The Union Cabinet this week will grant its approval to a proposal to raise the retirement age for government doctors to 65 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. While speaking at a rally to commemorate the National Democratic Alliance's two years in office, he said there was a dire need for more doctors across India, and it was not possible for the Centre to meet the requirement in two years’ time, PTI reported.

All government doctors serving under both the Centre and the states will fall under the ambit of this decision, Modi said. “There is a shortage of doctors. In government hospitals, their retirement is 60 years in some states, 62 in some others. If an adequate number of medical institutes were there, we would have more doctors and would not feel the shortage. It is difficult to produce doctors in two years, but poor families cannot be forced to live without them,” the prime minister said at the event in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The rally in Uttar Pradesh is being seen as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to woo voters ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections in the North Indian state. During his address, Modi further said he welcomed the “eagle-eyed” scrutiny his government was under. “Every second and every rupee of the government should be accountable,” he said.

The prime minister went on to highlight his government’s achievements and the various initiatives it has undertaken in two years. The NDA government has organised a large-scale programme at India Gate on May 28 to commemorate its two-year anniversary.