I welcome you all to this grand event 'The 26th APICON', Orissa State Branch. At the outset we express our sincere gratitude to His Excellency Sj. Rameshwar Thakur. Governor of Orissa for giving us kind consent to inaugurate this conference. In last year APICON this could not be materialised due to national mourning. This time it is a promise and a dream fulfilled. We are grateful to you sir.

We are extremely happy to get Sj. Duryodhan Majhi, one of the dynamic mass leader and Hon'ble Minister of Health & F. W. of our State as our Guest of Honour. We are grateful to you sir. API is firmly behind the Government for implementations of all projects aiming to achieve health for all.

Furthering education & research in medicine and its applications for the people of Orissa is the main objective of the API. I am pleased to say that API is on the right track. After successfully conducting two mid-term conferences on 'Malaria & Filariasis', on 30.4.2006. API has conducted a mid-term conference on 'Rationale Management of AIDS' at Cuttack, which is going to be a burning problem of Orissa. Orissa Physician Journal has been published. The website of API Orissa State Chapter is functioning properly. Very soon we will have one permanent office room for API Orissa State Chapter at I.M.A. building, Cuttack. We have already given 2/ 3rd of the due. There are 25 new life members, increasing the total number of Life Members to 575.

I congratulate Dr. Sisir Kumar Mohapatra, the Organising Secretary of Silver Jubilee Celebration of APICON -Orissa State Branch-2005 for his excellent arrangement and Post- Conference contributions for API house at Cuttack.

This year API is going to felicitate Prof. Rajkishore Das, the Legendary Physician of Orissa and Reverend teacher of teachers & a Bench-mark Physician for Clinical Medicine. No amount of word will ever be sufficient in praise of this giant personality. Personally, it is a matter of great satisfaction that during my tenure API is honouring one of my most loving teacher. We are also going to felicitate Prof. D. B. Tonpe, Former Prof. & H.O.D. of Cardiology who was instrumental in changing his Dept. from the elite people's

Dept. to a Dept. for the most ordinary people of Orissa. We are also going to felicitate Dr. R. N. Kar, C.M.D. of Fertilizers Ltd. of India, Talcher for his contribution to API and health care system. We feel honoured by felicitating you.

Physicians are conscience keeper, thinker and opinion maker of the society. Therefore, I would like to draw some of the facts for deliberations.

You will agree that in recent time there is sea-change in acute care management. There is a growing need of well-equipped I.C.U. with well-trained staff. There is a need to consider to establish I.C.U. at every District Headquarter Hospitals.

The Undergraduate Medical Selection needs change. There is a gradual decline in number of students coming from rural areas and from weaker section, not for lack of talent, but for lack of coaching. Coaching centres are becoming centre of commerce. Like the recent changes in selection LIT. students to curb the influence of coaching centre, our State should also consider the need to change the present selection process.

There is a gradual decline in standard of medical education and examination throughout Orissa. I propose that the authority should consider the proposal of constituting a committee to go in-depth to the problems of medical education and to suggest rectifying measures at the earliest, Unless something is done now after a decade the whole society will be in problem.

There is an euphoria for private medical colleges in our state. These colleges, admitting less meritorious students with capitation fees both above and underneath the table will not be able to bring out quality doctors committed to common people of Orissa. Therefore, there is a need for more Govt. Medical Colleges in our state and a policy of transparent admission to private medical colleges.

I express my sincere thanks to Dr. P. K. Acharya the Chairman - API Orissa State Branch and the Governing Body Members and API Office staff for their support at every work of API. My sincere thanks to Prof. P.K. Das, Prof. S. Das, Prof. C.B.K. Mohanty, Prof. G. Ray, Asso. Prof. B. K. Das, Prof. S. P. Singh, and Prof. Pravat Kumar Padhi for their constant help and suggestions in the API work. My special thanks goes to Dr. Jayant Kumar Panda and Dr. Manoranjan Behera for their help in API work.

I congratulate Dr. Samarendra Nath Das -The Organising Secretary and Prof. P.K. Das, Chairman and other sincere members of Organising Committee 26th APICON, for excellent arrangement of this Conference. Please give them a big-hand.

Dear members, for last 2 years you have given me the opportunity to serve you and API Orissa State Branch for which I am extremely thankful to you all.
I wish a glorious future for API.