What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi on Thursday said India provided assistance worth USD 55 billion to friendly nations under the Modi government in the last seven years.
“In the last seven years since Mr Modi became the Prime Minister, India has given USD 55 billion worth of support to friends,” Lekhi told The New Indian inaugurating an oxygen plant at Moolchand Hospital here.
The minister said that India provided medical oxygen, medicines, and necessary equipment to 172 countries during the Covid pandemic.
“With the opening up of borders, a lot of countries are dealing with (oxygen and medicine) manufacturers. At that time (during pandemic) when things were relatively better here (in India), 172 countries got supplies from us. Some were in grants, some in aids, and some countries imported. It was a mix bag,” she said.
She further said, “Whichever Ambassador I meet, they thank us (for assistance their countries received from India).”
Lekhi stated that a large number of patients were visiting India for treatment. “We don’t call it medical tourism, we have a policy called developmental health,” she said, adding that the government of India believe in the concept of developmental cooperation.
“India produced 10,000 metric ton oxygen in a week, and within just a month, India made a vaccine. India showed the world how to deliver deliverables (referring to vaccines and medicines during Covid-19 pandemic),” she told the gathering at the inaugural event.
Lekhi said the pandemic had laid bare the gap in the healthcare infrastructure. She praised PM Narendra Modi’s government for efficiently handling the pandemic. “We were in the right hands,” she said even as she came down heavily on the AAP government in Delhi, accusing it of oxygen mismanagement during the second wave.
She spoke to the media after inaugurating a VSA oxygen plant with capacity to generate 500 litre of medical oxygen per minute at Moolchand Hospital in her parliamentary constituency on the occasion of the World Health Day.
Charity ‘Amba Dalmia’, run by Keventers CEO Agastya Dalmia, has donated Rs 1 crore to set up the oxygen generation plant.
Dr Madhu Handa, Medical Director of Moolchand Hospital, cautioned people against the threat of Covid-19. “As a doctor, I would say that Covid has not gone yet,” she said.
