Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, Friday, March 29, said that it is his government’s priority to allocate funds to scientists for local research in cervical cancer to safeguard the lives of India's daughters.

During an interaction with Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates, the PM said that he wants to invest in research for developing vaccines at a minimal cost to ensure all girls are vaccinated against the serious disease, reported PTI.

"In the coming days, I want to allocate funds to our scientists for cervical cancer research targeting young girls. I want to give them the budget and encourage them to conduct local research to make vaccines. My goal is to vaccinate all girls in our country at a minimal cost to ensure that they are protected from cancer," Modi said.

Modi added that if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is voted back to power in General Elections 2024, his priority will be to invest in research in cervical cancer.

Identifying health as among the three sectors where he is most excited about the use of technology, PM Modi said his government has built two lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandir health centres in the villages which are directly connected with the best hospitals through modern technology.

"Just the way it happens in big hospitals, things are happening in Ayushman Arogya Mandir. This is the power of digital platforms," Modi stated.

He also mentioned how during the COVID, when the world struggled with issuing vaccine certificates, in India the people could easily use the CoWIN app to find out how far they needed to travel to get the vaccine, select a suitable time slot and receive their certificate within seconds.

"In my experience, digital technology has significantly benefited our country," he said.