President Pranab Mukherjee today called for synergizing medical research with field experience and its seamless flow into the national health programmes. Addressing the 40th Convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, he said research must benefit public . The President urged the Health Ministry, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the AIIMS to work in unison so that excellence should not be confined to Delhi but also touch the hearts of the millions all over the country, who are still struggling for equitable access to quality health care.

Lauding the the work done by the AIIMS he said the Institute must rise to be one of the 10 best medical universities in the world by the year 2020. He asked AIIMS to lead India to the frontiers of innovative solutions in health care, discovering new cures, harnessing existing and emerging technologies for affordable healthcare, and exploring new paradigms for preventing disease and creating wellness.

Expressing concern over the impoverishing impact of health and medical expenses on the vulnerable sections of society, Mr Mukherjee stressed the need for crafting a high quality national health system that is used by the poor and the rich alike. The President said that time has come for India to aim at attaining Universal Health Coverage in the next 2 to 3 Plan periods. It is possible today to leverage reasonable amount of resources to make bold and sustained investment in health.

Mr Mukherjee hoped that public spending on health will rise to 2.5 per cent of the GDP by the end of the Twelfth Plan period.