New Delhi, Delhi, sixteenth of May, 2026 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Jitendra Singh, nearly addressed the annual convocation of the 42nd batch of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, right now, within the presence of Union Health Secretary, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, who attended the ceremony because the Chief Guest. The institute is an Institution of National Importance and a statutory physique underneath the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
In his deal with, Shri Jitendra Singh congratulated the graduating the scholars and the Institute on its Golden Jubilee celebrations. Shri Singh lauded the achievements of the institute and highlighted that approval for the appointment of almost 800 everlasting school members would almost double its working capability. He additionally appreciated the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for establishing the nine-floor Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) block and the four-floor companies block, stating that “the new facilities would strengthen the institute into one of the country’s largest centres for neurosurgery and cardiac sciences.”
Shri Singh congratulated the institute’s medical doctors for treating greater than 17,000 sufferers underneath the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Yojana since 2020. Referring to the inspiration stone laid by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the Malini Vasundhara Centre, he described it as a serious development in precision-based, non-invasive therapy for neurological and oncological circumstances.
Highlighting the institute’s contribution to indigenous medical machine improvement, Shri Singh said that “the unique focus of the institute is in the making of medical devices which are world-class, highly effective, and at the same time indigenous and cost-effective.” He additionally famous that a number of world-class and cost-effective applied sciences developed on the institute are transferred to business yearly, together with the 7 applied sciences that will probably be transferred this yr.
Highlighting the institute’s eight-institution MoU initiative, Shri Singh described it as “a unique effort that brought together eight leading national institutions to create a collaborative cluster and foster a synergistic research ecosystem.” He famous that “such partnerships would strengthen interdisciplinary innovation and advance the country’s scientific and healthcare capabilities.”
Appreciating the collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the institute within the area of area drugs, he said that the initiative would open new avenues for analysis, innovation, and medical follow within the years to come back, particularly in rising areas of medical science. Congratulating the establishment for its Golden Jubilee celebrations, Shri Singh described the institute as one of many main establishments of its sort on this a part of the world.
In her deal with, Union Health Secretary, Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava congratulated the graduating college students for graduating from “a pioneering institution that has a unique character, where engineers and medical professionals work together to drive innovation in healthcare, develop new medical devices, and undertake cutting-edge research.” She conveyed her finest needs to the scholars for a shiny and profitable future and expressed confidence that they’d make significant contributions to the development of healthcare and medical science within the years forward.
Sharing an summary of the National Health Policy and the Government’s healthcare initiatives, Smt. Srivastava said that “the concept of Ayushman Bharat is aimed at ensuring a continuum of care so that citizens live long and live well.” Referring to the National Health Policy, 2017, she highlighted its deal with preventive, promotive, healing, rehabilitative, and palliative healthcare.
Smt. Srivastava underlined the significance of strengthening the first healthcare community and emphasised {that a} robust deal with wellness and early screening can considerably scale back the burden of cardiology, neurology, and different non-communicable ailments. She famous that underneath the National Health Policy, “the healthcare system has expanded its focus beyond reproductive and child healthcare and communicable diseases towards a more wellness-oriented approach, with increased emphasis on screening and preventive healthcare at the primary healthcare level.” She additional highlighted that the expanded healthcare packages now embody screening for non-communicable ailments, psychological healthcare, geriatric care, and palliative care.” She additionally appreciated the institute’s efforts in direction of illness screening and early detection initiatives.
Outlining the completely different pillars of Ayushman Bharat, Smt. Srivastava said that the initiative is anchored within the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), which collectively intention to offer an built-in continuum of healthcare. She famous that sufferers screened on the main healthcare stage are referred to group well being centres, sub-district hospitals, district hospitals, medical faculties, and empanelled hospitals for secondary and tertiary care, involving non-public healthcare establishments underneath PM-JAY. She additional highlighted that “more than 600 million citizens are covered under the scheme.”
Highlighting the importance of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, Smt. Srivastava said that the ABHA account system has been created to make sure continuity of care via longitudinal digital well being information for residents. She famous that “the initiative enables individuals to securely access and share their health records across healthcare institutions with consent, thereby strengthening referral mechanisms and supporting precision healthcare through comprehensive patient histories across different stages of life and treatment.”
Referring to the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), Smt. Srivastava mentioned the initiative goals to handle well being infrastructure gaps and construct pandemic-resilient healthcare methods. She additionally referred to the Integrated Health Information Platform of the National Centre for Disease Control and the assist being prolonged to healthcare establishments underneath the mission.
Union Health Secretary additionally highlighted the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), underneath which 75 super-specialty blocks have been constructed throughout the nation. The initiative additionally helps 22 new AIIMS establishments throughout the nation. Encouraging the graduating college students to contribute their companies in distant and underserved areas, she mentioned the brand new AIIMS establishments are creating alternatives to strengthen healthcare supply in troublesome areas.
Speaking about rising applied sciences in healthcare, Smt. Srivastava referred to the Government’s initiatives in Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, together with the just lately launched technique for AI in healthcare in collaboration with IIT Kanpur. She additionally talked about the open knowledge platform ‘Bhashini’, developed by the National Health Authority for benchmarking AI-based healthcare instruments.
Smt. Srivastava emphasised that the Government is working in direction of strengthening regulatory methods in a way that ensures public security whereas additionally facilitating analysis, innovation, and business improvement. Referring to reforms being undertaken by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), she highlighted efforts to simplify regulatory procedures for low-risk medicine, together with easing necessities associated to check licences. She additionally said that “steps are being taken to simplify procedures related to bioavailability and bioequivalence studies for certain generic drugs, particularly low-risk categories.” “Similar regulatory reforms are additionally being launched within the medical units sector’, she additional added.
Advising the scholars to proceed studying all through their careers, Smt. Srivastava noticed that information and expertise are evolving quickly and careworn the significance of remaining up to date within the healthcare career. She additionally urged the graduating college students to stay empathetic in direction of their sufferers, noting that compassion and communication could make a major distinction in a affected person’s life.
Emphasising the significance of teamwork and moral conduct, Smt. Srivastava said that collaboration between engineers and medical doctors is crucial for driving innovation in healthcare, and added that moral conduct and integrity would play a crucial position in constructing a “Viksit Bharat.” Concluding her remarks, she appreciated the institute’s contributions to society via innovation and analysis, noting that its work has introduced reduction to tens of millions of individuals. She urged the graduating college students to hold ahead the identical spirit of innovation, service, and scientific excellence of their future skilled journeys.
A complete of 130 graduands had been awarded levels, together with 29 college students in DM programmes––Cardiology, Neurology, Neuroimaging and Interventional Neuroradiology, Cardiac Imaging and Vascular Interventional Radiology, Cardiothoracic & Vascular Anaesthesia, and Neuro-anaesthesia; 7 college students in MCh programmes together with Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Neurosurgery; 15 college students in Post-doctoral (Post DM/MCh./DNB) Fellowship programmes; 40 college students in Master of Public Health; 4 college students in Post-doctoral Certificate Courses in Transfusion Transmitted Disease Testing and Neuropathology; 11 PhD students; 22 college students in Diploma and PG Diploma programs; and a pair of members in ACP in Neurological Sciences.
Certificates of advantage had been additionally awarded to excellent school of the Institute who’ve received nationwide and worldwide awards. An institutional golden jubilee brand and a devoted track commemorating the occasion had been launched on the convocation.
Dr. Krishna M. Ella, Executive Chairman and co-founder of Bharat Biotech International Ltd. was current on the event because the visitor of honour. Shree Kris Gopalakrishnan, President, SCTIMST, Dr. Sanjay Behari, Director, SCTIMST, distinguished visitors, school and fogeys of the scholars had been additionally current.
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