Every nation must give topmost importance to healthcare: PM

PTI, Jun 20, 2022, 3:33 PM IST

Every nation must give topmost importance to healthcare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday as he inaugurated the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) and laid the foundation stone for a multispeciality hospital here.

The CBR has been set up at a cost of Rs 280 crore at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) campus, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Prime Minister himself.

Noting that he is glad to inaugurate the CBR at IISc, the PM said, ”The joy is greater because I also had the honour of laying the foundation stone for this project. This Centre will be at the forefront of research on how to manage brain related disorders”.

The CBR is developed as a one of its kind research facility and focuses on conducting vital research to provide evidence-based public health interventions to manage age-related brain disorders, officials said.

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, and co-founder of IT major Infosys S Gopalakrishnan and his family were among those present at the event.

The CBR was established as an autonomous, non-profit research organisation in the IISc, with the generous gift from Gopalakrishnan and his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan, officials said.

Gopalakrishnan has also provided funds for the construction of the state-of-art building for use by CBR within IISc campus, and his philanthropic gift is the largest support provided by an individual for scientific research in the history of India.

Modi also laid the foundation stone for the 832-bedded Bagchi-Parthasarathy Multispeciality Hospital.

”At a time when every nation must give topmost importance to healthcare, efforts like the Bagchi Parthasarathy Multispeciality Hospital assume great importance,” he said. ”In the times to come, it will strengthen healthcare capacities and encourage pioneering research in the sector”.

According to officials, the hospital will provide major fillip to clinical research in the country and will work towards finding innovative solutions that will help in improvement of healthcare services in the country.

IISc entered into a partnership with philanthropists Susmita and Subroto Bagchi, and Radha and N S Parthasarathy, in February to establish the Bagchi-Parthasarathy Hospital.

”The couples will collectively donate Rs 425 crore (equivalent to about USD 60 million) to help construct this 800-bed, not-for-profit, multi-speciality hospital. After its founding, this is the largest single private donation received by IISc”, IISC Director Prof. Govindan Rangarajan had said.

Subroto Bagchi and N S Parthasarathy were co-founders of Mindtree, a Bengaluru-headquartered information technology services and consulting company.

”It is not about charity as much (as) it is about being charitable. The essence of being charitable is to build empathy for others. To feel for others. To be sensitive. These are values that were inculcated by parents on both sides of the family very early”, Susmita had told PTI.

”We followed their footsteps in small ways all along. When we lived in the US in (the) 1990s, we were very touched by the way everyone in the community engages with issues. The way they volunteer and help. This helped us to get engaged with institutions upon our return to India”, she added.

On what prompted the couple to do the big-ticket donation to IISc, Radha had said they had worked the hard way and now with the resources in their hands, they believed that these resources have reached them by destiny.

”We believe that these resources have been placed in our hands by destiny and it has to be used for “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the common good of people. The pandemic pushed a sense of urgency. Our intention was to use these for education and/or healthcare”, she told PTI.

The hospital is slated to be operational by the end of 2024.