The India–Australia Roundtable on Strengthening the Nursing Workforce concluded after two days in New Delhi, marking a key milestone in bilateral cooperation for enhancing nursing education, leadership and global health preparedness. The event was jointly convened by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in collaboration with Jhpiego and Edith Cowan University, Australia.
Ms Akanksha Ranjan, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, provided the keynote address and said that the Government of India is committed to transforming nursing in every way. She highlighted the following:
Approval of 157 new government nursing colleges co-located with existing medical colleges to provide early and sustained clinical exposure to students.
Policies such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 are driving transformation by introducing digital integration, competency-based learning, and a multidisciplinary approach.
The programme now provides 6,000 hours of structured training for graduates to meet the global standards of care.
The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act, 2023, brings in a modern regulatory architecture that will ensure standardised quality, transparent governance and future-ready training.
The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Dr Deepika C. Khakha, Nursing Advisor, DGHS, Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. She complimented the very spirit of collaboration and said, “The world is a global village; united we stand stronger.”
She insisted that this event is a critically important platform for equipping “the students of today, the workforce of tomorrow” with the necessary knowledge and leadership to meet future health challenges.
Dr. Khakha emphasised that the development of a competent, compassionate, and globally aligned nursing workforce will be sped up by sustained collaboration and mutual learning between India and Australia.
To devise concrete methods for faculty development, the roundtable brought together senior authorities, nursing leaders, academicians, and development partners to improve competencies and governance changes throughout India’s nursing ecosystem.
