Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that the poor and middle classes of India have shown to the world that with their potential they were capable of attaining new heights with adequate support in the provision of basic necessities like bank accounts, toilets, tap water, free medical treatment and creation of a social security net.

”Poor and middle classes of the country are garnering the courage to dream…we have shown to the world that with their potential they are capable of reaching new heights,” the PM said while addressing the 60th national conference of the Indian Association of Physiotherapists (IAP) in Ahmedabad via video message.

He acknowledged the importance of physiotherapists as providers of solace, symbol of hope, resilience and recovery. A physiotherapist, he said, not only treated physical injury but gave the patient courage to deal with the psychological challenge.

Lauding the profession of physiotherapy, Modi explained how the same spirit of providing support in times of need pervaded governance also.

Underlining that physiotherapy ensured self-reliance in a patient, the PM declared that India was also similarly moving towards ‘Atmanirbharta’. The profession also symbolised‘Sabka Prayas’ as patient and doctor both needed to work on the problem and the same spirit was reflected in many government schemes and Jan Andolans like Swacch Bharat and Beti Bachao, he observed.

The PM underlined the spirit of physiotherapy that carried many key messages like consistency, continuity and conviction which were critical for the policies of the government also.

He said that in the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’, physiotherapists received much-awaited recognition as a profession as the government brought the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professionals Bill which recognised the contribution of physiotherapists in the nation’s healthcare system. “This has made it easier for all of you to work in India as well as abroad. The government has also added physiotherapists to the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission network. This has made it easier for you to reach the patients,” Modi said.

The PM also touched upon growth opportunities for physiotherapists in the environment of Fit India Movement and Khelo India. He requested physiotherapists to take up the task of educating people about the right postures, the right habits, and the right exercises. “It is important that people adopt the right approach regarding fitness. You can do this through articles and lectures. And my young friends can even do it through Reels,” he said.

Drawing on his personal experience of physiotherapy, he said “It is my experience that when the expertise of yoga is combined with that of a physiotherapist, its power increases manifold. The common problems of the body, which often require physiotherapy, are sometimes solved in yoga as well. That’s why you must also know yoga along with physiotherapy. This will enhance your professional power.”

Modi also requested the profession to develop ways of video consulting and telemedicine. This, he said, could be useful in situations like the earthquake in Turkiye where a large number of physiotherapists were needed and Indian physiotherapists could help via mobile phones. He asked the Physiotherapist Association to think in this direction.