Rahul promises Rajasthan model healthcare scheme across country if voted to power in 2024
Wayanad (Ker) (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hailed the healthcare programme for the poor initiated by the Rajasthan government, saying that if the party secures power at the Centre post the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, similar initiatives will be rolled out nationwide.
Gandhi made these remarks while addressing the audience following the inauguration of a new block at a private hospital in Sulthan Bathery, situated within his Lok Sabha constituency, Wayanad.
The former Congress chief emphasised the need for a reevaluation of healthcare at the national level.
He said that the union government should prioritise providing affordable healthcare to the poor as a fundamental guarantee to its people.
"I think at the national level we need to rethink the way we think about healthcare and I think one of the guarantees that the national government should think about is healthcare at really low cost, especially to the poor people.
"We have done some work on this in Rajasthan and hopefully if we come to power in 2024, we will try and implement these types of ideas across the nation," Gandhi said.
The Congress party has hailed its Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme in Rajasthan as a "model" for the entire country, asserting that increasing the medical coverage to Rs 50 lakh would provide significant relief to both the poor and the middle class.
During the Rajasthan Assembly poll campaign, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had praised the scheme as a boon for the people of Rajasthan, highlighting its comprehensive coverage, including free treatment for various medical procedures such as kidney and liver transplants, cancer and heart disease treatments, operation, dialysis, and implants.
The party considers the 'Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme' as the best free treatment scheme in the country, with a promise to raise the coverage to Rs 50 lakh if re-elected in Rajasthan.
Voting for 199 out of the 200 assembly seats in Rajasthan was held on November 25. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
