Chandigarh, Sept 25 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday called for collective efforts by all sections of the society to bring Punjab back on the path of development. Addressing a select gathering of healthcare luminaries at the launch of The Tribune coffee table book 'Doyens of Healthcare’, Capt Singh expressed the confidence that his government would succeed in bringing the state out of the mess it had inherited from the previous regime. He exhorted the media and other members of the society to join hands with the government in enabling fast-track growth and development of the state. The Chief Minister formally launched the coffee table book before presenting excellence awards to several noted healthcare experts. Identifying healthcare as a primary area of focus for his government, the Chief Minister reiterated his commitment to improving healthcare, along with education, in the state despite the prevailing fiscal crisis. In his address, he pointed out that the public health sector in the state was in a bad shape and announced his government’s decision to convert primary health centres into primary healthcare centres to ensure early scanning of medical problems in children. His government, Capt Singh said, was also investing in the existing medical colleges in Patiala and Amritsar besides setting up a new medical college in Mohali to boost healthcare. Stressing the need for a medical college in Malwa region, the Chief Minister said his government was looking into ways and means of setting up more high-end medical institutions in the state. Asserting that India’s medical system was second to none in the world, he said people look at India for affordable and quality healthcare and treatment. Capt Singh said he was confident that Punjab would once again lead the nation in development. His government was striving to ensure that Punjab’s education system is at par with states like Himachal Pradesh and healthcare quality is at the level of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Tribune Editor-in-Chief Harish Khare assured Capt Singh that his organisation stood with the government in every positive step it takes for the development of Punjab. UNI DB SW 1615