The minister said the objective of making the Health compulsory was to create awareness among the youth about good health, diseases and their prevention and cultivating good health habits. The Cabinet also approved a proposal by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for a soft loan scheme of up to Rs.2 million to establish day care centers.

"With the intention of early detection and prevention of diseases, it has been proposed to purchase and install a 3-Tesla MRI scanning machine at the Maharagama National Cancer Hospital and Gamma Knife Package and PET/CT Machines at Kandy Hospital. Cabinet also approved the proposal made by the Health Minister to callfor a detailed proposal from Odelga Med. G.m.b.H. in Austria and to discuss with Unicredit Bank in Austria for providing funds for this purpose," the minister said. (Sandun A Jayasekera)