BackGovt doctors’ retirement age to be raised to 65: Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi says there is a need for more doctors across the country but it is not possible to fill the gap in two years
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Saharanpur: Citing a shortage of doctors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that the age of retirement of government doctors will be raised to 65 years and said the Union cabinet will give its nod to the decision this week.
In a rally to observe the second anniversary of his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Modi said there is a need for more doctors across the country but it was not possible to fill the gap in the two years. The decision will cover all government doctors serving under state governments and the centre, he said.
“There is a shortage of doctors. In government hospitals, their retirement is 60 years in some states, 62 in some others. If adequate number of medical institutes were there, we would have more doctors and would not feel the shortage. It is difficult to add doctors in two years but poor families cannot be forced to live without doctors," the Prime Minister added.
“Therefore from Uttar Pradesh, I want to announce this to my countrymen that this week our government’s Cabinet will take a decision and the retirement age of our doctors, whether in states or government of India, would be made 65 years instead of 60 or 62," he said.
It will allow doctors to serve patients and provide education for a longer period, he said, adding that his government is also working increase the number of medical colleges in the country.
Modi’s announcement came after he appealed to doctors to treat poor pregnant women for free on the ninth day of every month, saying it will contribute to his government’s efforts to deal with illness among the poor. If one crore families can give up LPG subsidy, Modi said, he is sure that the doctors can serve poor pregnant women for 12 days in a year.
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