Union commerce & industry, railways and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal, on Friday, stressed the need for collective responsibility and strong partnership among government, private sector and society in battling the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring last-mile connectivity and effective distribution of the vaccine to India’s 1.3 billion population at an affordable cost.
Addressing the valedictory session of the ‘Asia Health’ summit, organised in a virtual format by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Goyal pointed out that the task of creating a better future for all, especially for children, had to be undertaken collectively.
“It cannot be just left to the government and private sector. All of us, working as one, for a common purpose, will help us survive, adapt and overcome the serious pandemic that the whole world is facing,” Goyal said.
Goyal admitted that the enormity of the pandemic and scale at which the country is fighting it has underscored many shortcomings and issues that need urgent attention.
He also highlighted the challenges at the time of imposition of the nationwide lockdown in March, with regard to preparedness by the country in fighting the pandemic, availability of PPE kits, possibilities of running out of oxygen and inadequacies of testing facilities.
However, India’s move for an early and stringent lockdown — as globally recognised — has successfully helped save many lives, keep mortality rates low and prevent its spread in the villages, Goyal said, adding that Atmanirbhar Bharat was key to India’s self-reliance and becoming health provider for the rest of the world.
