New Delhi: Union health minister JP Nadda on Saturday urged young doctors to balance innovation with empathy, saying that while artificial intelligence and robotics are transforming healthcare, “the heart behind healing must never fade”.Speaking at the 50th convocation of AIIMS Delhi, where 326 medical students received their degrees, Nadda congratulated the graduates, faculty and parents, calling medical education “a privilege made possible by the collective effort of teachers, taxpayers and families”.“Technology can help in detection, in making the patient happier,” he added. “But with technology, the human touch should not go, the compassion should not go. That should also remain.”Nadda praised AIIMS for emerging as a leader in AI-driven diagnostics, robotic surgery training and pioneering procedures such as dual kidney and renal auto-transplants. It is setting benchmarks in research and innovation with 900 ongoing projects and continues to lead in cleanliness rankings under the Swachh Bharat, Swasth Bharat initiative, he pointed out.Highlighting India’s “long leap” in medical education, Nadda said the country had 23 AIIMS, of which 20 were operational. The number of medical colleges has nearly doubled from 387 to 819, undergraduate seats from 51,000 to 1.29 lakh and postgraduate seats from 31,000 to 78,000 in the past decade. “In the next five years, another 75,000 seats will be added.” The minister also noted that maternal and infant mortality rates were declining faster than global averages and The Lancet recently reported that 90% of cancer patients received treatment within 30 days of diagnosis thanks to early detection under Ayushman Bharat.Recalling India’s rapid pandemic response, Nadda said, “Within nine months of detecting the first Covid case, India developed two indigenous vaccines and administered over 220 crore doses — the world’s largest and fastest vaccination drive.”Joining him at the convocation, prof VK Paul, member of Niti Aayog, called on the new doctors to extend their contribution beyond clinical care. “We have a profound societal responsibility to give back to the community that has nurtured us,” he said. He also encouraged them to pursue academic careers to help build a stronger health education system and contribute to the vision of a Viksit Bharat.Commending AIIMS’s advances in genomics, telehealth and precision medicine, Nadda reminded the young doctors, “Technology can improve diagnosis and delivery, but it is compassion that heals.” On their social responsibility, the minister said, “It costs about Rs 1.5 crore to train one MBBS student — paid by society, not the individual. That privilege must be repaid through service, honesty and humanity.”Calling AIIMS a “national brand,” he concluded, “You are its ambassadors. Carry forward its values of excellence and empathy.”