Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his virtual address on the occasion of Doctors' Day, urged the Indian Medical Association to take lead in studies related to yoga.
If the medical fraternity leads the research on yoga, the ascetic discipline can be popularised across the world in a more expedited manner, the prime minister suggested.
"When doctors study yoga, the entire world takes it more seriously. Can IMA take these studies forward in mission mode? Can these evidence-based studies be taken ahead in a scientific way?" Modi asked, adding that yoga help several individuals during the COVID-19 crisis.
The prime minister lauded the medics across India for their fight against the pandemic. The nation, in the midst of the unprecedented healthcare crisis, has appeared more stable than some of the developed countries, he said.
"Today, our doctors are making and implementing protocols for COVID-19. Earlier, we all saw how medical infrastructure was ignored. Despite all problems, India’s condition was somewhere stable than other developed countries," Modi said.
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Modi stressed during the address that the safety of doctors and nurses is a top priority of his government. To protect the medical fraternity members, a stringent law was enacted last year which mandates a jail term of up to seven years for those convicted of attacking the COVID warriors.
The entire healthcare sector has remained under the government's focus, he said, adding that the budgetary allocation for the sector has been doubled.
The Centre has also come up with a "Credit Guarantee Scheme of Rs 50,000 crore" to strengthen the health infrastructure in areas where there is a lack of health facilities, Modi added. The scheme was, notably, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Rs 1.1 lakh crore additional relief package to cope with the COVID-19 crisis.
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