New Delhi: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth the inherent strengths of the Indian medical fraternity.

Addressing a function, he said it is sometimes difficult to realize how promptly and efficiently members of the medical fraternity had geared up overnight to meet the sudden challenge posed by COVID-19.

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"The laudable outcomes are evident from the fact that today India's effective management of the pandemic is being cited as an example even in those countries which are believed to be better updated in medical facilities and bestowed with better resources," said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.

The minister is also a renowned diabetologist.

Paying homage to medical professionals who lost their lives in the line of duty while serving COVID-19 patients, he said that a doctor is often looked up as a demi-god and it is assumed that he can never succumb to any disease. However, the truth is that medical professionals who were attending to coronavirus patients understood the risk and professional hazard involved but did not shirk from their duty, the minister said.

Singh was particularly appreciative of the services rendered by young resident doctors, especially women resident doctors, who not only risked their lives but also had to make alternative arrangements for the care of their infant children.

He said, preempted decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including the early lockdown, had not only given the medical fraternity time to reorient itself but had also helped citizens to train themselves for the new norms to be practised during the pandemic.

"Living up to the prime minister''s mantra of ''Atmanirbhar Bharat'', India not only achieved self-sufficiency in PPE kits and other equipment but also became one of the first countries in the world to roll out the vaccination programme," the minister said.

Referring to the Ayushman Bharat scheme, Singh said it is a first-of-its-kind health insurance scheme in the world.

He complimented the Jammu and Kashmir government for being the first in the country to initiate universal health insurance cover for each of its citizens.

During the function, the minister gave awards to eminent "corona warrior" doctors and medical professionals.

Dr Randeep Guleria, Director AIIMS, New Delhi, was conferred with a lifetime achievement award at the event.

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