Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said here on Sunday that the health of an individual was directly related to his or her productivity as it impacts the overall health of the society.

“Health is paramount and a priority concern as good health is not only necessary for individuals, not for our pursuits, but also for the good health of the society”, Dhankhar said here Saturday evening.

Addressing the 64th convocation of National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur, the vice-president said, “If you are not healthy, your productivity will not be optimal. Rather than helping others, you might be seeking other’s help.”

Emphasising the need of a healthy society in making of ‘Viksit Bharat by year 2047’, Dhankhar said, “We are having exponential economic upsurge and phenomenal infrastructure growth. In the last few years, this has made Bharat, which once was part of fragile five economies, as big five global economies, on the way to becoming the third largest global economy. But friends, this aspirational object, very ambitious, requires an 8 fold increase in our per capita income, and this takes me to something which is of your interest. This is attainable only with our population being healthy and fit.”

One may be committed, sincere, earnest, gifted, devoted, but if that person is not physically healthy, rather than helping the society at large with his dedication and expertise, he will be seeking help. And therefore, it is essential that everyone in the country remains healthy”.

Expressing concerns over commercialisation and ethical dilution in the medical profession, VP Dhankhar said, “Medical professionals serve as guardians and the role is all the more significant in India (Bharat) that is home to one sixth of humanity. Your concern must be beyond clinical care. You have to be, and you have to engage in advocacy of good health. You have to become educators and public health advocates. But the challenges are there now in healthcare. The challenges are commercialization and ethical dilution is required to be addressed. Healthcare is a divine contribution. Healthcare is a service. Healthcare has to be far distant from commerce, and health care is antithetical to exploitation,” he added.

Urging the industry leaders to support manufacturing of medical equipment in India, Shri Dhankhar said, “We must engage and strongly champion locally manufactured medical equipment. Let us demolish the myth – imported items are superior; not any longer.”

Advocating a preventive wellness education and cautioning against the risks of digital lifestyle Shri Dhankhar stated, “I strongly advocate and plead with health care experts, please champion preventive wellness education with a special focus on combating, and this is something new, this is rampant and this is digital lifestyle. This digital lifestyle is coming with risks. That may be existential. I would urge; it is your ordainment to educate families so that they take care of it right from the beginning.

“We are having youth engaging in drugs, getting into depression, having mental stress and mental stress in a country which according to the IMF is a favourite global destination of investment and opportunity. Therefore, they require massive hand-holding to get them away from their attraction with screen dominated world,” the VP exhorted.