Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone for four new medical colleges in Rajasthan and thanked chief minister Ashok Gehlot for reposing faith in him and working for the development of the state. Gehlot had earlier informed the Prime Minister of a long list of pending work that needed to be completed in the state.

Modi congratulated the people of Rajasthan for the four new medical colleges in the districts of Banswara, Sirohi, Hanumangarh and Dausa. He informed that after 2014, 23 medical colleges had been approved by the Centre for Rajasthan of which seven medical colleges were already operational.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated CIPET: Institute of Petrochemicals Technology.

“I was listening to the chief minister of Rajasthan. He has put forward a long list of works. I thank the chief minister of Rajasthan that he has so much faith in me. His ideology and party are different, and my ideology and party are different…but this friendship, trust and faith is a big strength of democracy.”

The Prime Minister said the biggest pandemic in the last 100 years had taught a lesson to the health sector of the world. Every country is engaged in dealing with this health crisis in its own way. India has resolved to increase its strength and, self-reliance amid this disaster, the Prime Minister told the gathering.

“We have worked on a national approach and national health policy to transform the country’s health sector. From Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to Ayushman Bharat and now Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, many such efforts are part of this approach,” Modi said.

He indicated that about 3.5 lakh people in Rajasthan had received free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the state has seen the commencement of work on about two and a half thousand Health and Wellness Centres.

Modi said in the last 6-7 years, more than 170 new medical colleges had been set up and rapid work is going on with more than 100 new medical colleges coming up. In 2014, the total number of seats of medical undergraduates and postgraduates in the country were about 82,000. Today, their number has increased to 140,000. In the field of regulation and governance also, the Prime Minister said that with the advent of the National Medical Commission, problems and questions of the past have been addressed.

Modi remarked that skilled manpower associated with healthcare has a direct impact on effective health services. This was keenly felt during the Covid-19 pandemic. The success of the Centre’s ‘Free vaccine, vaccine for all’ campaign is a reflection of this. Today, more than 88 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in India, the Prime Minister said.

He also highlighted that the Rajasthan Refinery Project at Barmer is progressing rapidly with investments of more than ₹70,000 crore.

Speaking on the city gas distribution in the state, the Prime Minister said that till 2014 only one city in the state had permission for city gas distribution, now 17 districts of the state have been authorized to be a part of the city gas distribution network. In the coming years, every district of the state will have a piped gas network.

He also pointed out the ease of living introduced by the arrival of toilets, electricity, gas connections. He said today more than 21 lakh families are getting piped water through the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state. He declared that the “development of Rajasthan, speeds up the development of India” and said that more than 13 lakh pucca houses had been built in Rajasthan for poor families.