I&B Minister convenes meeting to review functioning of Media Units in UTs

Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister has been working proactively with the States/UTs to enhance the cooperation in the field of communication & outreach. Cooperation between Centre and States/UTs in content generation in Indian languages and local dialects was critical to effectively reach out to people in their own language. Adopting innovative ways and leveraging New Media in information dissemination was necessary to keep pace with the changing communication paradigm. Minister stated this while chairing a meeting to review the functioning of the media units of Ministry of I&B located in the Union Territories here today. Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for I&B, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Secretary I&B, Shri N K Sinha, representatives from UTs and senior officers from Ministry were also present during the meeting.

Soliciting cooperation from the UTs, Shri Naidu stressed upon the need to ensure effective implementation of Cable TV Act in order to restrict airing of objectionable content and unauthorized channels. He urged UTs to appoint Nodal officers who can assist the DMs for this task in the UTs. He also highlighted that UT administration was required to direct concerned District Magistrate’s to investigate the matter for identifying non-existing publications in their districts and cancel the declarations of such publications as per the PRB Act. Out of 16,132 registered publications in Delhi, only 3704 publications has submitted their Annual Returns in the last five years.

During the review meeting, Shri Naidu announced that the All India Radio would be commissioning of two new Shortwave Solid State digital transmitters of 100 kW power each for dissemination of content across the border for Afghanistan- Pakistan region by the end of August 2017. The transmitters shall be installed in Delhi. For the Andaman and Nicobar, a new 100 W FM transmitter would be installed in Car Nicobar by the end of the financial year. He also mentioned that to enhance the outreach, the 3KW FM transmitter in Daman would be replaced by 6KW transmitter. Similarly, in Karaikal, Puducherry, the present 6 KW FM transmitter would be replaced by 10 KW FM transmitter to enhance the reach.

Highlighting the importance of communication in local dialects, Shri Naidu urged the UTs to give emphasis to setting up of community radio stations in UTs. He also mentioned the liberalised subsidy of 75% by Central Government for stakeholders in this regard.

Shri Naidu reiterated that the Government believed in cooperative federalism and that the centre & states/UTs need to work as Team India in scripting the development narrative. 

Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for I&B mentioned that the monitoring of the content broadcast by cable operators/ channels can be done using a software and that physical verification was not required.

Earlier today, Secretary I&B chaired a review meeting with the officials from UTs, senior officials from Ministry and media units heads to discuss and deliberate on the concerned issues.

“JIGYASA” - Student-Scientist connect programme launched

Jigyasa, a student- scientist connect programme was officially launched in the national capital today. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has joined hands with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to implement this programme. The focus is on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student’s classroom learning with that of a very well planned research laboratory based learning.

Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony was held in the presence of Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Harshvardhan said, that the Jigyasa programme was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a new India and “Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR)” of scientific community and institutions. It is a historic day when two ministries are collaborating on the Youth who are the future of the nation. The day also coincides with the birthday of Shri Shyama Prasad Mukherjee who is an inspirational figure and a role model for all Indians.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Prakash Javadekar said that “to inculcate scientific temper among the students we have to make them aware about the impact of science on the society. Science has played a very important role in changing our lives”. Thanking Dr Harshvardhan and CSIR, Shri Javadekar further said that access to these premier institutions is only the beginning. CSIR will also talent hunt among the visiting students for furthering the cause of scientific development. The Minister also informed that he will personally review the status periodically.

CSIR has been contributing for several decades for socio-economic development in the country.  It has been through development and deployment of knowledge base focused at Technology and Innovation. CSIR has also been playing a key role in human resource development, in particular training of the young researchers through Ph. D. programmes in diverse fields. 

The “JIGYASA” would inculcate the culture of inquisitiveness on one hand and scientific temper on the other, amongst the school students and their teachers. The Programme is expected to connect 1151 Kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 National Laboratories of CSIR targeting 100,000 students and nearly 1000 teachers annually.

The program will also enable the students and teachers to practically live the theoretical concepts taught in science by visiting CSIR laboratories and by participating in mini-science projects. The model of engagement includes:

• Student Residential Programmes;
• Scientists as Teachers and Teachers as Scientists;
• Lab specific activities / Onsite Experiments;
• Visits of Scientists to Schools/Outreach Programmes;
• Science and Maths Clubs;
• Popular Lecture Series/ demonstration programme at Schools;
• Student Apprenticeship Programmes;
• Science Exhibitions;
• Projects of National Children’s Science Congress;
• Teacher Workshops; and
• Tinkering Laboratories.

“JIGYASA” is one of the major initiative taken up by CSIR at national level, during its Platinum Jubilee Celebration Year.  CSIR is widening and deepening its Scientific Social Responsibility further with the programme.

Shri Sanjay Kumar takes charge as DG, NDRF

Shri Sanjay Kumar, 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Himachal Pradesh Cadre, took charge as the Director General (DG) of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), today. 

The post of DG, NDRF fell vacant after incumbent Shri R K Pachnanda was appointed as the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Prior to the appointment as DG, NDRF, Shri Sanjay Kumar was serving as Director General of Police in Himachal Pradesh. 

Shri Rajnath Singh chairs a review meeting of Police Modernisation Division of MHA

The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting to take stock of the status of procurement of essential and critical equipment required by the forces for internal security operations and border security, here today. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, the Directors General of the Central Armed Police Forces and the senior officers in the Ministry of Home Affairs were also present. 

Apart from reviewing the progress made in acquisition of such critical equipment, the Home Minister also reviewed the process which is adopted to undertake the procurement. He directed the concerned officials to take suitable steps to expedite the process, cut delays and ensure that essential equipment is procured in timely basis. He also directed the Ministry to explore options of further delegation of powers to the forces and to simplify various steps involved in the process of procurement. 

Shri Rajnath Singh emphasized that no compromise will be made in adequately equipping the forces to take on the internal and border security challenges and desired that quick and prompt action should be taken by the forces and concerned Ministry officials. He also emphasized the need for identifying new technologies and procurement of required security equipment along with necessary training. 

It was also decided that reputed academic and professional institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) should be involved to assist in building capacity of all concerned in the Ministry and the forces in framing proper request for proposals (RFPs) for timely procurement. 

Shri J P Nadda addresses ‘BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting at China; highlights the achievements of India in the health sector

“Strengthening of health systems is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India has prioritized strengthening health systems as a non-negotiable strategy towards achieving SDGs.” This was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare during his addresses at the ‘BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting at Tianjin, China, today. The Union Health Minister spoke on the theme – ‘Strengthen Health System and Achieve Health-Related SDGs.’

In his address, Shri Nadda stressed on the importance of building strong and resilient health systems and said that the case for strengthening health systems stems from the basic realization that even the most well-crafted or well-designed health interventions cannot succeed without a strengthened health system that encompasses improvements in healthcare service provision, utilization, quality and efficiency of healthcare services delivered including adoption of healthy behaviours and practices. The Health Minister further stated that the health sector adds direct economic value by expanding the number of jobs, investing in infrastructure projects and purchasing supplies needed for health-care delivery.

Shri Nadda informed the participants that the National Health Policy, 2017 adopted by India is well aligned with the SDG-3 targets. “The new policy enunciates health in all policies, comprehensive primary healthcare, organisation of public healthcare delivery, improving vaccines and drug security and progressive movement towards universal health coverage,” Shri Nadda stated. Shri Nadda further added that the National Health Mission (NHM), one of the largest health programmes in the world, represents the prime vehicle to achieve the SDG-3, and in its next phase is aligning its goals with the National Health Policy 2017 and the SDG-3.

Highlighting the achievements of India in the health sector, Shri Nadda stated that India has expanded the number of vaccines under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) and launched Mission Indradhanush aimed at expanding coverage by reaching the unreached. India has taken various measures to augment both number, quality and skill mix and geographical distribution to address shortage of critical health human resource such as increasing medical seats, upgradation of District Hospitals to Medical colleges in underserved areas, establishing new AIIMS, Shri Nadda elaborated.

The Health Minister further informed that free dialysis services are provided free of cost to the poor under the recently launched Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme which is on Public Private Partnership mode. The proposed National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) envisages inclusion of preventive care, robust IT platform, strong grievance redressal mechanism in addition to expanding both population and benefit coverage and providing an additional coverage to senior citizens, Shri Nadda said.

Shri Nadda also stated that to address the growing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) on account of premature mortality and morbidity, India has launched a universal population-based free screening, control and management programme for five common NCDs that is envisaged to translate into one of the largest population based screening and management programmes in the world in next few years.

Reiterating the commitment of the Government of India, the Health Minister said that India stands unwavering in its commitment towards synergizing collaboration with BRICS countries especially through the ‘BRICS Framework for Collaboration on Strategic Projects in Health’

Health Ministry holds 4th National Summit on Good, Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care Systems

Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha today inaugurated the 4th National Summit on Good, Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care Systems at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Smt Anupriya Patel, Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare and Shri Rustam Singh, Health Minister (MP), also graced the occasion. 

In her address, Smt Sumitra Mahajan highlighted the importance of hospital management. “We are taking various steps to ensure that we are meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Smt Mahajan said. She further said that National Health Policy, 2017 is a landmark step as it commits to comprehensive primary healthcare, effective regulatory framework and best infrastructure. 

Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare urged all the states to learn from the effective endeavours of the other States to address the challenges in healthcare delivery. Shri Kulaste added that this summit is a good platform to share experiences and collectively strategize on how to improve health services in the country 

Addressing the gathering, Smt Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare said that the summit gives a unique platform to share those steps that have helped to make a difference in healthcare delivery. “These are also helpful in drawing up a roadmap for meeting goals of SDGs and National Health Policy, 2017 which speaks about a comprehensive healthcare delivery framework,” Smt Anupriya Patel said. She further stated that if states can weave in the social determinants into module of healthcare provisioning then we can grow and strengthen our healthcare system together. 

Shri Rustam Singh, Health Minister (MP), highlighted various people-centered innovative approaches taken by state to ensure effective healthcare delivery. 

Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (Health) emphasised on the need of sharing best practices in healthcare systems as it gives states an opportunity to learn from each other. “We are meeting in the backdrop of two important events. One, shifting of goals from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the other is announcement of National Health Policy, 2017. The summit will guide us towards meeting goals set by both,” Shri Mishra said. He further stated that it is important to innovate to meet the targets. The Secretary further added that many exemplary practices have been undertaken in many states to meet healthcare goals and the centre stands committed to supporting the state/ UTs in their innovative endeavours. He urged the states to align their goals to national and global targets in healthcare delivery. Dr Saumya Swaminathan, Secretary (DHR) and DG (ICMR) highlighted the importance of research in healthcare. 

The Health Ministry also gave away awards to the states on the basis of Health Indicators and Service Delivery. The award for best performing States in the category of indoor services (based on change of IPD/1000 population from 2015-16 to 2016-17-HMIS) was given to Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Daman and Diu got the award among the Union Territories (UTs). For the best out-patient services, the award was given to Gujarat, Punjab and Jharkhand whereas Dadra and Nagar Haveli got the award amongst the Union Territories. For, average out of pocket expenditure per delivery in public health facility, the award was given to Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Among the UTs, the award was given to Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The award for decline in IMR was given to Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal among the bigger states, Manipur received it amongst the smaller states and Puducherry amongst the UTs. Best Performance in Revised National TB Control Programmme was given to Assam and Himachal Pradesh. 

Also present at the function were Shri R K Vats AS & MD (NHM) Smt. Vandana Gurnani, Joint Secretary (RCH, IEC), Principal Secretaries and Mission Directors from the States along with the other senior officers of the Health Ministry and Madhya Pradesh Government. 

Ministry of Food Processing Industry establishes GST facilitation cell to guide industry about GST regime

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has established a four member GST Facilitation Cell at its office to guide the industry about the new tax regime. The members of the GST Facilitation Cell can be accessed through Toll Free No 1800111175 or on #AskonGSTFPI. Further details can be accessed from http://www.mofpi.nic.in

The ministry has created a GST cell for the purpose of implementation and facilitating the rollout of GST with immediate effect. The GST facilitation cell will provide all possible support for the rollout of the levy to the major industry and business associations related to MoFPI. This cell will serve as the first point of contact to address any issue being faced by any sector related to the ministry. The GST cell will be equipped with the complete knowledge of the relevant GST Act, rules, rate structure etc.

The cell will be headed by Shri Bijaya Kumar Behera, Economic Advisor and Shri G Srinivasan, senior marketing officer, Shri S N Ahmed, Assistant Director, Shri Bikram Nath, Assistant Director as its Members.

The Ministry is in the process of organising several programmes for the industry to sensitise associates about GST, and has also planned to conduct seminars to disseminate information about the new tax regime.

Press Information Bureau has also created a special webpage on GST http://pib.nic.in/gst which will be a one stop platform for all information on the new tax regime. It contains press releases issued till date on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in both Hindi and English languages. The webpage also contains various presentations, FAQs etc on GST.