Govt. committed to providing healthcare to personnel of central armed forces: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the Central Government is making sustained efforts to improve healthcare facilities and expand the coverage and extent of medical cover for personnel of the central armed forces and their families.

Addressing participants after the foundation laying ceremony of the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences, here, Dr. Singh said: "Our government has made sustained efforts to improve healthcare facilities and expand the coverage and extent of medical cover to the force personnel and their families. The medical cadre of the central forces was revamped in the year 2004, so as to provide the basic minimum healthcare facilities to the forces' personnel and their families even in remote postings."

"Six old hospitals were upgraded to 100 bedded composite hospitals, and 32 old hospitals to 50 bedded composite hospitals to provide specialty treatment. One 200 bedded referral hospital is under construction at Noida and is likely to become operational later this year," he added.

He said that the Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences will serve a long-felt need.

"It will ensure better health care for the families of the Central Armed Police Forces personnel, who spend much of their time away from home discharging their arduous and onerous responsibilities. This will, in turn, lead to higher morale and more efficient functioning of these forces," he added.

Asserting that the institute exemplifies the government's commitment to provide the best possible facilities to the Central Armed Police Forces," Dr. Singh said: "We are aware that the men and women of these forces work in very adverse conditions, often at considerable risk to their lives."

"They are deployed in some of the most difficult places in the country, including left-wing extremism affected states, the North-Eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir. The BSF, ITBP, SSB and Assam Rifles guard more than 15000 kilometres of our international borders, and the Line of Control (LoC) along Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar and also prevent trans-border crime," he said.

"The CRPF assists the state governments and the Union Territories in maintaining law and order and controlling internal disturbances and insurgencies. The CISF provides security cover to more than 300 units located all over India including our atomic power plants, space installations, our airports, mints, currency note presses, oil fields and refineries and major ports," he added.

Regarding upgradation of infrastructure, Dr. Singh said the government also focused attention to strengthening infrastructure and building capacity.

"The Central Armed Police Forces now have a strength of over 9 lakh personnel. Our Government had sanctioned 126 additional battalions in these Forces, out of which 71 battalions have already been raised and the remaining are expected to be raised within the current financial year," he said.

"We have also given focused attention to strengthening infrastructure and building capacity. The 12th Plan outlay for strengthening infrastructure for Central Armed Police Forces is more than Rs.12500 crore. Since the year 2008, 24 new Training Institutes have been sanctioned for these forces," he added.

He said the 12th Plan outlay for strengthening infrastructure for Central Armed Police Forces is more than 12500 crore rupees .Since the year 2008, 24 new training institutes have been sanctioned for these forces.