homes. A record number of medical seats have been increased in the last 5 years. This year, it has been decided to approve 75 new medical colleges across the country. In a way, it is a successful effort to carry forward our vision of establishing one medical college in every 3 Lok Sabha seats. And UP is also benefitting a lot from this. In the last 2-3 years, more than two dozen medical colleges have been approved in UP, many of which have either started or are in the process of construction. Friends, to improve the health of women and children, the government are running several new programmes, including the National Nutrition Campaign, on mission mode. A national campaign is also underway to completely eliminate TB from India by 2025. These four dimensions are playing a vital role in improving the health of the people of the country, reducing their expenditure on treatment of disease. Friends, The benefit of this unprecedented work being done in the field of public health is also seen in UP. This year, Yogi ji and his team and the people of UP have done a commendable job towards controlling encephalitis. And I congratulate you all for the same. International organizations and institutions of the world have praised this success of Uttar Pradesh. The campaign launched by the government here to make sanitation and health facilities accessible in every village, is a major step towards making life easier for the people of UP. Now we should see that the National Nutrition Mission and Mission Indradhanush are being accelerated so that every child of UP is safe and every citizen is healthy. The campaign to be made accessible by the government here is a big step towards making life easier for the people of UP. Now it should also be our endeavor that the National Nutrition Mission and Mission Indradhanush should be accelerated so that every child of UP is safe, every citizen is healthy. Friends, today on Good Governance Day, at a time when we are going to enter the New Year and a new decade, then we must remember one more thing said by Atal ji. Atal ji used to say that every generation’s contribution to India’s progress will be evaluated on two grounds. And both these criteria are for every citizen. We should do everything by keeping both the criteria in front of us. Atal ji has shown us the way. The first of the two criteria – how many of the problems which we have inherited have we solved? Yes, we also inherit problems apart from other things. But how many of the inherited problems have we solved? And second, how strong is the foundation stone that we have laid for the future development of the nation through our own efforts? Friends, in light of both these questions, today we can say that in the year 2020, India is entering with unprecedented achievements. Whatever social, economic and political problems and challenges we have inherited, we are constantly trying to solve them. How old this disease of Article 370 was! How difficult it seemed! We had inherited this problem but our responsibility was to do our best to solve such a difficult problem. And it was done easily. Everyone’s beliefs were shattered. A peaceful solution was brought to such an old case of Ram Janma Bhoomi . India was liberated, partitioned, and since then there were lakhs of poor, Dalits, deprived and exploited who were forced to seek refuge in India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to save their religion and to save the honour of their daughters. The citizenship law provides dignity to such refugees. 130 crore Indians have solved many such problems. This confident India is entering 2020, ushering in a new decade. And still, every Indian is trying hard to solve the remaining problems, whether it is providing house to every poor or providing water to every house. Howsoever big the challenges are, but we are moving forward with the nature of challenging the challenges. Friends, in the period from 2014 to 2019, we have not missed a single opportunity to challenge the challenges. Before 2014, more than half of the country’s population did not have a toilet, but now toilets have reached them. Crores of poor families, our mothers and sisters, used to spend life in smoke from the kitchen, but now gas is reaching every house. Thousands of villages, thousands of families were forced to live in darkness, but now electricity is reaching their homes. More than half of the population was not connected with the banks, but now the doors of banks have been opened for them. Crores of poor families did not have a home of their own. So now, houses for about 2 crore poor families have been built. The work to provide every poor homeless person a home by 2022 is progressing at a rapid pace. The work of providing road and railway connectivity to village is going on at a rapid pace. And we are fully prepared to fulfill the resolution to deliver piped water to every house. These solutions are laying a solid foundation for the progress of New India. It is on this solid foundation that we are trying hard to fulfill the resolve of building a $ 5 trillion economy and taking the country forward so that the standard of living of crores of Indians will rise and the poorest of the poor can also live with dignity and respect. Friends, this is good governance; this is Swaraj, which was conceived by all the nation builders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji and Mahamana Malaviyaji. Good governance for our government means ensuring- Redressal of everyone’s grievances; Benefits reach every citizen; Opportunities reach every Indian; Security for every Indian; and accessibility. Every system of government must ensure these things. There is only one mantra of good governance for us i.e. sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka vishwas. We are all united with this spirit and nature. Friends, we have constantly tried to move away from the love for power and instead focus on values of service to people. This is possible only when the government’s interference with the lives of ordinary citizens is as low as possible. We are trying to ensure that the government becomes a means of reconciliation, instead of being something creating confusion and obstacles. If you evaluate the steps taken by this government, you will feel the same at every step. Now the country has come out of the era of attestation of documents for verification. If you have approved yourself, and have taken the responsibility, that’s enough for the government. Today most government services have been made online and digitized. Most services are online, from birth certificates to life certificates required for pensions. Earlier, an ordinary citizen used to be entangled in the documents and government offices, but now life is becoming very easy. Friends, we are moving towards that phase of good governance, where the public does not need to place application, rather, the government goes to their houses and requests if there is some problem. You will see that in all the schemes of public interest that are going on today, technology and data science are being used from the identification of the beneficiaries to delivering the benefits of the schemes. We have tried to bring direct transfer of benefits and quick and targeted delivery in government’s work culture. This is bringing transparency, service delivery to the public is also fast and the money of honest taxpayers of the country is also being saved. Friends, today from this land, I wish to make one more request to the young friends and every resident of UP. We have seen that in the years that followed after independence, we have laid the greatest emphasis on rights, but now that we are moving towards 75 years of independence, and look at the dreams of freedom fighters today, the need of the hour is that we should give equal emphasis to our duties and our obligations. I am saying this because in UP, the way some people have committed violence in the name of protest and have damaged the public property, they would sit in their houses and ask themselves the question once-Was the path right? Was his instinct worthy? Was everything that has been burnt and wasted not going to be of any use to their children? Let us for a moment just think of those who died in the violence, the ordinary citizens who were injured, the policemen who were injured during the protests and their family members. And that’s why I would urge those who come follow the rumors and commit violence, and to those who vandalize government property that if access to better roads, better transport systems, better sewer lines, is the right of citizens, then to keep it safe, clean and tidy is also the responsibility of the citizens. We have to always remember our rights and duties simultaneously. Good quality education and easy access to education are our rights, but to ensure security of institutions of education and respect of teachers are our responsibilities. Medical facility is our right, but it is also our responsibility to support and respect the doctors. It is our right to have a safe environment, but it is the responsibility of every citizen to respect the work of the policemen who are responsible for security. There is a boundary to the Rights. But the sense of duty and obligation is very broad. Friends, this feeling is equally important for the citizens as well as the government. The responsibility of the government is to ensure that it makes a habit of doing its work keeping in mind the 5 generations and not just 5 years. I am satisfied that the UP government is doing its best to fulfill this obligation. Commemorating Atal ji, our resolution on this day should be – Let us fulfill our responsibilities, achieve our goals, and carry out good governance. This is the expectation of the people and the lesson given to us by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Once again, I congratulate the people of Uttar Pradesh for the Atal Medical University. Also, my best wishes to all of you for the New Year which will begin in a few days. I wish the people of Uttar Pradesh the very best for 2020 as this new year is not too far and just a week away. Thanks a lot!