The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Florence Nightingale Awards to Nursing Personnel on the occasion of International Nurses Day today (May 12, 2014) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said today, nurses are the largest workforce in the healthcare industry in India. Nursing services and capacity building have expanded considerably since Independence and their roles and responsibilities have multiplied over the years. The theme selected by the International Council of Nurses, "Nurses: A force for change – A vital resource for health”, is quite appropriate. The Council has rightly recommended that the nursing workforce in India can be an instrument of change - through better workforce planning, improvement in its education and work environment and through a constructive process of assessing and addressing the nursing workload.

The President stated that nurses can definitively participate in strengthening the current nursing framework in India. As trainers and system innovators, they can do much to develop better methods and educate the communities in which they live and work. He emphasised that given India’s broader national goals in healthcare reform, the nursing fraternity would need to go even further – by substantively contributing to policy development - and ensuring that it evolves in the right direction – responding to the needs of our diverse communities. He added that he would encourage the nursing fraternity to involve themselves in reviewing and re-modelling practices, modernising methods and rising to the challenges.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri A. H. Khan Choudhury, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Smt. Santosh Chowdhary, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare.

This release issued at 1250 hrs