“Serve Humanity with Compassion”: President Murmu to Doctors

• President Murmu attends AIIMS Bilaspur’s first convocation.
• Doctors urged to combine excellence with compassion.
• AIIMS Bilaspur asked to strengthen remote healthcare.
• President stresses affordable and accessible medical care.

GG News Bureau
Bilaspur, 6th Oct: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday graced the first convocation of AIIMS Bilaspur in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, and called on medical professionals to make service to humanity the primary objective of their profession.

Addressing the convocation, the President said that a patient visiting a doctor carries not only the fear and uncertainty associated with illness but also hope. She emphasised that doctors’ empathy and compassionate behaviour can give patients courage, alongside the medical knowledge and skills required to treat them.

The President urged doctors to embrace sensitivity and compassion while pursuing excellence in their profession.

Murmu said that providing quality medical care at minimal cost is a hallmark of AIIMS. For people across the country, she noted, AIIMS represents access to medical treatment from some of the nation’s most competent doctors.

She highlighted the expansion of AIIMS institutions across different parts of the country, saying the objective is to enable more people to benefit from quality healthcare while providing more meritorious students with access to top-tier medical education and opportunities to serve the nation.

AIIMS Bilaspur’s special responsibility
The President said AIIMS Bilaspur has a special responsibility because of its geographical location. Providing timely, quality healthcare to people living in remote areas of Himachal Pradesh presents a multifaceted challenge, she said.

She stressed that AIIMS Bilaspur should emerge as a premier centre for advanced tertiary healthcare and highlighted the need to strengthen healthcare services in hilly regions through telemedicine, specialist consultations for remote areas, training of medical personnel and the latest technologies.

Focus on affordable healthcare
The President also highlighted the financial burden that serious illnesses can place on ordinary families. She noted that the Government of India provides health insurance coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to help vulnerable sections of society meet healthcare expenses.

Murmu said ensuring quality healthcare at an affordable cost is a collective responsibility. Rising costs of medical equipment and medicines, she noted, remain a serious challenge for patients and their families.

She said developing affordable, accessible and cost-effective healthcare solutions presents both a challenge and an opportunity for premier institutions such as AIIMS.

The President emphasised that such efforts can help citizens remain healthy and enable them to contribute to the country’s progress to their full potential.