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Labour ministry to simplify ‘Occupational Safety & Health Working Condition’ code

Santosh Gangwar
Santosh Gangwar, MoS (IC) for Labour and Employment while addressing 8th FICCI Safety Systems Excellence Awards & Conference for Industry

New Delhi: With the aim of expanding the health and working conditions of the employees, the government is planning to simplify the new Occupational Safety & Health Working Condition (OSH) Code, which enhances the ambit of provisions of safety, health, welfare and working conditions. 

Speaking at the 8th FICCI Safety Systems Excellence Awards & Conference for Industry, Santosh Gangwar, MoS (IC) for Labour and Employment said, “The new Occupational Safety & Health Working Condition (OSH) Code will be simplified further and will have provision for one return, one registration and one license.”

Reiterating government’s efforts to introduce four labour codes instead of 44 complex law, at the conference with theme of ‘Workplace Safety & Occupational Health’ Gangwar said, “It will not only reduce the compliance burden for companies but also benefit the workers.”

“We have introduced and referred the OSH Code to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. I would request you (stakeholders) to submit your recommendations to the Standing Committee so that we can make a better law,” Gangwar added.

Gangwar highlighted the steps taken by the government to further simplify the labour laws, stating, “The new laws will replace multiple boards and committees by establishing ‘National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board’. The new board will use the latest technology and will issue ‘Dynamic Safety Standards’ on a timely basis.” 

“Any establishment within minimum 10 or more workers will come under the ambit of the code,” he added and said, “All establishments will have to issue appointment letters to workers along with one compulsory medical check-up in a year.”

He further said, “In the new Wage Code, government has ensured to cover all 50 crore workers to get minimum wages at a defined rate.”

“While we have given our detailed suggestions on these Codes, I hope this exercise also ensures that multiple agencies and authorities under different Codes to deal with labour issues are minimized,” said Sandip Somany, President, FICCI. 

Somany added, “On behalf of FICCI, I would propose that we scale up this initiative with the support of labour ministry to make it a National Campaign for Safe India.”

Meanwhile, at the conference, Shyam Bang, Chairman, NABCB (QCI) & FICCI Taskforce on Manufacturing Excellence said, “The industry is geared up to tackle safety concerns and the target should be zero incident, zero loss of life and zero damage to capital assets.”

Health remains key development challenge for India: Prez

Ramnath Kovind
President of India laying the foundation stone for the campus of JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research at Varuna village in Mysuru

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind has said that health remains a key development challenge for India which is linked to the larger socio-economic challenges and the solution to these has to be  broad-based and multi-pronged.

The President while laying the foundation stone  for the campus of JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research at Varuna village in Mysuru  on October 11 said, “We have achieved a lot over the years. Yet, health remains a key development challenge for us. As a country we are challenged by the triple burden of communicable, noncommunicable and new and emerging diseases. Malnutrition and neglected tropical diseases place severe constraints on us. We need to improve access to health services”.

He said, “Our health challenges are linked to our larger socio-economic challenges. Our solutions to meet our health challenges need to be broad-based and multi-pronged. They must use the power of both modern medicine and traditional knowledge. They must focus on both the mind and the body. They must involve both prevention and cure”.

He said cleanliness and sanitation was the base requirement for tackling many of our health-related issues and diseases. A nation-wide revolution for cleanliness and health was already underway.

“It must continue and become stronger with each passing day. This would be our tribute to Mahatma Gandhi whose 150th birth anniversary we just celebrated,” the President said.

The President said that the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research at Varuna Village was a tribute to Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Mahaswamiji whose 104th Jayanti was being celebrated this year.

He said that Sri Suttur Math’s focus on education was strongly encouraged by Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji.

He also expressed confidence that this new ‘Global Campus’ of JSS Academy would help the institution to further contribute in the field of education.

The JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research was established in 2008 and is regarded as a reputed institute of health sciences.

Govt to set up National Institute of Mental Health Rehab at Bhopal 

Prabodh seth
Prabodh Seth, Joint Secretary of DEPwD while addressing conference on ‘Re-thinking Mental Health’

New Delhi: The government has decided to set up National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) near Bhopal with an outlay of Rs 179.54 crore in the first three years to provide rehabilitation services to people with mental illness and to frame policy in mental health rehabilitation.

Highlighting the objectives of the NIMHR, the Joint Secretary of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under Social welfare ministry Prabodh Seth said, “NIMHR aimed at providing rehabilitation services to people with mental illness, capacity development in the area of mental health rehabilitation, policy-framing and advanced research in mental health rehabilitation.”

Speaking at the conference on ‘Re-thinking Mental Health’ organised by FICCI Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence, Seth added, “We are thinking of developing in-service training programs for persons employed in government organizations who can get effective training and be effective in providing basic rehabilitation services.”

Meanwhile, the director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Nimesh Desai said, “Mental health is nowhere near the central agenda of the society. It is still a storm in a teacup. Scientific figures from the National Institute of Health put that rate at 49%.”

The conference which was attended by senior doctors and the health department members such as Dr Achal Bhagat, Dr Ambrish Dharmadhikari, Mr Rajvi Mariwala and others, included panel discussions on subjects such as ‘Taking Mental Health to the General Public’, ‘Addressing Stigma and Community Participation in Mental Healthcare’, ‘Telling Our Stories: Lived Experience and the Importance of Ethical Reporting’, ‘Access to Mental Health Support at the Workplace: Offline and Online Professional Support’ and ‘It’s Alright Not To Feel okay: Young and Adolescents’.

End Horrifying Ordeal for Blasphemy Accused in Pak: Human Rights Watch

PAKISTAN SUPREME COURT
File Photo: Pakistan Supreme Court

New York: Human Rights Watch has urged Pakistan government to revise its blasphemy law with the ultimate aim of repealing it, taking a cue from the recent Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision to quash the conviction of Wajih-ul-Hassan, who had been sentenced to death in 2002 for writing allegedly blasphemous letters.

The human rights body also called for dropping similar charges on scores of people in Pakistan, saying abuse was inherent in the country’s blasphemy law.

On September 25, 2019, the Pakistan Supreme Court had ruled that the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence against Hassan, who by then had spent almost 18 years in prison.

Section 295-C of Pakistan’s penal code, known as the blasphemy law, carries what is effectively a mandatory death sentence. According to the Center for Social Justice, a Pakistani advocacy group, at least 1,472 people were charged under the blasphemy provisions from 1987 to 2016. Although there have been no executions, at least 17 people convicted of blasphemy is currently on death row, while many others are serving life sentences for related offenses.

A mere accusation of blasphemy can put the security of the accused at risk. Since 1990, at least 65 people have been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy, based on media reports.

Pakistan’s government should repeal sections 295 and 298 of the penal code, which includes the blasphemy law and the law discriminating against the Ahmadiyya religious community, Human Rights Watch said. The government should also promptly and appropriately prosecute those responsible for planning and carrying out attacks against religious minorities.

“The Supreme Court took an important step by ending Hassan’s horrific ordeal, though many more charged with blasphemy are languishing in Pakistani prisons,” Adams said. “Repealing the blasphemy law is necessary to ensure that all Pakistanis can live free from fear of unjust punishment and discrimination.”

 

New Education Policy to come in effect soon, to give right direction to youth: Pokhriyal

New Delhi:  The New Education Policy (NEP), which is being brought after 33 years will be true representative of Indian culture and values gelling with the needs of 21st century, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has said, adding the the Policy will come in effect soon.

The NEP will give right direction to the youth,  Pokhriyal said while laying the foundation stone of the new integrated campus of CBSE at Dwarka, on Friday. He further said that the draft NEP was prepared after long deliberation, suggestions and comments received from general public and its stakeholders.

Draft National Education Policy 2019 aims to universalise the pre-primary education by 2025 and provide foundational literacy/numeracy for all by 2025. The Draft National Education Policy, 2019 is out in the public domain. Drawing inputs from the T.S.R. Subramanian Committee report and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), the K. Kasturirangan Committee has produced the policy document.

Pokhriyal said India was a young country and CBSE could play a crucial role to nurture and guide the children to lead the world again.

While addressing the gathering the HRD Minister said, “As per the vision of our Prime Minister to save the environment, MHRD is discouraging the use of single use plastic in the Ministry as well as its affiliated organisations and autonomous bodies”.
The Ministry has also been running One Student – One Tree campaign to increase green cover of the country and save one litre of water daily to preserve water resources for future generations and students were participating enthusiastically in these campaigns, he said.
Present on the occasion was CBSE Chairperson Anita Karwal and other senior officials.
The new integrated campus of CBSE at Dwarka will be a state-of-the-art building while fulfilling the green building norms.

The Minister said, ” The new building must not be merely a building of concrete but a centre of vision for betterment of education which should be reflected through this building”.

The 12,000 sqm building was estimated to be completed in two years time.
The complex would include installation of efficient building management system that would facilitate energy conservation. Solar panels would be installed on the roof of the building that would produce 300 KWH of electricity.

Moreover, a sewage treatment plan had also been proposed for flushing in toilets and reuse of gray water in landscaping. These facilities being included in the integrated campus would also contribute towards environmental protection. Besides, latest security features have been taken care of in the design of the building.

In order to maintain better coordination among various branches and units of the Board in Delhi and to meet the increasing challenges due to increase in number of CBSE affiliated schools, the Board had earlier proposed to create an integrated office complex in Delhi and for this purpose, a plot of three acres was purchased from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) at Sector-23, Dwarka in the National capital.

Apart from providing diverse types of training to the teachers and principals of its affiliated schools through functioning centers of excellence, the Board has established 16 Regional Offices at Ajmer, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi East, Delhi West, Dehradun, Guwahati, Noida, Patna, Panchkula, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram.

Besides, the headquarters in Delhi, the CBSE has a vocational examination unit at Preet Vihar, Academic and Skills Education Unit at Rouse Avenue and Regional Office and CTET Unit at Patparganj, Delhi.

PM plogs at Mamallapuram beach

PM plog
PM plogs at a beach in Mamallapuram. (File Photo)

New Delhi: Leading by example as the foremost ambassador of ’Swachh Bharat’ (Clean India) mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi plogged at a beach in Mamallapuram for over 30 minutes during his morning stroll on October 12.

Prime Minister was taking a morning stroll along the shores of Mamallapuram during which he collected strewn plastic and garbage along the way.

He later tweeted, “Plogging at a beach in Mamallapuram this morning. It lasted for over 30 minutes. Also handed over my ‘collection’ to Jeyaraj, who is a part of the hotel staff. Let us ensure our public places are clean and tidy! Let us also ensure we remain fit and healthy.”

Indo-Bangla joint Naval exercise concludes

INDO - BANGLA
India and Bangladesh concluded joint naval exercise 'CORPAT'

New Delhi: Deepening their military and maritime relations, India and Bangladesh concluded the second edition of bilateral naval exercise ‘Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)’ in Northern Bay of Bengal on October 10.

The two-day CORPAT will be followed by the maiden edition of IN-BN bilateral exercise at Visakhapatnam from 12 to 16.

“INS Ranvijay, a guided-missile destroyer and INS Kuthar, an indigenously built missile Corvette will be participating in the CORPAT along with BNS Ali Haider, a Type 053 frigate and BNS Shadinota, a Type 056 stealth guided missile corvette,” said an official statement.

The IN-BN CORPAT which commenced back in 2018, is aimed at upgrading to a bilateral exercise with the navies engaging in seamanship evolutions, flying exercises with integral helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft at sea.

Additionally, exercises entailing the development of mutual communication and sharing of best practices would also be undertaken, adding a new dimension to the Indo – Bangladesh maritime relations.

“With a common territorial boundary of over 4000 km and a maritime boundary, navies of both the countries aim to practice and hone their mutual cooperation whilst patrolling near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) during the current edition of CORPAT,” the statement said.

It further added, “The sea phase would be followed by harbour phase that would include professional interaction between the navies, visits to the Indian Naval training and maintenance facilities at Visakhapatnam. The exercise would also include air familiarisation of BN aircrew towards a better understanding of MPA operations at INS Dega and a ten-day training exercise between IN Marine Commandos and BN SWADS.”

35% of under-five children in India are stunted, says national survey

Unicef India
File Photo: Courtesy Unicef India

NEW DELHI: In India 35 per cent of children under five are stunted, 17 per cent are wasted and 33 per cent are underweight, as per the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS). 

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) this week released the results of the nation’s first ever Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), conducted from 2016-18 in 30 states/Union Territories across the country.

The survey was conducted with the technical support by UNICEF. And through the generous financial support from Aditya and Megha Mittal, the United Kingdom-based philanthropists.

The groundbreaking national study is one of the largest micronutrient surveys ever conducted globally covering anthropometric assessments of 112,000 children from 0-19 years of age, including more than 51,000 biological samples for children’s micronutrient status and risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

According to the CNNS, For the first time, this study provides national-scale evidence and information on a broad set of indicators for all children and adolescents 0-19 years old which can be used to target scaled up nationwide solutions.

The CNNS survey shows that there is some progress in reduction in malnutrition, as well as effective reach of Government programmes to prevent Vitamin A and iodine deficiency in children 1-4 years. At the same time, the survey highlights that overweight and obesity increasingly begin in childhood with a growing threat of non-communicable diseases like diabetes (10 per cent) in school-aged children and adolescents.

The release of the survey has stimulated a national discussion about how to analyse this data to target effective programmes combatting child malnutrition and non-communicable diseases.

Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan commented on the release of the national survey, “The CNNS gives us the first comprehensive national set of data about child and adolescents nutrition, including the 5-14 year age group for the first time. This will help the Government accelerate progress using evidence-based policies and programmes to combat malnutrition and non-communicable diseases like diabetes in children and adolescents.”

US important and trusted partner of India: Rajnath

rajnath ted
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with US Senators Ted Cruz and Maggie Hassan

New Delhi: US Senators Ted Cruz from Texas and Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here on October 11. During the meeting,  Rajnath expressed satisfaction over the progress made in the partnership between India and US and discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral defence relationship.

Defence Minister termed the US as the world’s oldest democracy and one of the most important and trusted partners of India. And India – US cooperation has seen tremendous growth in the last five years, and he expressed hope that the strategic partnership will expand and flourish further in the coming years.

Rajnath appreciated the role played by the US in countering terrorism. He reiterated the Government of India’s commitment to work with the international community in combating the menace plaguing the world.

US Ambassador to India Mr Kenneth Juster and officials of Ministry of Defence were also present during the meet.

EESL, BSNL sign MoU to install 100 public charging stations in Punjab

BSNL
EESL and BSNL signed MoU to boost e-mobility in Punjab

New Delhi: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power, Government of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BSNL to boost e-mobility in Punjab by installing 100 public charging stations. 

Both EESL and BSNL have entered into this 10-year MOU with the objective of building an electric vehicle infrastructure in BSNL (Punjab Telecom Circle),  an Indian state-owned telecommunications company and explore synergy for further promoting electric vehicles (EVs), including electric two-wheelers in the state.

Under the MoU, EESL will make the entire upfront investment on services pertaining to the MoU, along with the operation and maintenance of the public charging infrastructure by using qualified personnel. BSNL would be responsible for providing the requisite space and power connections for installing the charging infrastructure.

Talking about EESL’s mission to build a robust EV infrastructure, Venkatesh Dwivedi, Director (Projects), EESL said, “Developing a strong supporting EV infrastructure is the key to cultivating consumer confidence in electric vehicles and would significantly enhance consumer convenience as well. EESL is leading initiatives to promote EV adoption in India under its national e-mobility programme. We are glad to partner with BSNL for synergistic action on setting up public charging infrastructure and services in Chandigarh.”

Several states in India have released policies for promoting local adoption of EVs. Installation of public charging stations would help in gaining considerable strides towards creating a sustainable EV ecosystem in the states. With installation of public charging stations, the range anxiety among residents will reduce considerably, which would spur the proliferation of e-mobility. This would help meet the state level targets of increasing EV adoption as well and will help bring down emission levels.

Taking forward the vision of the National Electric Mobility Programme, EESL has commissioned 300 AC and 170 DC chargers across India, with 65 public charging points currently operational in Delhi NCR. In pursuit of increasing the charging infrastructure penetration, EESL has also signed MoUs with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Noida Authority, Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (CMRCL), Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRCL), Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) for development of Public Charging Stations (PCS) in their respective areas.

With its innovative model of demand aggregation and bulk procurement, EESL receives electric vehicles and chargers at a significantly discounted rate vis-à-vis the actual market value. Further, with access to low cost funds, it is able to discover the most competitive project costs. Using this approach, EESL has established a sustainable business model, which makes EVs affordable for the end-consumers.

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