The administration of 200 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines was possible only because of anganwadi, ASHA and health workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
Addressing the nation on the 77th Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort, he said the entire world was amazed at the scale of India's vaccination programme.
The world saw India's potential in the way it dealt with the coronavirus crisis, Modi said, adding that the pandemic has taught that development of the world is not possible without a human-centric approach.
"When the supply chains of other countries were disrupted, we had advocated a human-centric approach to ensure world's progress," he said.
Holistic healthcare was the demand of the hour after the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, adding his government had established a separate Ayush department and now the world is taking note of Ayush and yoga.
"The world is now watching us because of our commitment," he said in his Independence Day speech.
Modi said that India has emerged as "vishwa mitra" (friend of the world) in the post-COVID-19 period.
"After Covid, India advocated for 'One Earth, One Health' approach. Problems can only be solved when humans, animals and plants are addressed equally in respect to diseases," he said.
Read more: How will India be Vishwaguru if communities fight like in Manipur, Nuh: Kejriwal
{{/usCountry}}"After Covid, India advocated for 'One Earth, One Health' approach. Problems can only be solved when humans, animals and plants are addressed equally in respect to diseases," he said.
Read more: How will India be Vishwaguru if communities fight like in Manipur, Nuh: Kejriwal
{{/usCountry}}Accentuating the efforts of the government to improve the universal health coverage of the country, he said, ₹70,000 crore has been invested in the Ayushman Bharat scheme to provide ₹5 lakh annual "health guarantee" to BPL families.
Fifty nurses along with their family members from across the country were invited as special guests to witness and participate in the celebrations from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
They were part of the 1,800 special guests from various walks of life invited to the programme.
Highlighting the vision of "One Earth, One Health and One Future", the prime minister said, "Jan Aushadhi Kendras have given new strength to the middle class of the country by savings of ₹20,000 crore. He affirmed that the nation is going to work in the coming days with the target of increasing the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras to 25,000 from the present 10,000."
'Jan Aushadhi Kendras' have been set up for making affordable generic medicines available for all.