Salute and Guard of Honour received by Dr T M Subbarao, Principal, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research

The following is a brief of the speech delivered by Dr T M Subbarao on the eve of the independence day celebrations.

*Title: Towards Viksit Bharat*

Today is the 78th Independence Day. On this day, let us reflect on the unconditional sacrifice laid down by our freedom fighters. It is because of their courage and determination that we lead a liberated life. Let us remember the countless number of men and women who gave up their jobs, professions, and families just to help us obtain independence from the British. Their sacrifices will always be remembered and respected.

As a country, we have shown significant progress from 1947 to 2024. We had planned meticulously based on the requirement at a given point in time. Thus, we focused on agriculture, industry, dairy, information technology, space research, etc.

We, as healthcare providers, have also contributed to India’s success story. Because of the efforts of the various personnel in the healthcare sector, we could effectively bring down the infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, death rate, etc., and significantly improve the life expectancy of our population. I commend each one of you who has been a part of this success story.

The theme of this year’s independence is ‘Viksit Bharat’, which translates to Developed India. It is logical to reach this milestone as we show enormous growth in all the sectors. 50 years ago the tertiary sector was literally unheard of and today it is the leading sector of all and therefore will help us achieve our target of a developed India by 2047. To reach this status we must be economically sound supported with a good infrastructure and a skilled manpower. The new education policy 2020, a significant step towards this, highlights the role of higher education institutions in producing industry-ready employees or entrepreneurs. The government intends to support all long-standing educational institutions towards autonomy so that they can start distinct courses that are the need of the hour and offer transdisciplinary learning opportunities. Tomorrow’s students will no longer be learning in silos!

In spite of the vast progress, we still need to improve on certain fronts, the prime of which is acknowledging the role of women and providing them with dignity, respect, and safety in their lives. Each one of us should educate the men and boys we know on mutual respect and recognition of women. Electronic gadgets are no longer fun but are becoming objects of addiction, so much so that we know everybody virtually and very few in real time. One of the reasons for the increased crime rate is the widening economic divide, and this needs to be addressed on a priority basis. It is important that moral education become a part of school and college learning and derive ideas from the Indian knowledge system, which has a wealth of information on this crucial issue.

PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research and the PSG College of Pharmacy have shown year-on-year improvement in the NIRF ranking. The medical school has consecutively been ranked among the top 50 of India’s medical colleges for the past five years. There are only three such standalone medical colleges achieving this feat in South India, and it is a matter of pride that PSG Medical College is one of them. This national recognition stems not just from offering quality education but also from the excellent support mechanisms that are in place for both the students and the faculty and staff. We have a 24 by 7 hotline number for anti-ragging and psychological wellness. From this year, the management has identified yet another hotline for emergency support for any in-house security issues, and this will be announced tomorrow.

In closing, if everybody did their part selflessly, we would be scripting history and realising our dream of Viksit Bharat.