STATE TIMES NEWS
CHENNAI: Delivering the inaugural address at the 4-day “Gleneagles Liver and Transplant International Summit” (GLTS 2025) here on Saturday, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, who is also a noted Diabetologist and Professor of Medicine, emphasised on finding affordable disease detection strategies. For this , all the stakeholders, including the public and private sector need to come together, he said.
Sounding a wake-up call on the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in India, the Minister stressed the urgent need for affordable and accessible early detection of conditions like fatty liver and diabetes, which he termed as silent epidemics threatening the nation’s youth.
Dr. Jitendra observed that “every third Indian is found to have fatty liver, and one in every three or four hospital patients is diagnosed with underlying diabetes.”
Emphasising the impact of these conditions on India’s demographic dividend, he said, “To preserve the energies of our young population for the task of nation building, mass detection mechanisms must be in place. But the challenge lies in affordability, which is where the public and private sectors must come together.”
The Minister reflected on the changing health landscape of the country, where both infectious and non-communicable diseases are on the rise. “Diseases once associated with age or lifestyle are now being seen among the young. Fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, and even heart attacks are no longer confined to older populations,” he said, calling for a shift from curative to preventive healthcare.
He highlighted the increasing prevalence of central obesity, particularly among Indians, who despite appearing lean, often carry visceral fat-a key contributor to metabolic disorders. Drawing attention to studies on the Indian diaspora, Dr. Jitendra Singh explained how the Indian genetic makeup itself poses a higher risk for such conditions, regardless of geography or lifestyle.
The Minister praised the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in prioritising preventive health through schemes like Ayushman Bharat, the expansion of Tata Memorial Centre’s cancer care network, and the establishment of nearly three lakh wellness centres across the country. He also pointed to India’s achievements in the biotech and health research sector, including the development of indigenous vaccines, gene therapy trials for haemophilia, and new antibiotics like Nafithromycin.
Underlining the need for a “whole-of-government, whole-of-nation” approach, Dr. Jitendra Singh urged closer synergy between public institutions and private healthcare providers. “The public sector has the infrastructure and knowledge; the private sector has the resources. Together, they can bridge the gap in access and affordability,” he said.
He concluded with a call for collective responsibility, stating that the health of India’s youth is no longer just a concern for doctors, but a national responsibility. “We cannot afford to lose the architects of Viksit Bharat 2047 to preventable diseases,” he said, adding that conferences like GLTS play a crucial role in guiding policy and awareness.