Protection of Human Rights of Women

All human rights are women’s rights. The United Nations Organisation’s International Covenant on civil and political rights, International Covenant on social, economic and cultural rights, Universal Declaration of human rights 1948, UN Convention on Complete Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW), several fundamental rights enshrined in Indian Constitution from articles 14 to 32 and directive principles of state policy from articles 36 to 51 describes the human rights of women. There are several legislative provisions and social security laws are also provides provisions for protection of human rights of women. The National Human Rights Commission constituted under the protection of human rights Act 1993 and National Commission’ for women are actively working for protecting the woman’s rights. The guidelines of supreme court of India in Vishakha case has to be followed for preventing sexual harassment of working women. The national policy for women and national mission for empowerment of women and national awards for eminent women working for protection of rights of women enables women empowerment and helps for protection of their human rights. The greatness of a civilization can be judged by the place given to women in the society. One of several factors that justify the greatness of India's ancient culture is the honorable place granted to women. The foreign influence on India caused considerable deterioration in the status of women. They were deprived of their rights of equality with men. Raja Ram Mohan Roy started a movement against this inequality and subjugation. The contact of Indian culture with that of the British also brought improvement in the status of women. The third factor in the revival of women's position was the influence of Mahatma Gandhi who induced women to participate in the Indian Freedom Struggle. The development of women is of paramount importance and sets the pace for overall development. There is a need for addressing gaps in state action for women on promoting inter-Ministerial and Inter Sector Convergence to create gender equitable and women centered policies and programmes. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has nodal responsibility to promote the human rights and concerns of women. We should have a vision of empowering women with human dignity and contributing as equal partners in development in an environment free from violence and discrimination. The Government and society should promote social, economic and political empowerment of women through policies, programmes and create awareness about their rights and facilitate institutional and legislative support for enabling them to realise their human rights and develop their full potential of human personality. Several social reformers like Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra VidyaSagar, Narayan Guru and Periyar E.V. Ramasamy have fought for the human rights of women especially Right to Education, Right to Equality etc and removal of social evils like Abolition of Child Marriages, Sati and promotion of widow remarriages. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution and First Law Minister of independent India has introduced Hindu Code Bill in Parliament for liberating women from traditions and providing equal human rights for empowering them. Education, health employment and political power will empower the women and helps of protection of their human rights. 8^thMarch is being observed as International Women’s Day every year across the globe.

According to government reports 2 mil­lion foetuses are aborted each year for reason none other than they happen to be females. Census 2001 shows that during the 1991- 2001 decade the overall sex ratio increased from 927 per 1,000 to 933 per 1,000. But during the same decade the child sex ratio (0-6 years) dropped from 945 to 927, while the sex ratio in the seven plus age group increased from 923 to 935. The problem of declining sex ratio cannot be viewed only in terms of numbers. Studies should be conducted to look at the reasons be­hind the decision to abort and neglect baby girls. Some of the studies shows that juvenile sex ration (0-6 years) has been dropped from 945 (1991 census) to 896 (2001 census). This juvenile sex- ratio (0-6 years) is the most realistic indicator of trends in female foeticide and continuing dis­crimination against the girl child. The reasons behind the mistreatment of girls crosses the spectrum of Indian region, economic classes and castes and are due to a complex mix of economic social and cultural factors. Declining sex ratio is the reflection of the in­trinsic flow in our social system, which has to be taken into consideration and addressed. There is an urgent need to take measures to curb this decline in sex ratio. In context to theeducational development of women in India, they have achieved far less education when compared to men. As per the Census report 2001, the literacy rate of women is 54.16 per cent and that of men is 65.38 per cent. There has been a sincere effort to improve the educational attainment of women by both government and voluntary organizations. The changes in the policies and infrastructural supports on primary, secondary and higher education reflect the initiatives of the Government of India towards women education. From aneconomist point of view, gender discrimination severely limit expansion and utilization of human capabilities in women and it has critical implications for economic growth. It is assumed that the status of women and discrimination against them are inversely related and therefore measuring women’s status is equivalent to measuring gender discrimination.

Constitutional Rights

The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, Plans and programmes have aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. India has also ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights of women. India also ratified the UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993. Several provisions are provided in Indian Constitution for upliftment of women like Equality before law for women (Article 14), the State not to discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of  birth or any of them (Article 15 (i)), the State has to make any special provision in favour of women and children (Article 15 (3)), Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State (Article 16), Prohibition of traffic in human beings, beggar and other similar forms of forced labour, the State to direct its policy towards securing for men and women equally the right to an adequate means of livelihood (Article 39(a)); and equal pay for equal work for both men and women (Article 39(d)), to promote justice, on a basis of equal opportunity and to provide free legal aid  by suitable legislation or scheme or in any other way to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities (Article 39 A), the State has to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article 42), the State to promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article 46), the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people (Article 47), to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A) (e)).

Human Rights

Human Rights are indivisible, inalienable and universal. The Human Rights includes Right to life, Right to equality, right to freedom of speech and expression, human dignity, right against discrimination, liberty, equality and right to safe environment etc. India is a signatory to Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and UN Convention on Complete Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. All these UN Human Rights Conventions have provided equal human rights to women. “Human rights represent the rights of all human beings of the sex, men and women. Both men and women have equal access to these rights. No discrimination is allowed or imposed in the exercise of these rights. It is a fact of history that women have been denied equal rights for centuries. The “philosophy of human rights” became popular only during the second half of the 20th century and the issue of “gender equality” and “equal rights” for women assumed importance only after 1970′s. India which joined the UNO after its independence gave much importance to the human rights by incorporating many of these in its constitution. India which adopted a Constitution of its own in 1949 contains several Articles mandating equality and non-discrimination on the ground of sex. Indian Parliament enacted protection of Human Rights Act 1993 and on the basis of this legislation National Human Rights Commission was established for protection of Human Rights. Women can also send complaints to NHRC when their constitutional, legal and human rights are violated.

Legislative Provisions

The State has enacted various legislative measures intended to ensure equal rights, to counter social discrimination and various forms of violence, atrocities and crimes against women to provide support services especially to working women. Although women may be victims of any of the crimes such as 'Murder', 'Robbery', 'Cheating' Child Marriages, Sati and forced prostitution and human trafficking etc. The crimes, which are directed specifically against women, are characterized as 'Crime against Women'. These are broadly classified under two categories. The crimes identified under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are Rape (Sec. 376 IPC), Kidnapping and Abduction for different purposes (Sec. 363-373), Homicide for Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304-B IPC), Torture, both mental and physical (Sec. 498-A IPC), Molestation (Sec. 354 IPC), Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 IPC), Importation of girls (up to 21 years of age). The second category crimes are identified under the Special Laws. The Supreme Court of India is a great champion of rights of women. The Apex court has given specific guidelines for protection from Sexual Harassment of working women in Vishakha vs State of Rajasthan.

Indian Parliament enacted several legislations on women for protection of their rights in tune with the fundamental rights guaranteed under Part III of the Indian Constitution and United Nations Human Rights Conventions.  The legislations includes the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, the Plantation Labour Act, 1951, the Family Courts Act, 1954, the Special Marriage Act, 1954 the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with amendment in 2005, Hindu adoption and Maintenance Act 1955 Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Amended in 1995), Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1976, the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983, the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1986, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment Act.

Family courts are established to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, such as custody of children. In common-law jurisdictions "family courts" are statutory creations primarily dealing with equitable matters devolved from a court of inherent jurisdiction, such as a superior court. The Family Courts Act 1987 was enacted on 14 September 1987 to provide for setting up of the family courts with a view to promoting conciliation and to secure speedy settlement of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs. The State Government after consultation with the High Court and by notification shall establish a Family Court for every area of the state consisting of a city or town whose population exceeds ten lakhs and for other areas in the state as it may deem necessary. Family courts are subordinate to the High Court, which has power to transfer the case from one family court to the other. The matters which are dealt in the Family Court in India are matrimonial relief which includes nullity of marriage, judicial separation, divorce, restitution of conjugal rights, declaration as to the validity of marriage and matrimonial status of the person, property of the spouses or any of them and declaration as to the legitimacy of any person, guardianship of a person or custody of any minor children, maintenance of wife including the proceedings under the Criminal Procedure Code.The Supreme Court of India in its several landmark judgments like Shah Bano case protected the rights of women.

Empowerment of Women

National Policy for Empowerment of Women: The National Policy for Empowerment of Women (NPEW) was formulated in 2001 as the blueprint for the future, with the expressive goal of bringing about the advancement, development and empowerment of women. The NPEW laid down detailed prescriptions to address discrimination against women, strengthen existing institutions which includes the legal system, provide better access to health care and other services, equal opportunities for women's participation in decision-making and mainstreaming gender concerns in the development process. The policies and programmes of the Government are directed towards achieving inclusive growth with special focus on women in line with the objective of the National Policy for Empowerment of Women. The Government introducedGender Budgeting in 2005-06 in order to ensure that policy commitments are backed by financial outlays and that the gender perspective is incorporated in all stages of a policy or a programme. The objectives of Gender Budgeting are for committing to initiatives with the objective of influencing and effecting a change in the Ministries’ policies, programmes in a way that could tackle gender imbalances, promote gender equality and development and ensure that public resources through the Ministries’ budgets are allocated and managed accordingly. The government also made all efforts to ensure a definite flow of funds to women was the introduction of a Women’s Component Plan (WCP) in the 9th Five Year Plan whereby all Ministries/Departments were directed to ensure at least 33 percent funds for women.

National Mission for Empowerment of Women: Government of India launched the National Mission for empowerment of women (NMEW) on International Women’s Day in 2010 with the aim to strengthen overall processes that promote all-round development of women. It has the mandate to strengthen the inter-sector convergence; facilitate the process of coordinating all the women’s welfare and socio-economic development programmes across ministries and departments. The Mission aims to provide a single window service for all programmes run by the Government for Women under aegis of various Central Ministries. The Mission has been named Mission Poorna Shakti, implying a vision for holistic empowerment of women. The Mission focussed on access to health, drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for women, coverage of all girls especially those belonging to vulnerable groups in schools from primary to class 12^th, higher and Professional education for girls, Skill development, Micro credit, vocational training, Entrepreneurship, Self-Help Groups development , Gender sensitization and dissemination of information and taking steps to prevent crimes against women and a safe environment for women.

National Commission for Women: The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women ; recommend remedial legislative measures ; facilitate redressal of grievances and to advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women. The Commission initiated various steps to improve the status of women and worked for their economic empowerment. It organises consultations, constituted expert committees on economic empowerment of women, conducts workshops and seminars for gender awareness and took up publicity campaign against female foeticide, violence against women, in order to generate awareness in the society against these social evils and human rights of women.

Women constitute almost half of the population of the world. Education for women is the best way to improve the health, nutrition and economic status of a household that constitute a micro unit of a nation economy. The lack of woman education can be an impediment to the country’s economic development. In India, women achieve far less education that of men. As per the Census report 2001, the literacy rate of women is 54.16 per cent and that of men is 65.38 per cent. There has been a sincere effort to improve the education attainment of women by both government and voluntary organizations. The changes in the policies and infrastructural supports on primary, secondary and higher education reflect the initiatives of the Government of India towards women education. The divergences in the literacy rates between sexes indicate the difference in the growth rate of literacy levels between males and females over a period of time. Another area of concern is to reduce the gap between the rural and urban female literacy. Though there has been a steady upward trend in both the rural and urban female literacy rates, it is observed that the rural female literacy is increasing much faster than that of urban.

In economics we often talk of discrimination which means denial of equality and human rights to women and the freedom to make decisions which affects their lives and results in widening disparities in the human capabilities and functionings associated between man and woman. The add gender discrimination severely limit expansion and utilization of human capabilities in women and it has critical implications for economic growth. It is assumed that the status of women and discrimination against them are inversely related and therefore measuring women’s status is equivalent to measuring gender discrimination. This issue, though, is receiving increasing academic and policy attention in the recent years, there is still a dearth of research in this area, particularly quantitative and empirical research. Until recently, it was assumed that development was gender-neutral – that both men and women could benefit equally from development, and that the benefits of developmental interventions spread evenly across society. The historical legacy of gender inequality existed in all societies across the world implies that there is no “level playing field”. Gender inequalities can also have instrumental impacts through creating constraints in the achievement of a number of development goals. For example, studies have shown that gender inequality in education and access to resources may hamper the process of reduction of child mortality and lowering of fertility, which in turn impacts the expansion of education for the next generation. Gender inequality also has a negative impact on economic growth. There is now overwhelming evidence that countries that adopt specific measures to protect women’s rights and increase their access to resources and schooling have less corruption and achieve faster economic growth than countries that do not.

There is a need for political empowerment of women Globally, women hold slightly less than 20 per cent of seats in Parliament. In Asia-Pacific region, just over 18 per cent of all members of national Parliaments are women. India is far below these countries with 11 per cent women in the Lok Sabha. With 60 women members of Parliament out of 545 (11 per cent), nationally, India’s Lower House ranks only 105th worldwide in this context. With 37 per cent of members at rural and district bodies, India has achieved a better gender balance at sub-national level. Not less than one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat (Article 243 D(3)), Not less than one- third of the total number of offices of Chairpersons in the Panchayats at each level to be reserved for women (Article 243 D (4)), Not less than one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality to be reserved for women and such seats to be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality (Article 243 T (3)) Reservation of offices of Chairpersons in Municipalities for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the legislature of a State may by law provide (Article 243 T (4)). The 73^rd and 74^thConstitution Amendments provided reservations for women. The Bill for providing 33 percent reservation for women in legislatures is not yet enacted.

Media and Women

MAG Study (1994) revealed that there are now more women in the media workforce than they were twenty years ago. The decision making in these organizations remain overwhelmingly the domain of man. Senior decision makers with a gender sensitive perspective can use their persuasive power to empower others and change the image and status of women in print and electronic media organizations. As far as print media is concerned, late seventies and eighties in India witnessed the emergence of lot of women journalists. The choice of many educated women to take to this profession which was till recently considered a bastion of men is a sign of women of India joining the main stream decision making process in an important way. The last twenty years of print media is a story of women's participation in an area that focuses on the national agenda of great public interest. Communication researchers should take up studies on women's employment in various mass media. This may provide guidelines for bringing gender equality in the employment in mass media. It is true that women are lagging behind men in the media work force. At the same time, it is also a fact that there has been progress in this regard. There is more number of women employed now in media organizations and Government media of radio and Doordarshan in senior positions. Once they acquire positions of power in the media workforce, the task of improving women's images in media will become easier. There is a need for projecting the positive image of women in film media.

Awards

Government of India instituted five national awards which are to be called 'Stree Shakti Puraskar for recognition of achievements of individual women in the field of social development. These awards will be in the name of the eminent women personalities in the Indian history, who are famous for their personal courage and integrity like Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar, Kanngi, Mata Jijabai, Rani Gaidenlou Zeliang and Rani Lakshmi Bai. The award will carry a cash prize of Rupees one lakh and a citation. These awards will be given to women who have triumphed over difficult circumstances and have fought for and established the rights of women in various fields. Also,  women achievers who have worked in the areas of education, health, agriculture and rural industry, protection of forests and environment and those who have created awareness and consciousness on women's issues through arts and media would be recognized and awarded by the Government.

8^th March is being observed as International Women’s Day every year across the globe.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Role of Indigenous technologies developed by BARC

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 2^nd October, 2015, which caught attention of everybody not only in India, but also in the world. TheGovernmenthastaken various steps to create awareness among the masses for keeping the area surrounding them neat and clean. Government is also paying special attention for cleaning of rivers, railway stations, tourist destinations and other public places.

To achieve the target of cleanliness, the technologies to treat the waste material should also be developed along with creating awareness.  There are many technologies that are used to treat waste material. They are usually very costly,  very complexto be understood and viable only for large size units. At the same time, indigenous technologies are low cost capital and easy to use and they can also be used by different size units.In India, they are particularly suitable for the small and medium units. In this regard, a National workshop on Indigenous water, Wastewater and Solid Waste Treatment Technologies was organised by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in January, 2015 at Gujarat Technological University (GTU) in Ahmadabad. The objective of the workshop was to disseminate indigenous technologies of water, wastewater and solid waste treatment developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) under “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and to bridge gap between the research at the research centres and the practical application of the technologies.

The BARC is playing a pivotal role in the development of these technologies.  Some of these technologies are as follows:

Indigenous water purification technologies:

These technologies can improve the drinking water quality of smaller villages  as well as larger cities. It uses the Pressure Driven Membrane Processes. These are suitable for all capacity units e.g. they are adaptable from household level unit or community level unit to large scale unit. Water purification technologies make use of the nuclear energy and solar energy also.

Environment friendly Plasma technologies:

Solid waste dumping sites or landfill sites need more amount of land which is not available in urban areas. Incineration of solid waste pollutes the environment if the incinerators are not designed or operated properly.Thermal Plasma Technology is ideally suited for waste treatment. By plasma technology Hazardous & toxic compounds are broken down to elemental constituents at high temperatures; Inorganic materials are converted to Vitrified Mass; and Organic materials are Pyrolysed or Gasified, Converted to flue gases (H2 & CO) & Lower hydrocarbon gases when operated at low temperature (500 – 600OC).Disposal of carcass is also being thought of using plasma pyrolysis.

Unique Multi Stage Biological Treatment Solution:

Multi Stage Biological Treatment Solution (MSBT)can be implemented on existing STP which are not able to process Sewage to optimum efficiency. MSBT can be implemented as a modular or container on the banks of rivers on Drains/Nalas which discharge waste water to the river. It can also be implanted in small urban societies and housing complex for better water management.Benefits of MSBT are:  No Surplus of Organic Sludge, No Odour problem, Drastic reduction of Electrical Power usage which minimizes operating costs, No need for return sludge pumping (minimizing electromechanical component which ultimately reduces operating cost).

Role of environmental isotope techniques in the water resources development and management:

There are two type of isotopes,stable isotopes and radioactive isotopes. Isotope techniques are used to find out the type of contamination in surface water and ground water, the sources and origin of contamination, pollutant dispersion in surface water bodies, to assess thegroundwater salinity, to assess the changes due to long-term exploitation of groundwater, for hydro-chemical investigation and to carry out geochemical evolution of groundwater.

The BARC UF Membrane Technology for Domestic Water Purifiers:

Water filters manufactured by Sondhka based on membrane based water Purification Technology has been developed by BARC. Benefits of BARC Polysulfone Membrane are high tech 0.02micron or 20nm, simple form factor, rugged (life of more than 1 year) and low maintenance (about Rs. 500 per year). It is very easy to use and very low cost solution for the water contamination.

Deployment of BARC Domestic Water Purifier in Rural Area through AKRUTI Program:

Rural Human & Resource Development Facility is disseminating BARC technologies, namely NisargrunaBiogas, Soil Organic Carbon Testing Kit, Seed Bank, Domestic Water Purifier, Weather Forecasting, LLL, RIA, FSD, VTD; under the AKRUTI( Advance Knowledge of Rural Technology Implementation) Program. Activities carried out under the AKRUTI program aresurveys for safe drinking water, Interaction with the villagers, Entrepreneurship development for domestic water purifier production and Awareness programs for benefits of use purified water. RHRDF has also launched a scheme for safe drinking water for village under CSR.

Radiation Hygienization of Municipal Sewage Sludge:

The Sewage is the waste water generated from domestic premises and consists mainly of human waste. It typically contains 99.9% water and about 0.1% solid. The solid waste in sewage is typically organic in nature and is broken down in the sewage treatment plants resulting in sewage sludge as a byproduct. In Radiation Hygienization process dry sludge generated at STP’s is hygienized using radiation technology using standard Gamma facility at a Dose of 10 kGs. Such radiation plants are operating in India for sterilizing medical products.

Refuse Derived Fuel: An Emerging Processing Technology in MSWM:

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is a processed form of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and it can be a substitute to coal energy. The process of conversion of garbage into fuel pellets involves primarily Drying, Separation of incombustible, Sizereduction and Pelletisation.

Conclusion:    The above mentioned technologies can be of great help in the treatment of water and solid waste management. This shows that solid waste which is normally treated as the cause of concern, if treated properly it can become a sustainable source of energy.

The aim should be to promote research work in these technologies. After the research is done, the gap between research and its implementation at ground level should be bridged. All stakeholderssuch as various departments, urban local bodies, consultants and contractors should be involved so that these technologies can be utilised by small, medium and large units, so that they can contribute to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan by making India clean.

Equality, Empowerment of Women, Women’s Full Enjoyment of Human Rights are Basic Ingredients of Development

“When people are discussing as to what man and woman can do, always the same mistake is made. They think they show man at his best because he can fight, for instance, and undergo tremendous physical exertion; and this is pitted against the physical weak- ness and non-combating quality of woman. This is unjust. Woman is as courageous as man. Each is equally good in his of her way. What man can bring up a child with such patience, endurance, and love as the woman can? The one has developed the power of doing; the other, the power of suffering. If woman cannot act, neither can man suffer. The whole universe is one of perfect balance”, said Swami Vivekananda once while deliberating on empowerment of women. What he felt, in those days might have roused much ripple amongst people no doubt but it’s the truth he reflected years back in his thinking about women which is so modern and realistic in approach.

In fact, what was felt by the Indian monk years before took a form of socialist political event and eventually blended into the cultures of different countries years after.

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

This year’s theme, “Empowering Women-Empowering Humanity: Picture It!” envisions a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting an education, having an income, and living in societies free from violence and discrimination. The celebration varies from region to region. Generally, it is celebrated to provide respect to whole women fraternity, appreciate them and to express love for them. It is a day, not only to appreciate, respect and love women but a day to celebrate women's economic, political, and social achievements.

Since its birth in the socialist movement, the day has grown to become a day for recognition of women's issues and celebration of their rights across developed and developing countries alike. This day, hence, is a reminder of vigilance and action required to ensure that they gain and maintain equality in all aspects of life

History of International Women’s Day

International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. In 1909, the first National Woman's Day was observed in the United States on February 28. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions. In 1910, the Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen established a Women's Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women's rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women. It is to be noted that in 1914, International Women’s Day celebration was held on March 8. From then onwards it is celebratd everywhere on March 8. The 1914 event celebration in the Germany was especially held for the women’s right to vote.

Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women's conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women's rights and participation in the political and economic arenas. Increasingly, International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.

Every year International Women’s Day is celebrated using a particular theme. The theme of the International Women’s Day celebration of 2013 was “A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence against Women”. The theme of the International Women’s Day celebration of 2014 was “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women”. The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!”

Status of women in India- past & present

International Women’s Day is celebrated with great zeal and passion in India on March 8, every year to increase the awareness about women’s rights. This event celebration plays a great role in distributing the real message about the women’s right and their place in the society. It even promotes for bettering the living condition of the women by solving their social issues.

In the Vedic Period women were educated, enjoyed equal status, used to get married at a mature age and had full rights to choose their husbands.

Indian women now-a-days too is participating in all fields like going to space as astraunaut or shining in  sports, education, science, IT, politics (as Prime Minister) and many other odd fields such as driving trains.

However, there are many issues that need to be tackled too, such as dowry, sexual harassment, crime against women, rape, child marriage, domestic violence, eve-teasing etc.

From time to time many Indian reformers fought for the betterment of women in India such as Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Peary Charan Sarkar etc. With their efforts change happened to some extent, laws were made against the odds of the society.

Legal Framework

            The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women.

India has also ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights of women. Key among them is the ratification of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993.The Mexico Plan of Action (1975), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (1985), the Beijing Declaration as well as the Platform for Action (1995) and the Outcome Document adopted by the UNGA Session on Gender Equality and Development & Peace for the 21st century, titled "Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action" have been unreservedly endorsed by India for appropriate follow up.

Current Scenario

            However, there still exists a wide gap between the goals enunciated in the Constitution, legislation, policies, plans, programmes, and related mechanisms on the one hand and the situational reality of the status of women in India, on the other.

Gender disparity manifests itself in various forms, the most obvious being the trend of continuously declining female ratio in the population in the last few decades. Social stereotyping and violence at the domestic and societal levels are some of the other manifestations. Discrimination against girl children, adolescent girls and women persists in parts of the country. The underlying causes of gender inequality are related to social and economic structure, which is based on informal and formal norms, and practices. Consequently, the access of women particularly those belonging to weaker sections including Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/ Other backward Classes and minorities, majority of whom are in the rural areas and in the informal, unorganized sector – to education, health and productive resources, among others, is inadequate. Therefore, they remain largely marginalized, poor and socially excluded.

Within the framework of a democratic polity, our laws, development policies, Plans and programmes have aimed at women’s advancement in different spheres. From the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-78) onwards has seen a marked shift in the approach to women’s issues from welfare to development. In recent years, the empowerment of women has been recognized as the central issue in determining the status of women. The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels.

The present Government has initiated a number of schemes and programmes,policy initiatives aimed at securing the lives of women and girl child as part of Prime Minister’s vision to take every citizen along in the country’s march towards becoming a modern country. To name a few Swacch Bharat Mission, National Digital Literacy Mission, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme and the PM’s Jan Dhan Yojana, are expected to  rejuvenate the socio-economic and political mindset and landscape of this country. While the Swacch Bharat Mission can have a multiplier effect of not only usher in a Clean India but can build a robust India which has an educated, healthy, happy population, Pradhan Mantri Dhan-Jan Yojana envisages to empower every person by integrating him/her with the banking network in the country and also make him an active beneficiary of the welfare largesse of the government through a transparent mechanism. Similarly many schemes related to women health, nutrition, etc are restructured with a focus on women and girl children and adolescents. National Digital Literacy Mission intends to transform India into a digitally empowered knowledge society.

Union Minister of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu has stated that central government is working on mandating 50 per cent reservation for women in all the urban local bodies of the country, to promote their participation in urban policy making for developing ‘engendered cities’. He has stressed on the need for imparting gender perspective to designing urban policies and programmes while inaugurating a two day ‘International Conference on Gender and Urban Poverty’ recently. The Minister further indicated the government’s initiative to focus on the basic toilet needs of women and provide one crore household toilets in urban areas under Swachh Bharat Mission which on a conservative estimate will benefit over two crore women daily and promote ‘engendered cities’ with the objective of welfare of women through their participation.

Finance Minister Shri. Arun Jaitley has doubled the budget of the Nirbhaya fund to Rs.2,000 crore from Rs 1,000 crore this year. "The government is committed to safety and security of women, and another Rs.1,000 crore has been allocated to the Nirbhaya Fund," said Jaitley while presenting the Union budget. Besides, the thought of incorporation of special women force in Railway protection is an indication of Union Government’s constructive approach towards security and maintaining the dignity of women in India.

Besides, the thought of incorporation of special women force in Railway protection is an indication of Union Government’s constructive approach towards security and maintaining the dignity of women in India.

International Women’s Day in India

International Women’s Day is celebrated with great zeal and passion in India on March 8, every year to increase the awareness about women’s rights. This event plays a great role in displaying the real message about the women’s right and their place in the society. It even promotes for bettering the living condition of the women by solving their social issues.

Ministry of Woman and Child Development which is the nodal ministry for Woman issues organizes various events across the country along with state departments,district /panchayat administration to  highlight various issues concerning women.Some of these include presentation of Stree Shakti Puruskars and Nari Shakti Puruskars by the President of India,  Women and Child Development Ministry has instituted two new awards this year namely (i) Rajya Mahila Puruskar & (ii) Zila Mahila Puruskar.  Rajya Mahila Puruskar will be given by the Chief Minister of the respective State and Zila Mahila Puruskar will be given by the District Collector of the respective District.   Anganwadis will organize activities to observe International Women’s Day.

Apart from being a salute to the spirit of womanhood, the day is a diligent reminder of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life. Besides, women have to move forward in solving their problems on their own and not depending on others. In the words of Swami Vivekananda again, “Our right of interference is limited entirely to giving education. Women must be put in a position to solve their own problems in their own way. No one can or ought to do this for them. And our Indian women are capable of doing it as any in the world.”

Tobacco: The Slow Poison Engulfing India

Tobacco use is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease worldwide. Nearly one million people die in India every year due to tobacco use. Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), respiratory disease, and cancers at multiple sites. Tobacco use, including reverse smoking (smoking with the lit end inside the mouth), chewing of betel quid (a mixture of areca nut, slaked lime, and tobacco wrapped in betel leaf), and use of smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract. In the past few decades inadequate public awareness of smoking risks, combined with aggressive marketing by tobacco companies, has resulted in a sharp increase in tobacco addiction in India.

Indian perspective of tobacco use

In terms of tobacco habit, India is unique. In 17 states of India, tobacco use is more than 69 %. The North-Eastern region exhibits highest rates of tobacco use - in Mizoram more than 80 per cent of men use some form of tobacco, followed by Tripura (76 %) and Assam (72%). Arunachal Pradesh is the second largest state after Mizoram whose people chew tobacco products (Gupta 2006). Only 22% of total tobacco is consumed in India in the form of cigarettes, 54% is in the form of bidis and 24% is consumed in the form of chewing tobacco, pan masala, snuf, khaini, gutkha, masheri and tobacco tooth paste. These chewable tobacco products contain purified tobacco, paraffin, areca nut, lime, catechu and 230 permitted additives and flavours including known carcinogens.

Global adult tobacco survey (GATS) of India

 According to GATS 2009-2010 the key features have been enlisted below-

1. The prevalence of tobacco use in India is very high and more than one-third (35%) of adults in India use tobacco in some form or the other.

2. The prevalence of overall tobacco use is 48 % among men and 20 % among women.

3. Among them 21 % adults use only smokeless tobacco, 9 % only smoke and 5 % smoke as well as smokeless tobacco.

4. The estimated number of tobacco users in India is 274.9 million.

5. There is significant variation in prevalence of both smoking and smokeless tobacco use in different regions and states. The prevalence of tobacco use among all the states and Union Territories ranges from the highest of 67 % in Mizoram to the lowest of 9 % in Goa.

6. Prevalence of tobacco use is higher among rural population as compared to urban and prevalence is found to decrease with increase in education level.

Tobacco use prevalence among youth

According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS, 2006), a total of 36.9% children in India initiate smoking before the age of 10. Among students 4.2% smoke cigarettes with rate for boys significantly higher than girls and 11.9% students use other tobacco products. Cigarette smoking among youth is higher in central, southern and north-eastern regions (12%). Exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in public places is as high as 40%.

Toxic chemistry of tobacco

Nearly 3000 chemical constituents have been identified in smokeless tobacco, while 4000 are present in tobacco smoke. These include alkaloids such as nicotine, nornicotine, cotinine, anatabin, anabasin; aliphatic hydrocarbons present in the waxy leaf coating and hundreds of isoprenoids that give the aroma to tobacco. Phytosterols such as cholesterol, campesterol, etc. and alcohols, phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid, rutin, carboxylic acids and several free amino acids are present in tobacco. A wide range of toxic metals including mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium and other trace elements have been found in Indian tobacco. The alkaloids nicotine and nornicotine give rise to carcinogenic N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), while another potent carcinogen 4-methylnitrosamino- 1-(3pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is derived from nicotine. N-nitrosoanatabin (NAT) and N-nitrosoanabasin are other N-nitrosamines derived from the alkaloids anabasin and anatabin, respectively. Both NNN and NNK are present in high concentrations in smokeless tobacco and tobacco smoke.

The tobacco related carcinogens can be metabolically activated to intermediates that react with DNA, forming covalently bound products known as DNA adducts. With persistence of DNA adducts during DNA replication permanent DNA mutation may occur. Mutations in particular regions of crucial genes, like RAS orMYC oncogenes or TP53 or CDKN2A tumor-suppressor genes, may result in loss of normal cellular growth-control regulation and tumor development. Nicotine and carcinogens can also bind directly to some cellular receptors, leading to activation of the serine threonine kinase AKT (protein kinase B), protein kinase A  and other factors. These lead to decreased apoptosis, increased angiogenesis and increased cell transformation. Tobacco products may also activate protein kinase C (PKC), activator protein 1 (AP1) or other factors, thereby enhancing carcinogenesis.

Tobacco and cancer in India

Tobacco addiction is an established risk factor for cancers of the lung, head and neck (oral cavity, pharynx, larynx), nasopharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, bladder, and cervix, and leukemia (IARC, 2012). Globally approximately 6.7 million smoking-related cancer cases are diagnosed every year of which 4.3 million cases are from developing countries .Even the frequency of newly diagnosed lung, stomach, liver, head and neck, esophagus, cervical, and nasopharyngeal cancers and leukemia cases are more in developing countries than developed countries. Cigarette smoking confers a 15- to 30-fold increase of lung cancer, a 10-fold increase of laryngeal cancer, a 4- to 5- fold increase of both oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers, a 1.5- to 5-fold increase of esophageal cancer, a 2- to 4-fold increase of pancreatic cancer, and a 1.5 to 2.5-fold increase of nasopharyngeal, stomach, liver, kidney, cervix cancers, and leukemia. In terms of global cancer mortality, tobacco smoking accounts for 42% of oral and oropharyngeal cancer, 42% of esophageal cancer, 13% of stomach cancer, 14% of liver cancer, 22% of pancreatic cancer, 70% of trachea, bronchus, and lung cancers, 2% of cervical cancer, 28% of bladder cancer, 9% of leukemia, 21% of all cancers

            The tobacco-related cancers constitute 56.4% and 44.9% of cancers in males and females, respectively. The top five or six cancers in men are all tobacco-related cancers which include lung, oral cavity, larynx, oesophagus and pharynx whereas in women, these are cancers of cervix, oral cavity, oesophagus and lung. Case control studies conducted in India on cancer at various sites have shown that both smoking and smokeless tobacco use (including tobacco with lime and paan with tobacco) cause elevated risks for intra-oral, oropharyngeal, oesophageal and cervical cancers, and cancer of the penis. They have shown that smoking in India causes elevated risks for cancer of the lungs, hypopharynx, larynx and stomach. Associations with smokeless tobacco are suggested for cancers of the oral cavity, esophagus, and the pancreas .The attributable fraction of tobacco-related cancer incidence for smokeless tobacco varies considerably by region and sex.  In India oral cavity cancer cases that are attributed to smokeless tobacco are estimated to be 52.5% in men and 51.6% in women. The tobacco habit varies regionally within India that dictates difference in gestation period and molecular phathophysiological characteristics of oral precancerous and cancerous lesion (website reference on tobacco habits in India). Areca nut, an indispensable component of gutka, causes oral submucous fibrosis and is a precursor to oral cancer. Unlike smoking with gutka use, oral submucous fibrosis develops within a very short period of time

National tobacco control program

There is no doubt that from view of public health point, this highly toxic industrial product needs strict control measures. The Government of India enacted ‘Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA) to prohibit the consumption of cigarettes and other tobacco products, which are injurious to health. To strengthen the implementation of the tobacco control provisions under COTPA and policies of tobacco control mandated under the WHO FCTC, the Government of the India piloted National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) in 2007–2008.

The main components of the NTCP were:

National level

i. Public awareness/mass media campaigns against tobacco; ii. Establishment of tobacco product testing laboratories iii. Mainstreaming the program components as part of the health care delivery mechanism under the National Rural Health Mission framework; iv. Mainstream Research and Training on alternate crops and livelihoods in collaboration with other nodal Ministries; v. Monitoring and Evaluation including surveillance e.g. GATS India

State level

i. Tobacco control cells with dedicated manpower for effective implementation and monitoring of anti tobacco laws and initiatives

District level

i. Training of health and social workers, SHGs, NGOs, school teachers etc; ii. Local IEC activities;  iii. Setting up tobacco cessation facilities; iv. School Programme; v. Monitoring tobacco control laws

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India under the proposed National Tobacco Control Programme currently has 19 Tobacco Cessation Centres (TCCs) in diverse settings across India. These centres function under the District Tobacco Control Cell and comprise cancer treatment centres, psychiatric centres, medical colleges and NGOs .

Other tobacco control strategies initiated by the government:

The other prime initiatives that have been taken by Government of India for tobacco control include –(i)A national level inter-ministerial task force has been set up with stakeholder ministries and representatives from other states and civil society; (ii) A Steering Committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Secretary (Health) to look into specific instances of violation of Section 5 at national level. Monitoring Committees have also been formed at state level; (iii) In 2008, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare initiated a pilot project for developing alternative cropping systems to replace bidi and chewing tobacco with Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI), Rajamundhry; (iv) The Ministry of Labour has launched a pilot programme for skillbased vocational training of bidi workers especially women and minors; (v) Tobacco control initiatives are being integrated with other national health programs.e.g National Mental Helath Program(NMHP), National Cancer Control Program(NCCP) etc .

Recommendations for tobacco control in future

The National Action Plan and Monitoring Framework for Prevention and Control of Non Communicable Diseases in India developed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aims to achieve a 20% reduction in current tobacco use by 2020 and 30% by 2025. A comprehensive study on the economic burden of tobacco related diseases was supported by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, WHO Country Office for India and was developed by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in 2014. According to the report the total economic costs attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India in the year 2011 amounted to Rs. 1,04,500 crores. The massive direct medical costs of tobacco attributable diseases amounted to Rs.16,800 crore and associated indirect morbidity cost was of Rs. 14,700 crore. The cost from premature mortality is Rs. 73,000 crores, indicating a substantial productive loss to the nation. Therefore in order to reduce the tremendous economic burden and the concurrent losses of the nation the following tobacco control efforts has been recommended by the report-

(i)                 Comprehensive tobacco control policy; (ii) Tobacco taxation policy; (iii) Treatment for tobacco dependence; (iv) Prohibition of sale and manufacture of all forms of smokeless tobacco products/chewing tobacco; (v) Enhancing public awareness; (vi) Implementation of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control and tobacco control laws.

Conclusion

The tobacco problem in India is complex due to the varied nature of tobacco use. Cessation in Indian settings needs a multi disciplinary approach which should include preventive, curative and rehabilitative care. Mass awareness activities in India should address adult and youth smokers as well as chewers. Educational interventions are very necessary in schools and colleges due to the large number of tobacco addicted children and teenagers. Effective tobacco control in India is dependent on balanced implementation of demand and supply reduction strategies by the Government and stakeholder departments as well as on synergism of government policies and tobacco control initiatives by non government organisations.

2015-16 Budget and Rural Development

            Notwithstanding growing urbanization in the last decade or two, India still live in Six lakh villages and rightly the 2015-16 general budget, the first full year budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly gives the due attention to Rural Development coupled with increased allocation to the farm sector. Several new initiatives have been launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the budget, which has gone unnoticed. The overall plan expenditure may look lower but one should not forget that with the implementation of 14^th finance commission recommendations, the states get clear 10 per cent more share of central pool of taxes at 42 per cent giving substantial hike in resources that are untied thereby helping states to design and provide more resources in those rural programmes that require more money. Jaitley has also provided significant resources for rural development. Apart from specific allocation of Rs 79,526 crore for rural development, several initiatives and allocations for infrastructure, railways and social schemes for poor will benefit rural folks as these investments are going to be for 60 per cent of 1.2 billion populations living in rural areas.

            As Jaitley himself said in his budget speech in Parliament on February 28 that with the economy turning around “dramatically” in the nine months of Modi government coupled with restoration of macro-economic stability, conditions have been created for stepping on the pedals for sustainable poverty elimination, job creation and durable double-digit economic growth, which meant more rural prosperity in the country.

            The first and foremost achievement of this government is success of Jan Dhan Yojana in a short period of 100 days. Through this financial inclusion programme 12.5 crore unbanked families, mostly in rural areas have been brought into the financial mainstream, thereby providing much needed launching pad for carrying out successfully various social programmes particularly for rural poor. This has led to launch of game changing JAM Trinity programme – Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile—to implement direct transfer of benefits mostly to rural poor in a leakage-proof, well targeted and cashless manner. This is a significant development. In fact the leakage in social schemes has been so much that they have not had the desired result in the 6-7 decades of economic development since independence. As late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi himself said only 16 paise reached the beneficiary from every rupee spent. Rajiv Gandhi made this observation 25 years ago and it has not become any better, perhaps marginally better as leakage and corruption is widespread even today. JAM will ensure that the rural schemes are more effective, efficient and better targeted. The budget also puts in place a roadmap that aims at double-digit economic growth that is “feasible very soon”. greatly benefitting rural India through inclusive growth.  In this regard, financial inclusion is going to be a major tool and Jan Dhan Yojana is going to facilitate in a great measure.

            “In respect of social and economic indicators, for seven decades now, we have worked in terms of percentages and numbers of beneficiaries covered, it is quite obvious that incremental change is not going to take anywhere. We have to think in terms of a quantum jump,” Jaitley observed and announced several out-of-box ideas to transform rural India.

He unveiled a 13-point agenda that is to be implemented by 2022, the 75^th year of independence with a sizeable rural component. This comprise a roof for each family in India—that is six crore houses to be built of which 4 crore houses in rural areas with 24-hour power, clean drinking water, a toilet and road connectivity. Electrification of all the remaining 20,000 villages in the country by 2020. Connecting each of 1,78,000 unconnected habitations by all weather roads. This meant completing one lakh km of rorad currently under construction and building of additional one lakh km of road. Increasing farm productivity through irrigation and other measures. To bring on par North Eastern and Easter regions, which are at present lagging behind particularly in economic development.

Jaitley said in spite of the large increase in the devolution to states due to the recommendations of 14^th finance commission, adequate provision is being made for the schemes for the poor with allocation of Rs 68,968 crore to the education sector including mid-day meals, Rs 33,152 crore to the health sector and Rs 79,526 crore for Rural development activities including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme, Rs 22,407 crore for housing, Rs 10,351 crore for women and child development, Rs 4,173 crore for Water Resources and Namami Ganga (cleaning of the river). A Substantial amount under these heads will go for the development of villages.

Apart from ensuring that farm credit is raised to Rs 8.5 lakh crore next fiscal year from Rs 8 lakh crore this financial year, the government committed to Rs 34, 699 crore for MGNREGA, which would be further stepped up  if needed to ensure that no one, who is poor in rural India is left without employment. MGNREGA will also help in benchmarking rural wages at a higher level and promote rural consumption that will help kick-starting economy to achieve 8-8.5  per cent growth in 2015-16 and then move on to double-digit growth.

            While the farmer is no longer in the clutches of the local trader and to increase kisan’s income, government proposed to create a unified national agriculture market. The problem at present is that India has thousands of mandis at present and as a result the prices of farm produce goes up by 15-20 per cent benefitting several middlemen thereby benefitting neitherthe poor farmer or consumer. To fund the unfunded, Jaitley proposed to create a Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (Mudra) Bank. This is a major attempt to generate employment in rural areas particularly in weaker sections of the society. There are 5.77 crore small business units, mostly individual proprietorship, which run small manufacturing, trading or service businesses. Sixty-two per cent are owned by scheduled castes, scheduled tribes or other backward communities. Mudra bank will have a corpuse of Rs 20,000 crore and credit guarantee corpus of Rs 3,000 crore. Mudra bank will refinance micro finance institutions through a Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Jaitley said these measures will greatly increase the confidence of young, educated or skilled workers, who would now be able to aspire to become first generation entrepreneurs; existing small businesses, too, will be ale to expand their activieties. “Just as we are banking theun-banked, we are also funding theun-funded,” he said.

            Working capital requirement of micro, small and medium enterprises, located substantially in rural areas will also get a boost with the establishment of Electronic Trade Receivables Discounting system soon. This will be help in financing of trade receivables of MSMEs, from corporate and other buyers, through multiple financiers. This should improve the liquidity in the MSME sector significantly. To increase access to the formal financial system government proposed to utilize the vast postal network with nearly 1,54,000 points of presence spread across villages of the country. “I hope that the Postal Department will make its proposed payments bank venture successful so that if contributes further to the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.

            The budget also steps up allocation for rural health and social security. To promote jan Suraksha, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna will be launched soon to cover accidental risk of Rs 2 lakh for a premium of just Rs 12 per year. Similarly Atal pension yojana, which will provide defined pension, depending on the contribution and its period. Government will contribute 50 per cent of the benefciaries’ premium limited to Rs 1000 each year for five years in the new accounts to be opened in the next nine months. Government also proposed to create senior citizen welfare fund utilizing unclaimed deposits of about Rs 9,000 crore in Public Provident Fund and Employees Provident Fund.  The corpus will be utilized to subsidize the premium of vulnerable groups such as old age pensioners, BPL card-holders, small and marginal farmers and others. Details of the scheme will be announced later this month. This social security schemes will largely benefit rural population. Of the 10.5 crore senior citizens in the country, seventy per cent live in rural areas and a large number are in rural areas.

            The Budget also allocates Rs one lakh crore allocation to National Bank for Agricultgure and Rural development will have positive impact on the rural infrastructure. The long-term credit fund has been provided 15,000 crore in the next financial from Rs 5000 crore in the current financial year. This will help in pushing agro-based rural industries. Rural roads get Rs 25,000 crore allocation.

            The Modi government has quietly stepped rural development and agriculture in the budget under various heads, which has apparently gone unnoticed giving credence to the opposition criticism that this year’s budget is mainly for corporate and the middle class. In fact there are several initiatives and one has to read the fine print of the budget as the initiatives are spread across various departments and if they are implemented in right earnest, it will transform the rural India into a vibrant economy.

#ROTAVAC-Desi Rotaviral Vaccine with Global Reach

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, launched the first indigenously developed and manufactured Rotavirus vaccine: 'Rotavac’, yesterday. This indigenously developed vaccine will boost efforts to combat infant mortality due to diarrhoea. 

Each year, diarrhoea caused by rotavirus results up to 10 lakh hospitalizations and kills nearly 80 thousand children under the age of 5 years. Besides causing emotional stress to the affected families, it also pushes many Indian families below the poverty line and also imposes significant economic burden on the country.

        What is Rotavirus infection?

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrheal (gastro enteritis) disease in infants and young children globally. Children under five years of age, especially those between 6 months and two years are most vulnerable to this disease. Rotaviruses are estimated to be responsible for approximately 5, 27,000 deaths each year, with more than 85% of these deaths occurring in low-income countries in Africa and Asia, and over two million are hospitalized each year with pronounced dehydration.

Among 43 countries participating in the Global Surveillance Network for rotavirus in 2009, 36% of hospitalizations for diarrhea among children aged below 5 years were caused by rotavirus infection. Rotavirus affects populations in all socio-economic groups and is equally prevalent in industrialized and developing countries. So differences in sanitation practices or water supply are not likely to affect the incidence of the infection.

Rotavirus

 The name Rotavirus comes from the characteristic wheel-like appearance of the virus when viewed by electron microscope (the name rotavirus is derived from the Latin word Rota, meaning "wheel”). Rota viral diarrhea is an infection of the stomach and bowel. It spreads when infected children do not maintain proper personal hygiene. Virus spreads by contact or airborne route. Most cases of gastroenteritis in children are mild and usually pass within 3-5 days without the need for treatment. However, young children, particularly those under two years of age, are at risk of dehydration. So it is very important that they drink plenty of fluids. In severe cases of gastroenteritis, where there has been significant fluid loss, hospital treatment may be required so that fluid can be replaced through drips.

   The first rotavirus infection tends to be the most severe because the body builds up immunity (resistance) to the virus afterwards. This is why these types of infections are extremely rare in adults. It is estimated that every child will have at least one rotavirus infection before the age of five. Most infections occur among children aged between three months and three years old.

Indian Scenario

In India, nationally representative data on the incidence of severe rota virus disease is lacking. However, studies have revealed that on an average 34% of all diarrheal hospitalizations are due to rota virus infection and the proportion of severe rota viral infection has not decreased in the last few years, similar to the global trend indicating that improved sanitation and use of anti-biotics have not been effective on rota virus. The prevalence of Rota virus in new born is high in India to the extent of 73%, but these infections are normally a- symptomatic and the likelihood of acquiring infection increases with the length of stay in the hospital.

While some studies in India have found no association between rotavirus infection and time of year, most have observed an increase in rotavirus-associated diarrhea during the winter months, October to February, throughout the country. The observed proportion of rotavirus cases occurring in the cooler season has ranged from 59% to 72%.

Treatment & Prevention

No specific treatment exists for rotavirus gastroenteritis, and repeat infections are common in children. Since 2006, vaccines are available for rotavirus infection. Prior to the availability of a vaccine, almost all children became infected with rotavirus by their third birthday. Repeat infections with different viral strains were possible. After several infections with different strains of the virus, children acquire immunity to rotavirus. Adults sometimes get infected, but the resulting illness is usually mild.

Vaccination

Use of vaccine should be part of a comprehensive diarrhoeal disease control strategy including, among other interventions, improvements of hygiene and sanitation, administration of oral rehydration solution and overall improved case management.

The new vaccine ROTAVAC has been developed under an innovative public-private partnership model. It involved partnership between the Ministry of Science and Technology, the institutions of the US Government, various government institutions and NGOs in India, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Funding by Government of India supported basic research in educational and scientific institutions in India. This was also supplemented by the support of U.S. Government institutions like the National Institute of Health. The Gates Foundation and Bharat Biotech India Limited contributed towards product development and testing. The successful launch of the first indigenously developed and produced vaccine today was the result of an extraordinary effort spread over the last 25 years. .

The Bharat Biotech India Limited that was involved in the development and production of the vaccine was selected in 1997-1998 by the India-U.S. Vaccine Action Programme and the standard government procedures. The company has given undertaking to keep the cost of the vaccine at US$ 1 per dose. This is the third such vaccine available globally against Rotavirus and, at the current prices, the cheapest and cost effective in terms of disability adjusted life year that satisfy the WHO/ UNICEF criteria for a cost- effective  intervention.

 ROTAVAC is an oral vaccine and is administered to infants in a three-dose course at the ages of 6, 10, and 14 weeks. It is given alongside routine immunizations in the UIP vaccines recommended at these ages.. Improving the overall performance of the immunization system is critical to the success of any vaccine introduction.

ROTAVAC represents the successful research and development of a novel vaccine from the developing world with global standards. The Prime Minister lauded this initiative as an example of India's capabilities for high-end research and development; manufacture of sophisticated pharmaceutical products in India; and, effective Public-Private-Partnership model for finding affordable solutions to societal challenges.

He hoped that the development of the rotavirus vaccine would inspire higher levels of research, development and manufacturing activities in India, not just in medical science, but also in other advanced areas of science and technology. On the launch occasion Prime Minister felt that solutions found in India would have great relevance to the rest of the world, especially the developing world.

India stands seventh in number of reactors in operation and fourteenth in terms of net installed capacity among countries with nuclear power

At present India stands seventh in number of reactors in operation and fourteenth in terms of net installed capacity among countries with nuclear power. It is third in number of reactors under construction and sixth in terms of net capacity under construction. India has developed comprehensive capabilities in all aspects of nuclear power including siting, design, construction, commissioning, operation & maintenance, renovation &modernisation and life extension of nuclear power plants. Its safety record over 45 years of operation has been impeccable with no accident or instance of release of radioactivity in the public domain beyond stipulated limits. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)’s reactors have been operated consistently at high Availability Factors and demonstrated operation at high Plant Load Factors. In terms of continuous operation, NPCIL reactors have operated for more than a year seventeen times with one reactor, Rajasthan Atomic Power Station Unit 5 (RAPS-5) setting a record of 765 days of continuous operation, second largest in the world. The nuclear power programme will continue to be pursued to add more capacity in future.