Odisha's health budget doubled in three years: Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], November 25 (ANI): Odisha's health budget has doubled in three years as part of efforts to provide quality health services to the people, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Friday.
Speaking virtually at the orientation programme organized for the newly appointed 203 Assistant Professors under Odisha Medical Education Service, the Chief Minister said the state government is committed to providing universal access, quality health care services and bringing down the out-of-pocket expenses of the people.
He said the size of the budget of the Health Department is increasing over the years.
"The budget estimate in healthcare has almost doubled to over Rs 12,000 crore in this financial year since 2019-20, which is more than six percent of the state plan," he added.
Patnaik said that recruitment of such a large number of Assistant Professors at one go will boost health education and improve the healthcare service bringing satisfaction to people.
"We have always believed strongly in 'Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha' and for us, 'Every Life matters'. It has been the fundamental principle of our governance in providing healthcare facilities to the people of Odisha," he said.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief advised the new assistant professors to follow the 5T initiative of the government and try to bring smiles to patients and their close family members.
"We must always remember that our success does not belong solely to us. It belongs to society. Our success is a contribution to our society. It's our moral and ethical responsibility to give back to society and bring smiles to the face of people. In your case, there can be no better reward than a smile on the face of a mother when her ailing child is cured. This is the real satisfaction in your job," he said.
The BJD chief also made the student aware of the '5T initiative' of the state government.
"All of you might be aware of our 5T Initiative, where the application of components like Transparency, Technology, Teamwork, and Time leads to Transformation. This will be a key principle throughout your career," he said.
The 5T Secretary VK Pandian said for a long time, the state was stuck with only three medical colleges and new government medical colleges could not come up due to lack of teachers.
"Today there are 11 medical colleges in the state. And some more are in pipeline," he said. (ANI)