The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has asked young doctors and people entering into medical profession to be compassionate towards the downtrodden sections and treat them with empathy and understanding. Asked them to view the profession as a mission to serve the people and not as a commercial vocation.
Addressing the 9th Convocation of the KLE Deemed University, in Belagavi, Karnataka today, the Vice President impressed upon the young graduates on the need to make high-quality medical care accessible to the last poor man in the queue. Expressing concern over the rising costs of healthcare, Shri Naidu said that a large section of the population was unable to get the latest diagnostic and therapeutic tools and treat some of the hitherto incurable diseases like cancer and heart-diseases.
Opining that ensuring healthcare services were not only affordable but also accessible to the common man, the Vice President urged upon the private sector to join hands with the government in providing affordable healthcare through public-private partnership in order to ensure modern and state-of-the-art healthcare facilities in rural areas. 'While the governments are creating facilities right up to primary health centers, the private sector too should chip in to provide advanced diagnostic and treatment facilities in rural areas, he added.
Observing that non-communicable diseases were on rising in India due to a sedentary lifestyle, Shri Naidu said that poor dietary habits, consumption of alcohol and tobacco, among others, were leading rise in non-communicable diseases like obesity, hypertension, heart-diseases, diabetes and stroke.
To arrest this alarming trend, he wanted the medical fraternity to create adequate awareness among the people, particularly the youth on the hazards posed by modern-day lifestyle and unhealthy dietary habits.
Opining that there was a gradual erosion of human touch or human element in doctor-patient relationship, the Vice President said that doctors were not communicating adequately with the patients and rather performing their duty in a mechanical fashion. He wanted them to establish an effective communication with patients.
Saying that providing education to the masses would be the best way to empower them, the Vice President called up on institutions such as the KLE Society to complement efforts of government by providing affordable quality education to people living in rural areas. Shri Naidu suggested to include subjects like bio-ethics, humanities and communication skills in the medical curriculum. He urged academic institutions also to ensure that youngsters develop adequate skills and competencies along with preventive health-care aspects particularly yoga, diet and exercises as a part of the curriculum.
The Chancellor of KLE Deemed University and the Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Dr. Prabhakar Kore, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Vivek A. Saoji, the Members of the Board of Management, Deans of Faculties, Heads of the Institutions, Officials of the University, Faculty Members, students and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Do not fall prey to distractions of modern lifestyle
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called upon universities and institutions to constantly reform the system and ensure that higher education institutions deliver high-quality education. Addressing the 9th Annual Convocation of VELS Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS), in Chennai, Shri Naidu referred to the transient nature of technology in a fast-evolving world and advised the students to regularly update their knowledge and skills to carve a niche in their chosen fields.
Stressing that quality higher education was necessary for accelerating the progress and development of our country, the Vice President wanted institutions of higher learning to open new horizons of knowledge and research at their institutions. Observing that one must not ignore rural India in our quest to scale new heights of growth, he called for an inclusive and all around development.
Stating that technology was a great democratic leveler, Shri Naidu asked students and the youth to take care of the technological needs of our villages, agriculture and allied industry. He called for leveraging technology's potential for rural development and bridging the rural-urban divide. The Vice President said that the technology must provide solutions to the issues of rural life and economy. He further said that India lives in its villages and the development of our country depends on rural India. You have a promising faculty in Pharmacy your institute should think of starting programs in Agriculture, Horticulture and Veterinary Science, he added.
Shri Naidu asked the students and the youth to not to fall prey to the distractions of modern lifestyle and he advised them to shun junk food to stay healthy. While expressing concern over the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, he advised everybody to change their lifestyles and food habits. The Vice President presented Honoris Causa Awards to the Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, the retired Indian track and field athlete, Smt. P.T. Usha and the Chairman of Kerry Indev Logistics Pvt. Ltd., Mr. S. Xavier Britto.
The Founder Chairman and Chancellor of VELS University, Dr. Ishari K. Ganesh, the Vice Chancellor of VELS University, Dr. P. Swaminathan, the Members of the Board of Management and Academic Council, students, and faculty of the institute and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
VP cautions against sedentary lifestyle & unhealthy dietary habits