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Union Health Minister urges states to up healthcare spending

CCWHF
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Inaugurated the 13th CCHFW meeting.

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has urged Health Ministers from States/UTs to increase healthcare spending to a minimum 8% of their State budget to meet the goals of healthcare spending of National Health Policy 2017- 2.5% of GDP by 2025. 

Inaugurating the 13th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) on October 10, the minister added: “From the first CCHFW meeting to today, we together have achieved several health milestones, especially India being certified Polio-free. This has been possible because of our collaborative efforts. If all Health Ministers come together for a cause, no task can be impossible.” .

Ashwini Kumar Choubey, MoS (HFW), Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog, Ms. Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW), and Health Ministers from 13 states were among those present on the occasion. .

Harsh Vardhan stated that the purpose of the CCHFW meeting is to build a consensus on the national health priorities that is Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through Ayushman Bharat, eliminating TB and other priority agenda such as strengthen medical infrastructure. This can be achieved by collective increase in healthcare spending by the States/UTs to meet the goals of healthcare spending of National Health Policy 2017- 2.5% of GDP by 2025. “This is the first time that a government is so committed to healthcare and health care is on the top agenda.

This is clearly visible from the passionate address of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the recently concluded UN General Assembly where he stressed upon four pillars of healthcare, which included universal health coverage; mission mode interventions; quality and accessible affordable healthcare services; and also adequate infrastructure. “Health needs to become a social movement in every State & UT and the Eat Right and Fit India movements need to be taken up by States & UTs in a synergized manner, to ensure a healthy & robust India” Vardhan added .

The Minister also urged the Health Minister of Uttar Pradesh, who is also the Finance Minister of the State, to increase the health budget of the State and set an example for the rest to emulate.

Speaking at the occasion, Ms. Preeti Sudan, Secretary (HFW) said that the health Ministry is dedicated to the cause of effective, affordable, quality and accessible healthcare. She added that the CCHFW is integral to achievement of health goals of the country, “Without the political leadership and commitment of the States & UTs, healthcare cannot be effective”, she added.

Dr Vinod K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog said two priority areas for the public health sector. “First is increasing the health budgets by the Centre and the States/UTs, and second in enhancing the health infrastructure. The NHP 2017 commitment to increasing the health budget cannot be achieved without States contribution”, he stated. He added that there is a need to engage more with the private sector for augmenting the efforts of the public sector to bring in equity to increase the number of beds and hospitals to meet the global standards of health infrastructure.

New Delhi to promote ‘India Story’, raise economic sensitivities in Bangkok RCEP Ministerial meeting

piyush goyal
File Photo: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: India is geared for the crucial two-day multilateral Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations in Bangkok from  October 11 where it will not only promote India Story but will also raise its economic concerns and sensitivities. Commerce and Industry Minister on October 10 held several consultations with Indian industry for firming up India’s position and for taking into consideration industry concerns.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal chaired several inter-ministerial meetings at the official level and also with Ministers of the key line Ministries. He will also be holding a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan, Singapore, China, Australia and New Zealand during the Bangkok RCEP meeting.

Initially, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was expected to attend the meeting but now Piyush Goyal will attend the meeting, which will be the last before the 3rd Leaders Summit to be held on November 4, 2019 in Bangkok. 

The 28thround of negotiations for RCEP at the expert level had concluded at Da Nang, Vietnam, which was held from September 19 – 27, 2019. In this round of negotiations, meeting of the Trade Negotiating Committee was held in which senior officials participated and discussed market access on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Investment as well as on other areas like Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce. Out of 25 chapters, 21 have been concluded. Crucial chapters of Investment, Electronic Commerce, Rules of Origin and Trade Remedies are yet to be settled.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with six partners namely People’s Republic of China (ACFTA), Republic of Korea (AKFTA), Japan (AJCEP), India (AIFTA) and Australia and New Zealand (AANZFTA).

In order to broaden and deepen the engagement among parties and to enhance their participation in economic linkages and to enhance trade and investment related activities as well as to contribute to minimising development gap among the partie,s the 16 Economic Ministers of countries in this region endorsed the Guiding Principles and Objective for Negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in August 2012.

The objective of launching RCEP negotiation is to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement among the ASEAN member states and ASEAN’s FTA partners. The RCEP negotiations commenced in early 2013.

NIIF-EESL announce Joint Venture for smart meter roll-out programme

niif

Mumbai/Delhi: National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) on 10th October announced a new Joint Venture, IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited (“IntelliSmart”), to implement, finance and operate the smart meter roll-out program of power distribution companies across India.

Smart meters will lay the foundation for smart grids which will be crucial to meet challenges of the evolving energy mix and the Government of India’s target of providing uninterrupted 24×7 power supply to every Indian.

The Government of India plans to install 25 crore smart meters with the replacement of conventional meters, from which billing efficiency can improve from 80 percent to 100 percent, and has the potential to increase DISCOM revenues by INR 1,104 billion.

EESL, has been spearheading the smart meter deployment in India. This partnership of NIIF & EESL will give a fillip to the Smart Meter ambition of the Government of India. 

Announcing the Joint Venture, Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL stated, “India has embarked upon a mission to reduce AT&C losses; proven world over for enabling universal, transparent and responsible energy consumption, and smart meters can play a central role in enabling such an endeavour. We are proud to have an established and experienced institution like NIIF partner with us in scaling our ongoing efforts to transform the market for this technology, and to accelerate its application across the country. This venture will support the ambitions of ongoing government programmes, such as UDAY and National Smart Grid Mission.

Sujoy Bose, Managing Director & CEO, NIIF added, “IntelliSmart will support the efforts of the Indian power sector as it strives towards delivering dependable 24/7 service to end-consumers.

Smart meters will play a transformational role in bringing efficiencies and generating significant commercial benefits for power distribution companies, while at the same time empowering end-consumers to make informed choices regarding power consumption. We are delighted to partner with EESL, which has a proven track record of driving energy efficiency by operating at a substantial scale through its strong relationship with all stakeholders.”

Smart meters communicate on a real-time basis with distribution companies enabling remote meter reading and prompt identification of network failures, thereby reducing response time and improving the quality of networks and services. Smart meters also bring benefits to end-consumers by empowering them with consumption data thereby enabling households to lower their energy bills by becoming more energy efficient and contributing to greater security and affordability of the Indian energy market.

Kovind confers ‘President’s Colour to Army Aviation Corps

Presidents Colours to Army Aviation Corps
President Ramnath Kovind presented Presidents Colours to Army Aviation Corps

New Delhi: President Ramnath Kovind conferred the prestigious President’s Colour to the Army Aviation Corps for their contribution to the Nation in Nashik on October 10. The President’s Colours is the highest honour bestowed upon a Regiment of the Armed forces in recognition of their invaluable contribution to the security of the nation during peace and hostilities.

“The Army Aviation Corps has earned 273 honours and awards for conspicuous gallantry and distinguished service. his speaks volumes about the exceptional valour and high spirit of the Corps personnel and is a model for all soldiers and officers of our armed forces,” said President on the occasion.

“They have been excellent ambassadors of our country while operating overseas in countries like Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while serving at United Nations peacekeeping Missions,” President added.

Dedicating an event to the armed forces of our country, President Kovind, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces paid homage to the martyrs of the Army Aviation Corps, stating, “Their blood and sacrifice have secured our sovereignty and brought glory to our nation.”

“The Army Aviation Corps has been true force multipliers in some of the most inhospitable terrain and adverse climatic conditions in the world. The Indian Army and the nation is proud of them,” he added. Subsequently, the President visited the School of Artillery, Deolali and interacted with the gunners.

Bazaarvoice eyes India’s technology talent for global presence

Bazaarvoice
Bazaarvoice expands global presence by expanding Software Engineering operations to India

New Delhi: Proliferating the digital and innovation trade globally, Bazaarvoice has announced the expansion of its global Software Engineering operations to India. It is establishing a new presence in Bengaluru that will focus on increasing its innovation capacity beyond the corporate headquarters in Austin, Texa.

Highlighting the importance of strategic product innovation, the new move into India will mark the next chapter of growth and evolution for Bazaarvoice’s business.

By the end of 2020, the company is planning to engage approximately 30% of the company’s engineers based out of Bengaluru.

To lead the expansion into India, the company has appointed Srini Basava, who is serving as Vice President of Research & Development and India site leader for PTC with almost 20 years’ experience in software development to the position of Vice President, Software Engineering and India country head.

Srini Basava said, “Our mission is to enable the very best from our professionals. Bazaarvoice engineering teams build software that enables a billion consumers to make smart buying decisions. We want our engineering teams to be innovative and agile, which means we are focused on building a diverse team, supporting them effectively and making it easier for them to do their jobs.”

 

Fritz Hesse, Chief Technology Officer said, “We want to increase our global brand presence by launching in a strong market that has become known as the Silicon Valley of India. Bengaluru has exceptional talent and a robust ecosystem that is a great match for our complex technology needs and creative & collaborative global culture.  We believe this choice will enable us to scale and grow at a high rate.”

Over the last two years, Bazaarvoice boosted the scale of its engineering department by launching its first international R&D lab in Belfast. It also saw double-digit growth in its revenue and customer base in EMEA and APAC.

NFL gives over Rs 28 cr dividend to Govt.

NFL

New Delhi: National Fertisers Ltd has presented dividend of Rs. 28.22 crore to Government of .India for the year 2018-19 in respect of shares held by it.

Shri Manoj Mishra, Chairman & Managing Director today presented Dividend Cheque of Rs. 28.22 crore to the Hon’ble Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda in the presence of Secretary (Fertilizers), Shri Chhabilendra Roul. Senior officials of the Deptt. Of  Fertilizers and NFL were also present on the occasion.

It is noteworthy that NFL has presented a cumulative dividend of Rs.1156.97 crore to the Government till date against paid up equity of Rs. 490.58 crore.

India refutes Crisil, says will achieve renewable energy target by 2022

Renewable energy
India to achieve renewable energy target of 1,75,000 MW by 2022

New Delhi: Refuting all the claims cited in a CRISIL report, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has exuded confidence that India will achieve renewable energy target of 1,75,000 MW by 2022, stating, “Ministry is not only confident of meeting 1,75,000 MW target but exceeding it by 2022.”

“By the end of September 2019, India has installed more than 82,580 MW of renewable energy capacity with around 31,150 MW of capacity under various stages of installation. Thus, by the first quarter of 2021, India would have installed more than 1,13,000 MW of renewable power capacity, the statement added.

“Renewable energy has emerged as a true multi-benefit system, combining ecological necessities with domestic priorities, economic and job creation opportunities. If large hydro included, India stands third in renewable power capacity globally,” said MNRE in a statement.

It further added, “This would constitute nearly 65 per cent of the targeted capacity. Besides this, around 39,000 MW of renewable power capacity is at various stages of bidding which would be installed by September 2021, taking the percentage of installed capacity to over 87 per cent of the targeted capacity. With only 23,000 MW of renewable power capacity left to bid, India is confident that the target of installing 1,75,000 MW of renewable power capacity will not only be met but exceeded.”

Since March 2014, India’s renewable power capacity has increased from 34000 MW to 82,580 MW recording 138 per cent growth. Globally, India stands 5th in solar power, 4th in wind power, and 4th in total renewable power installed capacity.

MNRE slams CRISIL report which says, “India may fall short of its declared renewable energy target of 1,75,000 MW by the year 2022.”

The statement said, “The CRISIL report being referred to by the media is neither factually correct nor takes into account initiatives taken by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to facilitate accelerated development and deployment of renewable energy in the country. This lacks in all respects as CRISIL did not even bother to consult this Ministry for its views.”

Govt lifts advisory on J&K bound tourists; assures them assistance, logistical support

KASHMIR

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on October 10 lifted the security advisory that asked tourists to leave the Valley in the run-up to abolition of the special status granted to the state under Article 370.

While withdrawing the advisory, the Government hs also assured the tourists desirous of visiting the Valley of “providing all necessary assistance and logistical support”,

The J&K Home Department circular dated 9th October 2019 to this effect said, “The Security Advisory requesting tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir to curtail their stay in the Kashmir Valley, issued vide Government order No. 881-Hom of 2019 dated. 02.08.2019, is hereby withdrawn. The tourists desirous of undertaking visit to the State shall be provided all necessary assistance and logistical support”.

The decision to lift the advisory came at a Situation cum Security Review Meeting chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on 7th October 2019.  Besides the Advisors and the Chief Secretary, the meeting was also attended by the Principal Secretaries of Planning and Housing & Urban Development Department.

For the past six weeks, all the security restrictions were removed in most parts of J&K and the Governor has been focussing on bringing life back to normal.

Some of the major decisions taken in the past in the Situation cum Security Review Meetings include reopening of Higher Secondary Schools; Colleges and Universities; restarting public transport; opening additional travel counters at TRC Srinagar; opening 25 internet kiosks in each district to facilitate the public and Government departments; monitoring attendance in Government offices, etc.

The Governor has been holding Situation cum Security Review Meetings on a daily basis for 2 hours generally from 6 to 8 pm each day since 5th August, 2019. Initially, the meetings focussed on reviewing the security scenario following the imposition of restrictions after constitutional changes that were made.

In October 7 meeting the Governor was briefed about the BDC elections. He was informed that there is active interest in the BDC elections and most of the seats of Chairpersons of BDCs would be filled. All AROs and AEROs have been provided mobile phone facility to ensure smooth conduct of elections. Nomination papers were accepted even on 7th October 2019.

The Governor was informed that as BDC elections were party based, the delegations of parties whose leaders are in jail are being allowed to meet party presidents once, so that they can take a decision on elections and authorise someone to approve candidates.

The Governor was also briefed about the progress in apple procurement which has crossed 850 tonnes and worth Rs. 3.25 crores. Some changes in the rates of apple are being made which will be announced shortly.

Govt to work with WHO to improve India’s health parameters, releases strategy document

Dr Harshwadhan-2
Harsh Vardhan releases strategy document to work with WHO

New Delhi: Government launched a key health strategy document that entails proactive cooperation with World Health Organisation in improving India’s health parameters over a period till 2023. The WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023: A Time of Transition’ was launched by Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan on October 9.

The Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) provides a strategic roadmap for WHO to work with the Government of India towards achieving its health sector goals, in improving the health of its population and bringing in transformative changes in the health sector.

The implementation of this CCS will build on the remarkable successes in public health that India has demonstrated to the world. The India CCS is one of the first that fully aligns itself with the newly adopted WHO 13th General Programme of Work and its ‘triple billion’ targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO South-East Asia Region’s eight Flagship Priorities. It captures the work +of the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework for 2018–2022.

Dr HarshVardhan

“The four areas identified for strategic cooperation of WHO with the country encompass: to accelerate progress on UHC, to promote health and wellness by addressing determinants of health, to protect the population better against health emergencies, and to enhance India’s global leadership in health”, Harsh Vardhan said.

He added that under the vision and leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has seen phenomenal advances made in various aspects of the health sector. He stressed on the need for health to be made a people’s movement where the positive health attitude is inculcated in everyone, and everyone takes responsibility of their own health through preventive and promotive health approach.

He mentioned about various social initiatives taken up such as Eat Right India movement, Fit India movement and Poshan Abhiyaan that have collectively engaged with the people and enhanced the awareness around these crucial health areas through people’s participation.

“Besides the health priorities detailed in the strategy, focus needs to be given on other equally pertinent health areas of environmental and occupational health, accidents and road injuries, and good nutrition and food safety’’, He added.

Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India said “The implementation of this CCS will build on the remarkable successes in public health that India has demonstrated to the world. It’s a great opportunity to showcase India as a model to the world in initiatives such as digital health, access to quality medicines and medical products, comprehensive hepatitis control program and Ayushman Bharat. We are geared to step-up to leverage opportunities and address challenges to ensure maximum public health impact.”

The CCS outlines how WHO can support the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and other allied Ministries to drive impact at the country level. The strategy document builds on other key strategic policy documents including India’s National Health Policy 2017, the many pathbreaking initiatives India has introduced — from Ayushman Bharat to its National Viral Hepatitis programme and promotion of digital health amongst others.

Low-cost ‘Gemini’ device to warn fishermen of disasters launched

Low-cost ‘Gemini’ device
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launched Low-cost ‘Gemini’ device to aid fishermen

New Delhi: In a major technological breakthrough that will fill the gap in emergency communication and information to fishermen, the government on October 9 launched a low-cost indigenous satellite-based communication device ‘Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information’ (GEMINI). 

“The communication gap was severely felt during the Ockhi cyclone in 2017, when fishermen went out, for deep-sea fishing before the onset of the cyclone and could not be informed about the developing cyclone. This communication gap resulted in loss of life, serious injuries to those rescued and severe damages to fishing boats and fishing gear,” said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan while inaugurating GEMINI.

This will enable seamless and effective dissemination of emergency information and communication on disaster warnings, Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) and Ocean States Forecasts (OSF) to fishermen.

“The satellite-based communication is the only suitable solution for the dissemination of such emergency information and affordable satellite-based communication system should be made part of the dissemination chain to deal with cyclones, high waves and tsunamis,” the minister added. Pradeep Singh Kharola (Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation) and Madhavan Nair Rajeevan (Secretary, MoES) were also present on the occasion. 

The new device works using communication system GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) to transmit the PFZ, OSF and disaster warnings to fishermen with system consisting of three geosynchronous satellites (GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15).  

This device receives and transfers the data received from GAGAN satellite to the mobile through Bluetooth communication. A mobile application developed by INCOIS decodes and displays the information in nine regional languages.  

Presently, the advisories are not able to disseminate information through multiple communication modes including the disaster warnings, when the fishermen move away from the coast beyond 10-12 km (typical ranges of mobile phones and VHF). That remained as a major limitation in disseminating the information to fishermen who go in the sea beyond 50 nautical miles; sometimes up to 300 nautical miles and beyond to conduct multi-day fishing.

He also launched the improvised version of Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) forecasts developed by INCOIS, which will provide advisories on PFZ to fishermen 3 days in advance. The forecasts are generated using numerical models operationalized by INCOIS and helps overcome the operational difficulties in providing the PFZ advisories during overcast skies based on satellite data.

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