AIIMS has made enormous contributions to patient care, research and education during the COVID crisis, and daily battles fought by the AIIMS fraternity must be remembered, the Health Minister said on 11 January.

The Health Minister presided over the 47th Convocation Ceremony at AIIMS, New Delhi along with the Regional Director, WHO SEARO. Formulating a new vision for AIIMS by looking at the undaunting spirit of its founder, he said, she reached out to foreign countries and international development partners to make up for the shortage in fund allocation in her quest to provide world class medical education to common Indians.

The Health Minister expressed his elation at the perseverance of the institute in continuing to deliver excellence in the field of health. He also warned against complacency and stagnation. "We have to change and progress. We cannot be left standing in a changing world," he said. Appreciating the institute's role in the ongoing COVID crisis, the Health Minister observed AIIMS has made enormous contributions to patient care, research and education during the crisis. "As we recover from the pandemic which has shaken us to the core, we must remember the daily battles fought by the AIIMS fraternity. Our doctors are our real heroes," he said.

He then proceeded to lay out his vision for the institute in critical points of fostering of an environment that attracts the most talented faculty and staff, student-centric policies with a focus on adult-learners as the present world require lifelong learning, stress on academic excellence and holistic learning and effective use of innovative means provided by technology in higher education among others.