Rohingya Muslims.

new humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Myanmar after the military crackdown on “Islamist jihadists” in the Rakhine State, home to more than one million Rohingya Muslims. The military claims it began the counter-terror operation after three border security posts came under attack on October 9. But since then more than 130 people have been killed in the State and 30,000 displaced, triggering a new wave of migration of Rohingyas to neighbouring countries. The army denies targeting civilians, but satellite images taken after the start of the crackdown indicate that hundreds of buildings were burnt down; reports suggest that even those who tried to flee the country were shot dead. The migrants are not welcome in Myanmar’s neighbourhood either. The violence itself is not surprising given the record of persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. Many in the Buddhist-majority country call them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh though they have been living in Rakhine for generations. Myanmar’s military started a systematic persecution of the Rohingyas in the 1970s when thousands were deported to Bangladesh. The rest were stripped of citizenship by the junta, which often used the Rohingya problem to drum up support for itself among the Buddhist majority.

What is surprising this time is the silence of the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Ms. Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto ruler, has not said much about the military operation in Rakhine, or spoken for the Rohingya cause. When her party took power in April, ending decades of military rule, many had hoped that it would signal the dawn of a new era of peace and democracy in Myanmar. But the government has been largely ineffective in tackling internal security and humanitarian issues. The operation in Rakhine shows the change of guard in government hasn’t brought any meaningful difference to Myanmar’s most disadvantaged sections. True, the army still remains a powerful institution. It controls the security, defence and border ministries besides wielding considerable economic power. It is also possible that the generals are escalating the conflict on their own. Even so, the government cannot remain in denial about the atrocities. Ms. Suu Kyi bears responsibility for what is happening in Rakhine now because her party rules, not the junta. For decades, Myanmar persecuted the Rohingya people while the world ignored their plight. By all accounts, that situation has not changed.

Best test series for UKPCS-2016 PRE EXAM

PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma

Sure PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma would have preferred to become first Indians to win both men’s and women’s Super Series titles since Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth at the 2015 India Open. But with a run to the finals at the $400,000 Hong Kong Open, the two have met some personal goals.
Two Super Series finals in as many weeks is no mean feat from Sindhu. Having won the China Open Super Series Premier, the 21-year-old’s immediate target was to qualify for the year-ending World Super Series finals. The inspired run in Hong Kong not only paved her way to Dubai but also got her back into the top 10.
In Sunday’s final, Sindhu lost to Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying 15-21, 17-21. “It was a good game overall, but it was her day,” was Sindhu’s assessment.
It was Ying’s day alright. The 22-year-old had lost the last meeting against Sindhu, in the Rio Olympics round of 16. But on Sunday, she got her way with a mix of well-timed lobs and drop shots. Known to be adventurous, imaginative and unorthodox, Ying would hold the racquet up and push at the last possible moment. When back in the court, she’d trump Sindhu with disguised drops and well-placed smashes. At the net, she’d outmove the Indian and control the tempo. Sindhu’s trademark overhead smashes were few and far between, with the 5’10” Indian struggling to reach shots and stay in play.
Rightfully so, Ying became the world No. 1 with the win, after beating her predecessor and reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin twice in two weeks. And while Marin is faltering as the year draws to a close, Sindhu, the other finalist in Rio, is finishing strong.

Coral Reef Mapping and Reef Health Monitoring

Coral Reef Mapping and Reef Health Monitoring

Figure: Distrubution of Corals along the Indian Coast.

Coral reefs are one of the most biologically diverse marine eco-systems on the Earth. Corals grow over geological time scales and have been in existence for about 200 million years. Corals reached their current level of diversity 50 million years ago. Coral reefs play an important role in marine ecosystem and support the habitats of flora and fauna in the sea. Ecologically, coral reefs are important because they are the counterpart to the tropical rain forest in terms of species diversity and biological productivity in the Ocean. The vast diversity of animal and plant species that contributes to its system and genetic heritage that it represents are increasingly at risk, since the last few decades. Coral reef enables the formation of associated eco-systems which allow the formation of essential habitats, fisheries and livelihoods. In addition, coral reefs are climatologically important because they provide an accurate long-term record of the climate change and help in extending our knowledge of seasonal climate variability in many remote tropical oceans.

Coral reefs are present in the areas of Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep Islands and Malvan. Coral eco-morphological maps were produced using satellite imageries for Andaman & Nicobar, Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar and Malvan areas are produced in 1:25,000 scales. These maps indicate the condition of corals, density, etc. and will be baseline information. It is proposed to bring out such maps at periodical frequency for comparing the conditions and the extent of the corals and for taking appropriate action to protect the coral eco-system.

Major threats for the corals

• Natural: Environmental-Temperature, Sediment Deposition, Salinity, pH, etc
• Anthropogenic: Mining, Bottom Fishing, Tourism, pollution, etc.

Background

Currently, there are many global initiatives such as Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA), and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) playing an important role in monitoring the reef zones and raising awareness in the public. To increase awareness regarding the importance of reefs, the ICRI has declared the year 2008 as the International Year of the Reef. Similarly, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), India has included the studies on coral reef under the Coastal Zone Studies (CZS). Satellite Oceanography is the feasible cost-effective technology to address the mapping and monitoring aspects of the coral reefs. The baseline maps are on coral eco-morphology for the Indian Reefs except Lakshadweep have been prepared.

Functions of Coral Reefs: Coral reefs are important for many different reasons aside from supposedly containing the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. They:

• protect coastlines from the damaging effects of wave action and tropical storms
• provide habitats and shelter for many marine organisms
• are the source of nitrogen and other essential nutrients for marine food chains
• assist in carbon and nitrogen fixing
• help with nutrient recycling.

This is why large numbers of marine species live in reefs. Other reasons why they are so important include:

• The fishing industry depends on coral reefs because many fish spawn there and juvenile fish spend time there before making their way to the open sea
• The Great Barrier Reef generates more than1.5 billion dollars every year for the Australian economy, from fishing and tourism
• The study of coral reefs is important for providing a clear, scientifically-testable record of climatic events over the past million years or so. This includes records of recent major storms and human impacts that are recorded by the changes in coral growth patterns.

Importance of healthy ecosystems: Reducing biodiversity through the extinction of species inevitably leads to the breakdown in ecosystem health and function. Healthy ecosystems are essential to provide us with:

• natural resources, such as foods and drugs
• services we depend upon, such as recycling and purification of water and air, the creation of soil, and the break-down of pollutants
• social, cultural and recreational activities, such as those found in our many unique National Parks, World Heritage Areas and the other special places we like to visit
• high species diversity.

No country for the Rohingyas

new humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Myanmar after the military crackdown on “Islamist jihadists” in the Rakhine State, home to more than one million Rohingya Muslims. The military claims it began the counter-terror operation after three border security posts came under attack on October 9. But since then more than 130 people have been killed in the State and 30,000 displaced, triggering a new wave of migration of Rohingyas to neighbouring countries. The army denies targeting civilians, but satellite images taken after the start of the crackdown indicate that hundreds of buildings were burnt down; reports suggest that even those who tried to flee the country were shot dead. The migrants are not welcome in Myanmar’s neighbourhood either. The violence itself is not surprising given the record of persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. Many in the Buddhist-majority country call them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh though they have been living in Rakhine for generations. Myanmar’s military started a systematic persecution of the Rohingyas in the 1970s when thousands were deported to Bangladesh. The rest were stripped of citizenship by the junta, which often used the Rohingya problem to drum up support for itself among the Buddhist majority.

What is surprising this time is the silence of the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Ms. Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto ruler, has not said much about the military operation in Rakhine, or spoken for the Rohingya cause. When her party took power in April, ending decades of military rule, many had hoped that it would signal the dawn of a new era of peace and democracy in Myanmar. But the government has been largely ineffective in tackling internal security and humanitarian issues. The operation in Rakhine shows the change of guard in government hasn’t brought any meaningful difference to Myanmar’s most disadvantaged sections. True, the army still remains a powerful institution. It controls the security, defence and border ministries besides wielding considerable economic power. It is also possible that the generals are escalating the conflict on their own. Even so, the government cannot remain in denial about the atrocities. Ms. Suu Kyi bears responsibility for what is happening in Rakhine now because her party rules, not the junta. For decades, Myanmar persecuted the Rohingya people while the world ignored their plight. By all accounts, that situation has not changed.

PMs Speech at a function to commemorate Constitution Day, at Parliament House Annexe, 26 Nov 2016

Text of PMs Speech at a function to commemorate Constitution Day, at Parliament House Annexe, 26 Nov 2016

आदरणीय सुमित्रा जी एवं उपस्थित सभी वरिष्‍ठ महानुभाव

26 नवंबर संविधान दिवस के रूप में मनाना 2015 से प्रारंभ किया| कल्‍पना ये है कि हमारी नई पीढ़ी इस सविंधान के साथ उसकी प्रक्रिया के साथ उसके उद्देश्‍यों के साथ कनेक्‍ट रहनी चाहिए |ऐसा न हो कि सब कुछ चलता है लेकिन कैसे चलता है पता ही न हो| और ऐसी चीजों का एक निरंतर पुन: स्‍मरण आवश्‍यक होता है | जो मूल तत्‍वों का बार बार स्‍मरण करते हैं तो तत्‍कालीन समय के संदर्भ में करते हैं।

जिस विषय का अर्थ आज से 40 साल पहले होता होगा हो सकता है उसी बात का अर्थ दस साल के बाद अलग रूप में दिखेगा एक progressive format होता है लेकिन वो तब होता है जब इन मूलभूत चीजों के साथ हम हर चीज को कसते रहेगें, तौलते रहेंगें। हमारे स्‍कूल कॉलेजो के सभी बालकों को संविधान का preamble कम से कम साल में एक बार सामूहिक रूप से उसका पठन हो, उद्घोष हो, व्‍याख्‍या हो इससे लाभ ये होगा कि संविधान के महात्‍मय का सामान्‍य जीवन में एक स्‍थान बनेगा | बहुत कम देशों के जीवन में ऐसी घटना शायद घटती है कि जिसमें संविधान का उल्‍लेख बार-बार आता है लेकिन भारत एक देश ऐसा है कि जहां जब-जब हम संविधान का स्‍मरण करते हैं हमें डॉ बाबा साहेब अम्‍बेडकर का पुण्‍य स्‍मरण साथ-साथ याद आता है यानि बाबा साहेब और संविधान| संविधान यानि बाबा साहेब, बाबा साहेब यानि  संविधान| ऐसी जीवन की सिद्धि किसी भी व्‍यक्ति के जीवन में असंभव है जो बाबा साहेब अम्‍बडेकर के जीवन में हम आज अनुभव कर रहे हैं बाबा साहेब ने नहीं कहा था| उनके कालखंड में शायद किसी ने इतना  recognize  भी नहीं किया होगा लेकिन जैसे समय बीतता गया हम सबको लग रहा है कि कितना महान काम हम लोगों के लिए हो रहा है|

संविधान, समय ऐसा बदला है कि संविधान में तो हर कोई अपने अधिकार ढूंढता रहता है अपने अधिकारों को और अधिक हवा भरने का भी प्रयास करता है | बड़े चतुर लोग संविधान को ही आधार बनाकर के अधिकार का दुरूपयोग करने की हद तक भी कभी-कभी सीमांए लांघ देते हैं|इससे एक anarchy पैदा होती है और बाबा साहेब अम्‍बेडकर grammar of  anarchy की बात करते थे| ये हम सबका दायित्‍व होता है नागरिक हो , शासन व्‍यवस्‍था हो सरकार हो, शासन व्‍यवस्‍था के भिन्‍न-भिन्‍न अंग हों। हर एक के बीच तालमेल बिठाने का सबसे बड़ा अगर source है तो हमारा संविधान है| Lubrication करने की ताकत भी है तो संविधान में हैं, रक्षा करने की ताकत है तो वो संविधान में है और इसलिए इन संविधान की आत्‍मा के साथ हमारा जुड़ना बहुत जरूरी है, सिर्फ धाराओं के साथ जुड़ने से बात चलती नहीं है | Spirit of the constitution और इसलिए आज उसकी प्रोसेस की जो किताब निकली है  वो शायद spirit of the constitution के लिए उस एक पन्‍ने को खोलने के लिए शायद हमें काम आ सकता है तो मैं इसका भी स्‍वागत करता हूं|

ये बात सही है कि देश आजाद हुआ कर्तव्‍य भावना की उत्‍कृष्‍ट अभिव्‍यक्ति के बाद| देश का हर नागरिक आजादी के आंदोलन को अपना कर्तव्‍य मानता है| देश आजाद होने तक कर्तव्‍य का भाव इतनी ऊंचाइयों पर पहुंचा था जो बेमिसाल था और शताब्‍दी से भी ज्‍यादा अधिक समय तक वो भाव लोग जीते थे। लेकिन आजादी के तुरंत बाद उस ऊंचाई से अचानक हम ऐसे नीचे आए कि कर्तव्‍य का सारा भाव अधिकार में परिवर्तित हो गया और अघिकार, हक, मेरा क्‍या इसने इस प्रकार से जीवन को ग्रथित कर लिया कि कर्तव्‍य का लोभ होता चला जा रहा है |

हम संविधान के माध्‍यम से कर्तव्‍य और अधिकार का संतुलन कैसे बिठाए देश के सामने चुनौती है| और उस दिशा में इस प्रकार के प्रयत्‍नों से रास्‍ते खोजे जा रहे हैं| हम 26 जनवरी बड़े गर्व के साथ मनाते हैं लेकिन हम न भूलें कि 26 नवंबर के बिना 26 जनवरी अधूरी है | 26 जनवरी की ताकत 26 नवंबर में है और इसलिए इस 26 नवंबर संविधान दिवस के रूप में नई पीढ़ी के लिए विशेष रूप से उसका पुण्‍य स्‍मरण करते हुए उसकी बारिकियों को जानने का प्रयास अलग-अलग जगह पर अलग-अलग काम हो करते रहना चाहिए|

ऑनलाइन काम्‍पीटिशन हो कभी संविधान पर बालकों के लिए essay writing competition हो| यही चीजें हैं आखिरकर लोगों को इसके साथ जोड़ती है| इन दिनों भ्रष्‍टाचार, काला धन उसके खिलाफ एक बहुत बड़ी लड़ाई है देश लड़ रहा है देश का सामान्‍य नागरिक इस लड़ाई का सिपाही बना है | उसको लगता है कि सत्‍तर साल तक इसी कानूनों नियमों का दुरूपयोग करने वालों ने देश को भ्रष्‍टाचार में डुबो दिया है | संविधान कानून का दुरूपयोग करके किया है | इस सरकार के इस निर्णय के संबंध में बहुत कम आलोचना हो रही है लेकिन कुछ लोगों की आलोचना क्‍या है, आलेचना ये है कि सरकार ने पूरी तैयारी नहीं की।

मैं समझता हूं कि मुद्दा ये नहीं है कि सरकार ने पूरी तैयारी नहीं की। ऐसे लोगों की पीड़ा इस बात की है कि सरकार ने किसी को तैयारी करने का समय नहीं दिया। दुख इस बात का है अगर उनको एक 72 घंटे भी तैयारी के मिल जाते तो तो वाह-वाह मोदी जैसा कोई नहीं, कितना बड़ा अहम कदम उठाया है और इसलिए फिर भी इतना बड़ा देश है निर्णय बहुत बड़ा है देश का उज्‍जवल भविष्‍य देखनें वालो से इतनी अपेक्षा है कि आइए हम सब मिलकर के सामान्‍य मानवीय की कठिनाइयों को दूर करें| इस महायज्ञ में सफल होकर के विश्‍व के सामने भारत को एक ताकतवर देश के रूप में हम उभारें, सारा देश,  सारी दुनिया जब सर्वे होता है भ्रष्‍टाचार की कतार में बहुत अग्रिम पंक्ति में भारत का नाम नजर आता है, भारत को नीचा देखना पड़ता है। हमने गर्व से माथा ऊंचा करना है और इसलिए फैसले लेने होते हैं और फैसलों को अनुपालन करके सिद्धियां भी प्राप्‍त करनी होती हैँ और मैं निमंत्रण देता हूं सभी राजनीतिक दलों को सामाजिक संस्‍थाओं को, मीडिया को दूसरा डिजिटल करेंसी हर किसी को उसके पैसों का हक है, हर किसी को उसके पैसों को उपयोग करने का हक है कोई रोकता नहीं है लेकिन जरूरी नहीं कि हर बार नोट हाथ में हो तभी उपयोग हो आज व्‍यवस्‍थाएं बहुत उपलब्‍ध है| आप अपने मोबाइल फोन से भी अपने सारे रुपये जहां खर्च करने हैं कर सकते हो, आपके पाई-पाई पर आपका हक है मैं इस माध्‍यम से जब संविधान की चर्चा हो रही है संविधान इन व्‍यवस्‍थाओं को विरक्षक है।

 मैं देशवासियों से और खासकर के समाज का नेतृत्‍व करने वाले हर शख्‍स से मैं मीडिया से आग्रह करता हूं जिस देश के पास पैंसठ प्रतिशत नौजवान हो 35 से कम उम्र के नौजवान हो, जिस देश में 100 करोड़ से ज्‍यादा मोबाइल फोन हो जिस देश में अब टेक्‍नोलॉजी मोबाइल फोन से भी कारोबार करने के लिए सुविधा उपलब्‍ध हो सभी बैंक की अपनी एप हो तो हम क्‍यों न लोगों को प्रेरित करें, लोगों को प्रशिक्षित करें और ये कोई कठिन काम नहीं है जब आज हम व्‍हाटपअप कहां सीखने गये थे कि किसी इंजीनियर कॉलेज में जाकर के आइटी कॉलेज में जाकर के अनपढ़ भी अनपढ़ आदमी को मालूम है कि व्‍हॉटसअप कैसे देखना है व्‍हॉटसअप कैसे फॉरवर्ड करना है जितनी सरलता से व्‍हॉटसअप फॉरवर्ड होता है उतनी ही सरलता से हम शॉपिंग भी कर सकते हैं अपने मोबाइल फोन से| देश का उज्‍ज्‍वल भविष्‍य के लिए हमने ट्रांसपेरेंसी लाने की आवश्‍यकता है, डिजिटल करेंसी की ओर जाने की आवश्‍यकता है और हिन्‍दुस्‍तान की 500 शहर, 500 शहर अगर एक हफ्ते में अगर चाहे तो इस काम को कर सकते हैं। आपको हैरानी होगी 8 नवंबर के इस निर्णय के परिणाम का सबसे बड़ा फायदा किसने उठाया मैंने कल हिसाब लिया |कुछ नगरपालिका, महानगरपालिकाओं का बहुत कम ईनी-गिनी पलिका, महानगरपालिका | कोई 40-50 का मुझे बताया गया | पहले तीन साढे तीन हजार करोड़ टेक्‍स आता था 8 नवंबर के बाद 13 हजार करोड़ उनके खजाने में जमा हो गया| ये पैसा किसके काम आएगा उस गांव में गरीब बस्‍ती में कहीं रास्‍ते बनेंगे, कहीं बिजली लगेगी कहीं पानी के नल लगेंगे एक समाज जीवन में क्रांति की दिशा में काम कर रहा है| और इसलिए राजनीति के ऊपर भी समाज जिनके बहुत काम करने होते हैं संविधान हमें वो प्ररेणा देता है| संविधान हमें हमारी विरासतों को संभालने की जिम्‍मेदारी देता है|  लिखा हुआ है उसमें हमारी महान विरासतों को संभालना ये हमारी जिम्‍मेदारी है|

 आइए हम सब मिलकर के बाबा साहेब अम्‍बेडकर ने जो महान कार्य किया है उसके शब्‍दों को और भावों को पीढ़ी दर पीढ़ी समयानुकूल संदर्भ में हम उसको जीके सीखें, जीना सीखें, जीकर के दिखाएं और देश को हर पल नई ताकत, नई ऊर्जा देते रहे|

मैं सुमित्रा जी का हद्य से अभिनंदन करता हूं इस बार पार्लियामेंट नहीं थी 26 तारीख को छुट्टी थी फिर भी उन्‍होंने इस संविधान दिवस के महात्‍मय को बरकरार रखने के लिए इतना बड़ा प्रकल्‍प किया|  स्‍टेट में भी उसका initiative लिया गया, स्‍कूल कॉलेज में initiative लिया गया और धीरे-धीरे करके ये भी एक महत्‍वपूर्ण अवसर के रूप में बनेगा ये विश्‍वास है हमें इस समय मुझे आने का अवसर मिला मेरे समय की कठिनाई के कारण आपको भी जरा जल्‍दी-जल्‍दी आना पड़ा इसके लिए मैं क्षमा चाहता हूं|

Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development Goals

                                                                    

                                                                    

The Government of India is implementing the following interventions under the National Health Mission (NHM) all across the country, including the State of Uttar Pradesh, to strengthen primary health care services, while maintaining a continuum of care from community to facility in order to reduce child mortality rate:

        i.            Promotion of Institutional deliveries through cash incentive under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) which entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free  delivery including Caesarean section, post-natal care and treatment of sick infants till one year of age.

      ii.            Strengthening of delivery points for providing comprehensive and quality Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) Services, establishment of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Wings at high caseload facilities, ensuring essential newborn care at all delivery points, establishment of Special Newborn Care Units (SNCU), Newborn Stabilization Units (NBSU) and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) units for care of sick and small babies.

    iii.            Early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for first six months and appropriate Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are promoted in convergence with Ministry of Women and Child Development. Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs) are observed for provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal and child care including health and nutrition education. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched MAA-Mothers’ Absolute Affection programme in August 2016 for improving  breastfeeding practices (Initiate Breastfeeding within one hour, Exclusive Breastfeeding up to six months and complementary Breastfeeding up to two years) through mass media and capacity building of health care providers in health facilities as well as in communities.

    iv.            Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is being supported to provide vaccination to children against many life threatening diseases such as Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Poliomyelitis, Tuberculosis, Measles, Hepatitis B, Meningitis and Pneumonia due to Haemophilus Influenza type B. The Government of India has also launched Mission Indradhanush to reach unreached children. In addition, vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis is carried out in endemic districts and vaccination against Rotavirus diarrhoea is provided in select states.

      v.            Name based tracking of mothers and children till two years of age is done to ensure complete antenatal, intranatal, postnatal care and complete immunization as per schedule.

    vi.            Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) for health screening, early detection of birth defects, diseases, deficiencies, development delays including disability and early intervention services has been operationalized to provide comprehensive care to all the children in the age group of 0-18 years in the community.

        i.            Some other important interventions are Iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation for the prevention of anaemia among the vulnerable age groups, annual deworming on National Deworming Day (NDD), home visits by ASHAs under Home Based Newborn Care (HBNC) to promote community care practices and early referral of sick newborns and promote use of ORS and Zinc for management of diarrhoea in children.

      ii.            Various trainings are being conducted to train doctors, nurses and ANMs for antenatal, intranatal and post-natal care, essential newborn care, early diagnosis and case management of common ailments of children.

    iii.            To sharpen the focus on the low performing districts, 184 High Priority Districts (HPDs) at National level and 19 High Priority Districts (HPDs) in the state of Uttar Pradesh have been prioritized for Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health+ Adolescent (RMNCH+A) interventions for achieving improved maternal and child health outcomes.

Healthcare in India

Healthcare in India

           

Various factors like low levels of education, lack of environmental sanitation and safe drinking water, under-nutrition, poor housing  conditions, tobacco consumption, poverty, unemployment, unhealthy lifestyle  etc. impact health.

The delivery of health care largely rests with the States, Health being a state subject. The allocation of funds to health sector inter-alia is dependent on the overall resource availability of the Government, competing sectoral priorities, as also the absorptive capacity of the system.

As per Economic Survey 2015-16, the expenditure by Government (Central and State Governments combined) on health as percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2015-16 (BE) was 1.3 per cent.

As per 12^th Five Year Plan document, total public funding by the Centre and States, plan and non-plan, on core health is envisaged to increase to 1.87 per cent of GDP by the end of the Twelfth Plan.  The Draft National Health Policy 2015 envisages raising public health expenditure progressively to 2.5% of the GDP.

The allocation to States/UTs under National Health Mission by Centre Government for last three years is as under :

(i)                 2013-14  -  Rs. 19,989.01 Crore

(ii)               2014-15  -  Rs. 19,132.72 Crore

(iii)             2015-16  -  Rs. 16,213.09 Crore

To improve access to healthcare in tribal and hilly regions, the Government under National Health Mission has taken several steps which inter-alia include:

·      All the North Eastern States which have a high tribal population and other hilly states get funds under NHM from Government of India in the proportion of 90 (GoI Share):10 (State Share) as against share of funding in the ratio of 75:25 between Government of India and non-North Eastern States and non-hilly States.

·         Relaxed norms for setting up of health facilities.

·         Strengthening of Sub- Centre.

·         Relaxed Norms for treatment of Specific Diseases

·         Incentives are provided to health personnel serving in remote, underserved and tribal areas.

·         Relaxing the norm of one ASHA per 1000 population to one ASHA per habitation in Tribal/hilly anddifficult areas

·         Relaxation of norms for setting up of sub-centres in difficult hilly areas by introducing a new norm of “Time to care”. Under this norms, a sub centre can be set up within 30 minutes of walk from habitation.

family Planning Programme

family Planning Programme

Under the RMNCH+A approach, family planning programme has been integrated with maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health programme to give it a thrust.

The details of various schemes run by the Government to promote family planning are given below:

Various schemes run by the Government to promote family planning

New interventions under Family Planning

·         New Contraceptive Choices: The current basket of choice has been expanded to include the new contraceptives viz. Injectable contraceptive, Centchroman and Progrsterone Only Pills (POP).

·         Redesigned Contraceptive Packaging: The packaging for Condoms, OCPs and ECPs has now been improved and redesigned so as to influence the demand for these commodities

·         New Family Planning Media Campaign: A360 degree media campaign has been developed to generate contraceptive demand.

·         Enhanced Compensation Scheme for Sterilization- The sterilization compensation scheme has been enhanced in 11 high focus states (8 EAG, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana)

·         Promotion of IUCDs as a short & long term spacing method - Introduction of Cu IUCD-375 (5 years effectivity) under the Family Planning Programme.

·         Emphasis on Postpartum Family Planning (PPFP) services with introduction of PPIUCD and promotion of minilap as the main mode of providing sterilization in the form of post-partum sterilization to capitalize on the huge cases coming in for institutional delivery under JSY.

·         Scheme for ensuring drop back services to sterilization clients

·         Appointment of dedicated RMNCH+A counsellors at high case load facilities.

·         Assured delivery of family planning services - In last four years states have shown their commitment to strengthen fixed day family planning services for both IUCD and sterilization.

·         Scheme for Home delivery of contraceptives by ASHAs at doorstep of beneficiaries has been expanded to the entire country w.e.f.  17^th Dec, 2012

·         Scheme for ASHAs to ensure spacing in births:

o   Under the scheme, services of ASHAs are being utilized for counselling newly married couples to ensure delay of 2 years in birth after marriage and couples with 1 child to have spacing of 3 years after the birth of 1st child.

o   The scheme is being implemented in 18 states of the country (8 EAG, 8 North East, Gujarat and Haryana). Additionally the spacing component has been approved in West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Daman Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli

·         Celebration of World Population Day & fortnight (July 11 – July 24):

o   The World Population Day celebration is a step to boost Family Planning efforts all over the country.

o   The event is observed over a month long period, split into an initial fortnight of mobilization/sensitization followed by a fortnight of assured family planning service delivery.

o   June 27 to July 10: “Dampati Sampark Pakhwada” or “Mobilisation Fortnight”

o   July 11 to July 24 “Jansankhya Sthirtha Pakhwada” or “Population Stabilisation Fortnight”

On-going Interventions under Family Planning Programme

·         Ensuring quality care in family planning services by establishing Quality Assurance Committees in all state and districts.

·         Increasing male participation and promotion of ‘Non Scalpel Vasectomy’’.

·         ‘National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme’ (NFPIS) under which clients are insured in the eventualities of deaths, complications and failures following sterilization and the providers/ accredited institutions are indemnified against litigations in those eventualities.

·         Compensation scheme for sterilization acceptors - under the scheme MoHFW provides compensation for loss of wages to the beneficiary on account of undergoing sterilisation.

·         Accreditation of more private/ NGO facilities to increase the provider base for family planning services under PPP.

·         Improving contraceptives supply management up to peripheral facilities

·         A rational human resource development plan is in place for provision of IUCD, Minilap and NSV to empower the facilities (DH, CHC, PHC, SHC) with at least one provider each for each of the services and Sub Centres with ANMs trained in IUCD insertion

·         Emphasis on Minilap Tubectomy services because of its logistical simplicity with less failure rates.

·         Demand generation activities in the form of display of posters, billboards and other audio and video materials in the various facilities

The Government approves the budget for family planning through the budget heads of family welfare and the National Health Mission (NHM) every year based on proposals received from the states in their state Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs).

Centre beats 10 years of JNNURM in approving houses for urban poor

Centre beats 10 years of JNNURM in approving houses for urban poor

This is an evidence of ‘Government with a difference’ says Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu

12.84 lakh affordable houses sanctioned as against 12.40 lakh under JNNURM

2 lakh houses approved for Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP, Punjab, Rajasthan, Meghalaya today

Rs.70,145 cr investment so far approved in affordable housing; Rs.32,717 cr only under JNNURM

32 States/UTs benefit with housing projects in 2,329 cities/towns

Minister names well performing States; asks others to gear up

Demonetization will have positive impact on real estate sector, says Shri Naidu

Central Government today announced that it has so far approved construction of 12,83,616 affordable houses for urban poor in 2,329 cities and towns crossing the 12,40,968 mark approved under the ten years of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Making the announcement at a media conference here today, Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu said that his ministry today cleared construction of 1,97,402 housed for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) in seven States and there by crossing the JNNURM mark in a very short period.

Shri Naidu further asserted  that this speed, scale and spread of reaching out to urban poor  in a short time since the launch of PMAY(Urban) in June last year is an evidence of “Government with a difference”  and it  “speaks volumes about the sense of urgency that this Government is according to make a difference to urban sector, which is the need of the hour”.

The Minister elaborated that this speedy performance was made possible by a paradigm shift in the approach to urban development including housing by empowering the State and city governments to formulate, evaluate and approve projects unlike in the past when every project report was assessed and approved by the Ministry resulting in huge delays in implementation. Also, enhanced scale of central assistance, awareness campaign resulting in increased demand, inclusion of new components covering a wide range of urban poor helped in quick approvals, Shri Naidu said.

The Minister informed that that as required under the Mission Guidelines ,over 20 States have undertaken reforms relating to Single Window Clearences for construction projects, doing away with Non-Agricultural Permission, formulating Master Plans earmarking land for affordable housing, grant of additional FAR etc., to promote affordable housing etc, so far. This he said is an ample evidence of “Governance with a difference based on the principles of Reform, Transform and Perform advocated the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi”.

                Comparing performance under PMAY(Urban) and JNNURM, Shri Naidu said that as against investment of Rs.32,717 cr approved under JNNURM, a huge investment of Rs.70,145 cr has already been cleared under PMAY(Urban). While central assistance of only Rs.17,405 cr was committed during the previous ten years, Rs.19,009 cr has already been approved under the new scheme. While only 939 cities were covered earlier, 2,329 cities and towns have already been sanctioned housing projects so far, Shri Naidu said.

The Minister stated that Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal as ‘good performing’ States under PMAY(Urban) so far in terms of starting construction work under approved projects.

States sanctioned affordable houses by the Ministry of HUPA today are: Tamil Nadu-1,13,327 houses with an investment of Rs.3,714 cr, Karnataka- 31,880 (Rs.1,186 cr), Gujarat-18,248 (Rs.1,096 cr), Madhya Pradesh-16,448 (Rs.813 cr), Punjab-16,187 (Rs.447 cr), Rajasthan-1,280 (Rs.50 cr) and Meghalaya-32 (Rs.1.00 cr).

Shri Naidu also informed that to enable timely execution projects under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), State Action Plans for the next three financial years are being sanctioned in one go to enable advance planning and implementation to realise mission targets by 2019 as envisaged

Study on Climate Change

Study on Climate Change

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) constituted by the World Meteorological Organisation, in cooperation with United Nations Environment Programme is an internationally recognised body of professional experts having a mandate to assess research on climate change and present its findings in the form of ''assessment reports'' every 5-7 years. The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of IPCC is the latest in a series of such reports released during the period 2013-14. AR5 consists of three Working Group Reports and a Synthesis Report. Some salient features of AR5 are as follows:
Global temperatures have risen by about 0.8°C over the last century and sea levels have risen by about 20 cm.
In many regions, snow and rainfall patterns have changed.
Snow, ice, permafrost and glaciers are melting at the poles and around the rest of the world.
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. For example, heat waves are lasting longer and becoming more intense.
However, IPCC Reports do not provide country-level assessment on the impact of climate change. Such country level assessments are conducted as part of National Communication (NATCOM) prepared by the Government of India periodically. The 2nd National Communication to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was submitted by the Government in 2012.The First Biennial Update Report (BUR) to UNFCCC was submitted by the Government on 22 January 2016.
In addition, a scientific study to assess the impact of climate change was undertaken and a report entitled “Climate Change and India: A 4X4 Assessment - A Sectoral and Regional Analysis for 2030s” was published in 2010. The study assessed impacts of climate change on four key sectors of Indian economy, namely, agriculture, water, forests and human health in four climate sensitive regions of India, namely, the Himalayan region, the Western Ghats, the Coastal region and the North-Eastern Region.
The above study projects a variable rate of change in agriculture production including losses in some crops, change in the composition of the forests and net primary productivity. The extreme precipitation events are likely to increase in all the regions. Water yield is projected to increase in the Himalayan Region, whereas it is likely to be variable across other three regions. Malaria is projected to spread to new areas and threats of its transmission are likely to increase for longer duration.
The above studies have helped in assessing emissions of greenhouse gases and identification of climatic impacts, risks and vulnerability of different sectors. Further, the studies have also led to formulation of State Action Plans on Climate Change, as well as, various policies, measures and programmes at the national level with a view to addressing the threat of climate change.”

Impact of Air Pollution

Impact of Air Pollution

“World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a report titled “Ambient Air Pollution: A global assessment of exposure and burden of disease” which presents summary of methods and results of the latest global assessment of ambient air pollution exposure. According to this report, air pollution has become a growing concern with an increasing number of acute air pollution episodes in many cities worldwide including Delhi.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has not carried out any study on change in genes of foetus vis-a-vis trans-generational impact. However, Department of Science and Technology under climate change programme has supported a National Network on Climate Change and Human Health comprising of eight research projects including impact of air pollution on human health. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also extended financial assistance under various extramural and other research schemes on air pollution.

The major steps taken by the Government to control pollution include notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; formulation of environmental regulations / statutes; setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality; introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.), ethanol blending; promotion of cleaner production processes; launching of National Air Quality index; universalization of BS-IV by 2017;leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards by 1st April, 2020; comprehensive amendments to various Waste Management Rules and notification of Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules; banning of burning of leaves, biomass, municipal solid waste; promotion of public transport and network of metro, e-rickshaws, promotion of car pooling, Pollution Under Control Certificate, lane discipline, vehicle maintenance; regular co-ordination meetings at official and ministerial level with Delhi and other State Governments within the NCR; issuance of directions under Section 18(1)(b) of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and under Section 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; installation of on-line continuous (24x7) monitoring devices by major industries; collection of Environmental Protection Charge on more than 2000 CC diesel vehicles in Delhi; and ban on bursting of sound emitting crackers between 10 PM to 6 AM etc.”

The richest 1% of Indians now own 58.4% of wealth

The richest 1% of Indians now own 58.4% of wealth
The share of the top 1% is up from 53% last year, shows a Credit Suisse report
The richest 1% of Indians now own 58.4% of the country’s wealth, according to the latest data on global wealth from Credit Suisse Group AG, the financial services company based in Zurich. Credit Suisse has published the report every year since 2010.

The share of the top 1% is up from 53% last year. In the last two years, the share of the top 1% has increased at a cracking pace, from 49% in 2014 to 58.4% in 2016. The accompanying Chart 1 has the details.

Does that mean the trend of the very rich getting richer is because of the Modi government? Not really—as the chart shows, the share of the top 1% in the country’s total wealth improved from 40.3% in 2010 to 49% in 2014. But the numbers do suggest that the very rich are expanding their share at a faster clip now. The richest 10% of Indians haven’t done too shabbily either, increasing their share of the pie from 68.8% in 2010 to 80.7% by 2016. In sharp contrast, the bottom half of the Indian people own a mere 2.1% of the country’s wealth.

Data from Credit Suisse shows that India’s richest do well for themselves whichever government is in power. In 2000, for instance, the share of the richest 1% was a comparatively low 36.8% of the country’s wealth. In the last 16 years, they have increased their share from a bit more than a third to almost three-fifths of total wealth.

Very clearly, most of the gains from the country’s high rate of economic growth have gone to them.

How does India compare with other countries? Well, the Credit Suisse numbers confirm what we see on a daily basis—that India is one of the most unequal societies. Consider this: while the top 1% in India own 58.4% of the country’s wealth, the top 1% in China own 43.8%, in Indonesia they own 49.3%, in Brazil 47.9%, in South Africa 41.9%. Chart 2 has the details. But perhaps our richest need to try harder—the top 1% in kleptocratic Russia own 74.5% of the nation’s wealth.

For Modi’s smart-city vision to become a reality, India needs smart villages first

Increasing rural-urban divergence in fertility due to poor education levels and low incomes in villages is slowing India’s urbanization, says a research paper

Among the cities selected for Modi government’s smart cities project, Uttar Pradesh accounts for the most. The move seems justified, given the fact that it is India’s most populous state. However, if urbanization performance were to be a benchmark, there is reason to be sceptical about the prospects of these smart cities.

Between the 2001 and 2011 census, share of population living in urban areas in Uttar Pradesh increased from 20.7% to 22.3%, a rise of merely 1.5 percentage points. Kerala, which was the best performer, increased its share from 25.9% to 47.6% during this period. Other states with commendable track records were Goa, Nagaland, Tripura and Andhra Pradesh, whereas Bihar, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh showed the least growth in their urban population share.

What explains such divergence in urbanization performance of states across India?

The intuitive explanation of weight of non-farm economy in a state’s GSDP does not seem to answer all questions. While some of the better performing states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have a higher weight on non-farm sector in their GSDP, there does not seem to be a one-to-one relation between the two variables. For example, Odisha has a higher share of non-farm economy, but it fares poorly in terms of urbanization. For Andhra Pradesh the reverse seems to be true.

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A recently released paper by Chinmay Tumbe, an assistant professor of economics at IIM-Ahmedabad, has shown that state-wise divergence in rural-urban population growth might be the key factor behind difference in pace of urbanization in India.

Tumbe underlines the fact that cities in northern India have been experiencing a faster growth in population than those in the southern parts of the country. Despite this, it is the south which has progressed faster in terms of share of population living in urban areas. The solution to the puzzle lies in the rural-urban differential in natural rate of growth of population in northern and southern India, Tumbe argues. What this means is despite urban population rising faster in the north than the south, the share of urban population in the north has fallen behind that of the south because a much-faster rise in rural population has brought down the share of urban population.

The increasing divergence between rural-urban natural rates of growth of population is because birth rates have come down at a much faster pace in cities than in villages, whereas decline in death rates have become more or less equal.

While the increasing gap has been a pan-Indian phenomenon, its magnitude is much larger in the northern parts of the country, statistics given in the paper show.

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Tumbe takes the well-established factors of income and education gap to explain the population growth gap. A lot of research shows that education increases awareness about contraception methods and also increases the opportunity cost of child birth in case of women. Higher income families are known to have fewer children as they can spend more on their education and thus make up for the lost quantity in quality in terms of future income from children. Tumbe’s econometric exercise taking rural literacy as a proxy for education and agricultural productivity as a proxy for income turns out to be statistically significant and explains 26% of fertility difference between the north and south.

The first part of this data-journalism series had highlighted the role of circular migration behind India’s slow pace of urbanization and argued for providing better infrastructure for women in cities to facilitate urbanization growth in India. The arguments presented here underline the need for bringing down fertility rates by improving income and education levels in cities. The short point is, if India is really interested in having smart cities in the near future, it must make its villages smarter as well.