The Indian health sector has a good image globally and the government is working to increase the workforce in view of growing demand, Union minister Bharati Pawar said here on Saturday.
The Minister of State (MOS) for Health reiterated that there is no need to fear the JN.1 subvariant of coronavirus but states have been asked to be alert about its spread.
Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel
Dr Pawar was speaking to reporters after reviewing OPD and IPD services, and government schemes like AB-PMJAY, and Jan Aushadhi Kendra at the AIIMS Nagpur.
"India is progressing in all sectors globally. There is a lot of demand for Indian healthcare professionals across the globe. The Indian health sector has a good image. It is trusted and the demand for healthcare personnel is growing in many countries," the Union minister said.
She said Indian nurses are in good demand in many countries including Japan.
"Considering the demand for nurses, the Central government has started Japanese language courses in some Northeastern states," Dr Pawar said.
She said the government is also working to increase the number of seats for MBBS courses.
"The number of medical colleges in the country stood at 350 before 2014. This number has gone up to more than 700 after 2014. Similarly, regions like the Northeast which did not have a single medical college in the last 70 years now have medical colleges in Mizoram and Nagaland," the Union minister said.
Dr Pawar said the government is focusing on expanding medical tourism and working on the 'Heal in India and Heal by India' concept.
Speaking about the COVID-19 scenario, the Union minister said the number of patients is on the rise in the US, Italy, Germany, and some other countries.
"A review meeting was held last week. The number of cases was 50,000 globally but India has around 3,500 cases including 2,800 in Kerala. Some cases were reported from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra," she said.
The Centre has given necessary directions to all states and asked them to be on alert mode regarding COVID-19, she added.
Also Read
Female labour force participation rate reaches 37% in 2023: Research
India squad for SA: Rohit, Surya, Rahul named Tests, T20, ODI captains
Centre to launch 2nd version of National Career Service portal in 2024
India vs Australia T20s full schedule, squads, match timing, live streaming
India vs Afghanistan T20s full schedule, match timings, live streaming
Arunachal govt inks pact for Rs 13k cr hydropower project in Lohit basin
At least 28 countries plan to participate in Vibrant Gujarat summit: Govt
States' indicative borrowing for fourth quarter higher than forecast
Delayed Central infrastructure projects down for second month in a row
Residential realty momentum in 2023 strongest in decade as demand picked up
"Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is coordinating with health ministers in various states via video conferencing. The JN.1 is a sub-variant of Omicron. It is mild and one need not be afraid but it spreads fast and the WHO has classified it as a 'variant of interest'. We have to be alert," the Union minister added.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)