-
Hospitals in India are turning in Horror Dens as the Free Market Economy has Eliminated the Welfare State and the state has NO Responsibilty for the Health Care service. It is best defined by the attitude of the health Minister of Bengal, perhaps the Best Brahaminical Political Icon Mamata Bannerjee!
Growing number of farmers suicides in West Bengal is quite Alarming. By now there are reports of twenty
four farmers having committed suicide. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seem to be too busy to replicate Marxist ways of Goverenance, Regimented party Rule,Development at the cost of Mulnivasi Bahujan, Indiscriminate Urbanising and Industrialisation. she strongly banks on PPP Model and doing evrything possible to promote Foreign capital inflow. Mamata denies the Facts of Farmers committing suicide and quite inhuman is the stance she has taken on the alarming number of Child Death!Mulnivasi Bahujan have to learn a lesson that the Brahaminical system continues with so called Political change, Poribartan in Bengal`s case, but it Never does change the Inhuman circumstances of segregation, Exclusion and Ethnic Cleansing!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 732
Palash Biswas
Taking the crib death toll to eleven in Malda, another baby died on Friday at the Malda Sadar Hospital here, officials said.
Seven babies had died on Wednesday while three had passed away yesterday in the same hospital attached to the Malda Medical College.
Dr Debasish Bhattacharya, principal of the medical college, said the baby was brought to them in a critical condition with bronchopneumonia.
In other cases, the babies were born premature and underweight in some rural hospitals from where they were referred.
The babies were from the villages of Malda, Jharkhand and Bangladesh, officials said.
Over 55,000 women die due to child birth in India every year. Of the total children born in one year, a mind boggling 13 lakh die before they reach their first birthdays, most of them within a few weeks of entering this world. Another indicator that the world watches is how many children cannot survive beyond five years of age. In India every year, over 16 lakh under-5 years children die.These are hair-raising numbers, the highest in the world, mainly because India has the highest number of births in the world - over 2.62 crore per year. But how can one compare this with other countries with lower population or lower birth rates? That is done by expressing mother's deaths in terms of how many per 1 lakh live births. For India this maternal mortality rate works out to 212. And for infant deaths the ratio is written as so many per 1000 live births. For India this works out to 50. Under-5 mortality in India is 63.
Growing number of farmers suicides in West Bengal is quite Alarming. By now there are reports of twenty
four farmers having committed suicide. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seem to be too busy to replicate Marxist ways of Goverenance, Regimented party Rule,Development at the cost of Mulnivasi Bahujan, Indiscriminate Urbanising and Industrialisation. she strongly banks on PPP Model and doing evrything possible to promote Foreign capital inflow. Mamata denies the Facts of Farmers committing suicide and quite inhuman is the stance she has taken on the alarming number of Child Death!Mulnivasi Bahujan have to learn a lesson that the Brahaminical system continues with so called Political change, Poribartan in Bengal`s case, but it Never does change the Inhuman circumstances of segregation, Exclusion and Ethnic Cleansing!
The HinduWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrives to attend a meeting in Kolkata. File photo
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday denied reports about farmers' suicide in the state, a day after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat held the Trinamool Congress-led government responsible for the suicides.
"Twelve persons died due to some disease and they were not connected to farming, while reports said that some others took heavy loans from banks for personal purposes," Ms. Banerjee told a Panchayatiraj Sammelan at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Challenging the CPI(M) for spreading canards against her government, the chief minister claimed that 199 farmers had been killed by the Left Front while it was in power.
"You should be ashamed of the atrocities committed during your rule on the farmers. You killed farmers, looted them, snatched their produce and drove them out of their fields. We have not forgotten the atrocities on them," she alleged.
"To safeguard the farmers' interests, I went on a 26-day fasting in the city in 2006, while farmland was being forcibly acquired. I know farmers' agony," Ms. Banerjee said.
She said her government during the seven-month rule introduced Kisan Card and the farmers' insurance scheme and denied the CPI(M)'s charge that she had kept quiet while the fertiliser price was decontrolled.
Further to her defence, she said she was instrumental in resisting the Centre's move to raise prices of petroleum products and FDI entry in the retail sector.
Mr. Karat had on Wednesday blamed the policy of the present state government for the suicide of "at least 21 farmers in West Bengal in recent weeks".
"If you don't intervene to ensure that farmers get fair or minimum price for procurement and if you don't take adequate steps to alleviate their indebtedness, this will happen," Mr. Karat told reporters.
The West Bengal government has ordered a probe into the death of a woman who was forced to give birth on a pavement in Kolkata after being denied admission by two top hospitals, Chittaranjan Sevasadan and Shambhunath Pandit Hospital.
Usha Tanti and her husband shuffled in vain between the hospitals despite her having a health card.
Barely a day old twins have seen how the apathy of the government hospitals can change their lives.
The hospital authorities though have denied all the charges after an internal enquiry report.
At least 19 babies have died in the past three days in a state-run hospital in India's West Bengal state.
Angry parents have accused the Maldah Medical College Hospital authorities of negligence.BBC reports.
A team of experts which visited the hospital to find out the cause of the deaths was surrounded by protesters.
State health officials said most of the dead infants were underweight and malnourished and several of them were critically ill.
In November, more than 25 children died in the same hospital over a six-day periods.
There were 12 similar "crib deaths" in October and 25 deaths in June at another hospital in the state, Calcutta's BC Roy Hospital.
In Maldah, officials said at least three of the children had died since Thursday.
"One baby died in the sick neonatal care unit and the rest in the neonatal care unit," Debasis Bhattacharya, principal of Malda Medical College, said.
Health officials say on an average four to five children die every day in government hospitals in West Bengal.
They say the mortality rate is so high because many are late admissions brought from distant areas. A senior health official said most infants are referred to bigger hospitals without being given proper medical attention at district and local hospitals.
"The government wants to set up sick newborn care units in district and local hospitals. But it is not possible to build such infrastructure overnight," senior health official Susanta Banerjee told reporters in Calcutta, the state capital.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who heads the health ministry, appointed a junior health minister a couple of days ago to oversee this initiative.
She also accused the media of blowing "crib deaths" out of proportion.
Addressing a party rally, Ms Banerjee said: "Infant mortality needs to be looked at very seriously. We are trying to improve the health infrastructure which was left in a shambles by the former Communist government."
This reflects not only on the
policies of the Central Government which have resulted in the agrarian
crisis but also a gross failure on the part of the West Bengal government
to put in place a procurement machinery to purchase crops from the
farmers.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in
Kolkata from January 17 to 20, 2012. It has issued the following
statement:
Lokpal Bill
The Central Committee condemned the UPA government for its failure to
bring an effective Lokpal Bill and get it adopted in parliament. Even the
weak legislation was not adopted in the Rajya Sabha because the government
feared that some amendments moved by the opposition would be carried.
The Central Committee demanded that the government bring the Lokpal
legislation with suitable amendments in the next session of parliament.
FDI In Retail
The Central Committee opposed the decision of the government to increase
FDI in single brand retail to 100 per cent. This is a prelude to bringing
in the FDI in multi-brand retail which has already met with widespread
opposition.
The Central Committee decided to conduct a sustained campaign among the
people to stop the entry of FDI in general retail trade.
West Bengal
The Central Committee expressed its serious concern at the growing number
of farmers suicides in West Bengal. By now there are reports of twenty
four farmers having committed suicide. This reflects not only on the
policies of the Central Government which have resulted in the agrarian
crisis but also a gross failure on the part of the West Bengal government
to put in place a procurement machinery to purchase crops from the
farmers. The procurement machinery set by the Left Front government has
been dismantled. The TMC led government has failed to curb
black-marketting of fertilizers.
People are suffering under the misrule of the TMC-led government. There
have been nine starvation deaths of a closed tea garden. This is due to
the callous attitude of the government which discontinued the scheme of
giving Rs. 1500 per month introduced by the Left Front government for
workers of closed factories and tea gardens. The performance of MNREGS has
become the worst. The public distribution system, the Annapoorna and
Aantayodaya schemes have become irregular. The panchayat bodies which used
to implement many of these schemes have become virtually defunct. All this
is causing distress and suffering for the people.
The TMC-led government is exhibiting an extremely intolerant attitude to
any criticism made about its performance. The general attack on democratic
rights continues. So far fifty five persons who are workers or supporters
of the CPI(M) and the Left Front have been killed since the assembly
election results. The CPI(M) calls for an immediate halt to such attacks
and the full restoration of democratic rights.
February 28 Strike
The Central Committee extended its full support to the call of the central
trade unions for a one-day general strike on February 28, 2012. This
united action by all the trade unions has raised demands, which are not
only in the interests of the working class but concern the people of the
country as a whole. The Central Committee directed all its Party units to
work wholeheartedly to make the strike a total success.
Draft Political Resolution
The Central Committee adopted the draft Political Resolution to be placed
before the 20th Congress of the Party to be held in April 2012 at
Kozhikkode. The Political Resolution has called for fighting the
neo-liberal policies of the UPA government and mobilizing various sections
of the working people who are affected by these policies adversely. This
is a central task. The Resolution calls for continuing the struggle to
isolate the communal forces and to thwart the designs of the Hindutva
brigade. The Party will work to defeat the Congress and the BJP.
The Resolution calls for paying the utmost priority to developing the
independent role of the Party and to strengthen the Party as an all India
force. The Party will work to build the Left and democratic alternative
against the existing order. It will seek the cooperation of other
non-Congress, secular and democratic forces to take up people's issues,
defend secularism, national sovereignty and the federal principle.
Draft Ideological Resolution
The Central Committee discussed and adopted the draft `Resolution on Some
Ideological Issues'. This Resolution addresses the current and prolonged
crisis of global capitalism and its impact on both the developed
capitalist countries and the developing countries. It takes stock of the
moves of imperialism and international finance capital and the ideologicalconstructs that they use to maintain their dominance. The Resolution
deals with the growing resistance to imperialist globalization and the
ideological tasks to be undertaken to ensure an effective and united
resistance by the working class and other allied forces worldwide. The
Resolution discusses the developments in the socialist countries and the
necessity to build a renewed socialist alternative which is relevant to
the 21st century. The Resolution also pinpoints the ideological
challenges faced by the Communists in Indian society and puts forth an
alternative ideological worldview which can counter the bourgeois, feudal and other retrograde ideologies.
BURDWAN: The curse of huge debts brought upon Bengal's rice bowl by falling paddy and potato prices claimed yet another victim on Thursday when a farmer committed suicide in Burdwan, taking the number of farmer deaths in the district to 12 and the total number across the state to 23 since last October. The crisis is likely to aggravate in March when the potato crop is reaped.
But even as price woes and a potato crop damaged by unseasonal rains wreak havoc on the farming sector, chief minister Mamata Banerjeeisn't ready to buy the logic that farmers are committing suicide because they aren't getting value for their produce. "Not a single farmer died due to it. The deaths of 12 persons were due to personal problems with their personal debts running into crores," the chief minister said on Thursday. Drawing a contrast with farmer deaths during the Left rule, she pointed out a total of 199 farmers committed suicide in 2008-09 while the toll in 2009-10 was 179.
But the father of 35-year-old Sushanta Ghosh, who drank pesticide on Wednesday night and passed away at Burdwan Medical College Hospital in the wee hours of Thursday , had a different story to tell. Sushanta, a farmer at Hetti village in Burdwan's Galsi, was the sole bread-earner in his six-member family - wife, two sons and parents. It wasn't hunger that killed him but the bales of unsold paddy piled up outside his home.
Debt burden killed farmer: Kin
The family of Sushanta Ghosh, the farmer who committed suicide at Galsi in Burdwan on Thursday, has bales of paddy piled up at their home. His father Bikash could not sell the paddy because of the low market price. "My son made a distress sale of some of the produce, but the money was not enough to go for the potato cultivation. He had a loan burden of Rs 2 lakh, of which he owed Rs 60,000 to the local SBI branch, another Rs 35,000 to the local cooperative bank and the remaining Rs 1.05 lakh he borrowed from a local mahajan at high interest rate. The debt burden kept piling up as he didn't get the right price for paddy, potato and mustard ," Bikash said.
The anxiety didn't build up in a day. Sushanta cultivated the aman paddy and then boro on his own 7-bigha land, and tilled another eight bighas last year. But the yield didn't fetch the price to meet the loan amount. He borrowed again to cultivate potato on a much smaller 7-cottah plot and grew mustard on 5 cottahs. "But the untimely rain damaged the potato and mustard plants," Bikash said.
Cousin Debnarayan Ghosh pointed out that Sushanta tried to clear a portion of his debt by selling part of the paddy stocks at Rs 500 a quintal. "He was depressed . There is no other problem in the family other than the rising debt burden. I beg to the state government to write off his loan and compensate the family," he said.
Galsi Block II BDO Barsharani Basu sent two officers to Sushanta's village to find out the reason behind the suicide. "I am waiting for a detailed report from the officers before I comment on the cause of death," he said. Incidentally, the Galsi is the largest rice producing block in the country.
Local Trinamool leader Prasanta Kundu claimed that Sushanta was more into trading than farming. "He suffered due to callous potato trading. It has nothing to do with farming," Kundu said. Another Trinamool leader Basanta Chowdhury said: "Sushanta was a potato trader. He was upset because somebody borrowed Rs 25,000 from him and didn't repay it when he needed the money most."
CPM's Galsi zonal secretary Faiaz Rahman said he knew Sushanta personally. "He took loans from the SBI and the local cooperative, but could not afford to take further loans during rabi cultivation. There has been 12 such deaths in Burdwan district so far," Rahman said.
Taking feedbacks through party channel, the CM said: "Do not teach me anything on this. Why are they angry? Is it because my government has stopped paying in cash? The cadres now are unable to give a 50% cut to their party and keep the rest with them. The comrades have stopped earning," the CM said.
Mamata took her attack a notch further when she held a "Burdwan group" which she named, "Dhan Kore Khoaya Committee" of receiving kickbacks over rice procurement from farmers.
Leader of the opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said: "We've repeatedly provided the details of 23 farmers who've committed suicide. I will visit some of these families, the government can also inquire. Do all panchayats have banks?" On the corruption allegations, he said, "She has ordered inquiry into a 40-year-old case, why isn't she investigating this?"
With an eye on the panchayat polls, Mamata said, "350 cold storage's will be build. Efforts are on to export potato to Indonasia. Funds to the beneficiary of 100-day work scheme would be paid on a daily basis, instead of the three-week period ." Mishra said, "There are enough cold storages in the state. And why Indonesia? She can as well sell these potatoes to the Kolkata market."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/12th-farmer-suicide-in-rice-bowl/articleshow/11561954.cms
Growing number of farmers suicides in West Bengal is quite Alarming. By now there are reports of twenty
four farmers having committed suicide. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seem to be too busy to replicate Marxist ways of Goverenance, Regimented party Rule,Development at the cost of Mulnivasi Bahujan, Indiscriminate Urbanising and Industrialisation. she strongly banks on PPP Model and doing evrything possible to promote Foreign capital inflow. Mamata denies the Facts of Farmers committing suicide and quite inhuman is the stance she has taken on the alarming number of Child Death!Mulnivasi Bahujan have to learn a lesson that the Brahaminical system continues with so called Political change, Poribartan in Bengal`s case, but it Never does change the Inhuman circumstances of segregation, Exclusion and Ethnic Cleansing!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, chapter 732
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
http://basantipurtimes.blogspot.com/
Taking the crib death toll to eleven in Malda, another baby died on Friday at the Malda Sadar Hospital here, officials said.
Seven babies had died on Wednesday while three had passed away yesterday in the same hospital attached to the Malda Medical College.
Dr Debasish Bhattacharya, principal of the medical college, said the baby was brought to them in a critical condition with bronchopneumonia.
In other cases, the babies were born premature and underweight in some rural hospitals from where they were referred.
The babies were from the villages of Malda, Jharkhand and Bangladesh, officials said.
Over 55,000 women die due to child birth in India every year. Of the total children born in one year, a mind boggling 13 lakh die before they reach their first birthdays, most of them within a few weeks of entering this world. Another indicator that the world watches is how many children cannot survive beyond five years of age. In India every year, over 16 lakh under-5 years children die.These are hair-raising numbers, the highest in the world, mainly because India has the highest number of births in the world - over 2.62 crore per year. But how can one compare this with other countries with lower population or lower birth rates? That is done by expressing mother's deaths in terms of how many per 1 lakh live births. For India this maternal mortality rate works out to 212. And for infant deaths the ratio is written as so many per 1000 live births. For India this works out to 50. Under-5 mortality in India is 63.
Growing number of farmers suicides in West Bengal is quite Alarming. By now there are reports of twenty
four farmers having committed suicide. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seem to be too busy to replicate Marxist ways of Goverenance, Regimented party Rule,Development at the cost of Mulnivasi Bahujan, Indiscriminate Urbanising and Industrialisation. she strongly banks on PPP Model and doing evrything possible to promote Foreign capital inflow. Mamata denies the Facts of Farmers committing suicide and quite inhuman is the stance she has taken on the alarming number of Child Death!Mulnivasi Bahujan have to learn a lesson that the Brahaminical system continues with so called Political change, Poribartan in Bengal`s case, but it Never does change the Inhuman circumstances of segregation, Exclusion and Ethnic Cleansing!
The West Bengal State Human Rights Commission has decided to intervene into what has become a political issue from a local affair. The Human Rights Commission called for a report from the chief secretary on the suicide of farmers in the state.
Justice Narayan Chandra Sil, chairperson of the commission, said that an order was issued to the chief secretary to file a report within a month on the issue of suicide of farmers. A source in the commission said that the authorities had noticed several incidents of farmers' suicide in the media. After going through the media reports, the commission took cognizance on this issue and asked the chief secretary to file a report on the same.
In the past two months, more than 20 farmers committed suicide in different districts, allegedly for not getting adequate prices for their produce of paddy and potato. The farmers cultivated paddy after taking loans from money lenders, but the bumper crops of paddy this year led to fall in prices across the state. Also, it was alleged that the state did not procure enough paddy from the farmers. Administration claimed that farmers committed suicide due to family problems.
The HinduWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrives to attend a meeting in Kolkata. File photo
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday denied reports about farmers' suicide in the state, a day after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat held the Trinamool Congress-led government responsible for the suicides.
"Twelve persons died due to some disease and they were not connected to farming, while reports said that some others took heavy loans from banks for personal purposes," Ms. Banerjee told a Panchayatiraj Sammelan at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Challenging the CPI(M) for spreading canards against her government, the chief minister claimed that 199 farmers had been killed by the Left Front while it was in power.
"You should be ashamed of the atrocities committed during your rule on the farmers. You killed farmers, looted them, snatched their produce and drove them out of their fields. We have not forgotten the atrocities on them," she alleged.
"To safeguard the farmers' interests, I went on a 26-day fasting in the city in 2006, while farmland was being forcibly acquired. I know farmers' agony," Ms. Banerjee said.
She said her government during the seven-month rule introduced Kisan Card and the farmers' insurance scheme and denied the CPI(M)'s charge that she had kept quiet while the fertiliser price was decontrolled.
Further to her defence, she said she was instrumental in resisting the Centre's move to raise prices of petroleum products and FDI entry in the retail sector.
Mr. Karat had on Wednesday blamed the policy of the present state government for the suicide of "at least 21 farmers in West Bengal in recent weeks".
"If you don't intervene to ensure that farmers get fair or minimum price for procurement and if you don't take adequate steps to alleviate their indebtedness, this will happen," Mr. Karat told reporters.
The West Bengal government has ordered a probe into the death of a woman who was forced to give birth on a pavement in Kolkata after being denied admission by two top hospitals, Chittaranjan Sevasadan and Shambhunath Pandit Hospital.
Usha Tanti and her husband shuffled in vain between the hospitals despite her having a health card.
Barely a day old twins have seen how the apathy of the government hospitals can change their lives.
The hospital authorities though have denied all the charges after an internal enquiry report.
At least 19 babies have died in the past three days in a state-run hospital in India's West Bengal state.
Angry parents have accused the Maldah Medical College Hospital authorities of negligence.BBC reports.
A team of experts which visited the hospital to find out the cause of the deaths was surrounded by protesters.
State health officials said most of the dead infants were underweight and malnourished and several of them were critically ill.
In November, more than 25 children died in the same hospital over a six-day periods.
There were 12 similar "crib deaths" in October and 25 deaths in June at another hospital in the state, Calcutta's BC Roy Hospital.
In Maldah, officials said at least three of the children had died since Thursday.
"One baby died in the sick neonatal care unit and the rest in the neonatal care unit," Debasis Bhattacharya, principal of Malda Medical College, said.
Health officials say on an average four to five children die every day in government hospitals in West Bengal.
They say the mortality rate is so high because many are late admissions brought from distant areas. A senior health official said most infants are referred to bigger hospitals without being given proper medical attention at district and local hospitals.
"The government wants to set up sick newborn care units in district and local hospitals. But it is not possible to build such infrastructure overnight," senior health official Susanta Banerjee told reporters in Calcutta, the state capital.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who heads the health ministry, appointed a junior health minister a couple of days ago to oversee this initiative.
She also accused the media of blowing "crib deaths" out of proportion.
Addressing a party rally, Ms Banerjee said: "Infant mortality needs to be looked at very seriously. We are trying to improve the health infrastructure which was left in a shambles by the former Communist government."
This reflects not only on the
policies of the Central Government which have resulted in the agrarian
crisis but also a gross failure on the part of the West Bengal government
to put in place a procurement machinery to purchase crops from the
farmers.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in
Kolkata from January 17 to 20, 2012. It has issued the following
statement:
Lokpal Bill
The Central Committee condemned the UPA government for its failure to
bring an effective Lokpal Bill and get it adopted in parliament. Even the
weak legislation was not adopted in the Rajya Sabha because the government
feared that some amendments moved by the opposition would be carried.
The Central Committee demanded that the government bring the Lokpal
legislation with suitable amendments in the next session of parliament.
FDI In Retail
The Central Committee opposed the decision of the government to increase
FDI in single brand retail to 100 per cent. This is a prelude to bringing
in the FDI in multi-brand retail which has already met with widespread
opposition.
The Central Committee decided to conduct a sustained campaign among the
people to stop the entry of FDI in general retail trade.
West Bengal
The Central Committee expressed its serious concern at the growing number
of farmers suicides in West Bengal. By now there are reports of twenty
four farmers having committed suicide. This reflects not only on the
policies of the Central Government which have resulted in the agrarian
crisis but also a gross failure on the part of the West Bengal government
to put in place a procurement machinery to purchase crops from the
farmers. The procurement machinery set by the Left Front government has
been dismantled. The TMC led government has failed to curb
black-marketting of fertilizers.
People are suffering under the misrule of the TMC-led government. There
have been nine starvation deaths of a closed tea garden. This is due to
the callous attitude of the government which discontinued the scheme of
giving Rs. 1500 per month introduced by the Left Front government for
workers of closed factories and tea gardens. The performance of MNREGS has
become the worst. The public distribution system, the Annapoorna and
Aantayodaya schemes have become irregular. The panchayat bodies which used
to implement many of these schemes have become virtually defunct. All this
is causing distress and suffering for the people.
The TMC-led government is exhibiting an extremely intolerant attitude to
any criticism made about its performance. The general attack on democratic
rights continues. So far fifty five persons who are workers or supporters
of the CPI(M) and the Left Front have been killed since the assembly
election results. The CPI(M) calls for an immediate halt to such attacks
and the full restoration of democratic rights.
February 28 Strike
The Central Committee extended its full support to the call of the central
trade unions for a one-day general strike on February 28, 2012. This
united action by all the trade unions has raised demands, which are not
only in the interests of the working class but concern the people of the
country as a whole. The Central Committee directed all its Party units to
work wholeheartedly to make the strike a total success.
Draft Political Resolution
The Central Committee adopted the draft Political Resolution to be placed
before the 20th Congress of the Party to be held in April 2012 at
Kozhikkode. The Political Resolution has called for fighting the
neo-liberal policies of the UPA government and mobilizing various sections
of the working people who are affected by these policies adversely. This
is a central task. The Resolution calls for continuing the struggle to
isolate the communal forces and to thwart the designs of the Hindutva
brigade. The Party will work to defeat the Congress and the BJP.
The Resolution calls for paying the utmost priority to developing the
independent role of the Party and to strengthen the Party as an all India
force. The Party will work to build the Left and democratic alternative
against the existing order. It will seek the cooperation of other
non-Congress, secular and democratic forces to take up people's issues,
defend secularism, national sovereignty and the federal principle.
Draft Ideological Resolution
The Central Committee discussed and adopted the draft `Resolution on Some
Ideological Issues'. This Resolution addresses the current and prolonged
crisis of global capitalism and its impact on both the developed
capitalist countries and the developing countries. It takes stock of the
moves of imperialism and international finance capital and the ideologicalconstructs that they use to maintain their dominance. The Resolution
deals with the growing resistance to imperialist globalization and the
ideological tasks to be undertaken to ensure an effective and united
resistance by the working class and other allied forces worldwide. The
Resolution discusses the developments in the socialist countries and the
necessity to build a renewed socialist alternative which is relevant to
the 21st century. The Resolution also pinpoints the ideological
challenges faced by the Communists in Indian society and puts forth an
alternative ideological worldview which can counter the bourgeois, feudal and other retrograde ideologies.
12th farmer suicide in rice bowl
Debajyoti Chakraborty, TNN | Jan 20, 2012, 06.13AM ISTBURDWAN: The curse of huge debts brought upon Bengal's rice bowl by falling paddy and potato prices claimed yet another victim on Thursday when a farmer committed suicide in Burdwan, taking the number of farmer deaths in the district to 12 and the total number across the state to 23 since last October. The crisis is likely to aggravate in March when the potato crop is reaped.
But even as price woes and a potato crop damaged by unseasonal rains wreak havoc on the farming sector, chief minister Mamata Banerjeeisn't ready to buy the logic that farmers are committing suicide because they aren't getting value for their produce. "Not a single farmer died due to it. The deaths of 12 persons were due to personal problems with their personal debts running into crores," the chief minister said on Thursday. Drawing a contrast with farmer deaths during the Left rule, she pointed out a total of 199 farmers committed suicide in 2008-09 while the toll in 2009-10 was 179.
But the father of 35-year-old Sushanta Ghosh, who drank pesticide on Wednesday night and passed away at Burdwan Medical College Hospital in the wee hours of Thursday , had a different story to tell. Sushanta, a farmer at Hetti village in Burdwan's Galsi, was the sole bread-earner in his six-member family - wife, two sons and parents. It wasn't hunger that killed him but the bales of unsold paddy piled up outside his home.
Debt burden killed farmer: Kin
The family of Sushanta Ghosh, the farmer who committed suicide at Galsi in Burdwan on Thursday, has bales of paddy piled up at their home. His father Bikash could not sell the paddy because of the low market price. "My son made a distress sale of some of the produce, but the money was not enough to go for the potato cultivation. He had a loan burden of Rs 2 lakh, of which he owed Rs 60,000 to the local SBI branch, another Rs 35,000 to the local cooperative bank and the remaining Rs 1.05 lakh he borrowed from a local mahajan at high interest rate. The debt burden kept piling up as he didn't get the right price for paddy, potato and mustard ," Bikash said.
The anxiety didn't build up in a day. Sushanta cultivated the aman paddy and then boro on his own 7-bigha land, and tilled another eight bighas last year. But the yield didn't fetch the price to meet the loan amount. He borrowed again to cultivate potato on a much smaller 7-cottah plot and grew mustard on 5 cottahs. "But the untimely rain damaged the potato and mustard plants," Bikash said.
Cousin Debnarayan Ghosh pointed out that Sushanta tried to clear a portion of his debt by selling part of the paddy stocks at Rs 500 a quintal. "He was depressed . There is no other problem in the family other than the rising debt burden. I beg to the state government to write off his loan and compensate the family," he said.
Galsi Block II BDO Barsharani Basu sent two officers to Sushanta's village to find out the reason behind the suicide. "I am waiting for a detailed report from the officers before I comment on the cause of death," he said. Incidentally, the Galsi is the largest rice producing block in the country.
Local Trinamool leader Prasanta Kundu claimed that Sushanta was more into trading than farming. "He suffered due to callous potato trading. It has nothing to do with farming," Kundu said. Another Trinamool leader Basanta Chowdhury said: "Sushanta was a potato trader. He was upset because somebody borrowed Rs 25,000 from him and didn't repay it when he needed the money most."
CPM's Galsi zonal secretary Faiaz Rahman said he knew Sushanta personally. "He took loans from the SBI and the local cooperative, but could not afford to take further loans during rabi cultivation. There has been 12 such deaths in Burdwan district so far," Rahman said.
Taking feedbacks through party channel, the CM said: "Do not teach me anything on this. Why are they angry? Is it because my government has stopped paying in cash? The cadres now are unable to give a 50% cut to their party and keep the rest with them. The comrades have stopped earning," the CM said.
Mamata took her attack a notch further when she held a "Burdwan group" which she named, "Dhan Kore Khoaya Committee" of receiving kickbacks over rice procurement from farmers.
Leader of the opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said: "We've repeatedly provided the details of 23 farmers who've committed suicide. I will visit some of these families, the government can also inquire. Do all panchayats have banks?" On the corruption allegations, he said, "She has ordered inquiry into a 40-year-old case, why isn't she investigating this?"
With an eye on the panchayat polls, Mamata said, "350 cold storage's will be build. Efforts are on to export potato to Indonasia. Funds to the beneficiary of 100-day work scheme would be paid on a daily basis, instead of the three-week period ." Mishra said, "There are enough cold storages in the state. And why Indonesia? She can as well sell these potatoes to the Kolkata market."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/12th-farmer-suicide-in-rice-bowl/articleshow/11561954.cms
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India Vision 2020
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
India Vision 2020 is a plan proposed by former Indian president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalamto make India a developed country by 2020. India Vision 2020 of transforming India into a developed nation can become a reality only if every student and youth is individually innovative. It involves putting the nation before oneself,former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said. The vision for the nation should be based on strong pillars of development. It should focus on reducing the rural-urban divide, equitable distribution of land and water, providing value-based education, access to best health care, ensuring responsive and corrupt-free governance, alleviation of poverty, and a secure and terrorism-free state.[1]
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Vision for India
According to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in formulating the vision of the future India, it is important to see beyond the limits of the immediate past to rediscover the greatness that is India. Although the present Republic of India is a young developing nation, our people have a rich and illustrious history as one of the longest living civilizations in the world. In 1835, even theBritish historian and politician, Lord Macaulay, admitted before the British Parliament: "I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such caliber… the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage….." Thus, it would be wrong to state that in 1947 India started to construct a modern nation from scratch. Rather, it began the process of rediscovering its rich cultural and spiritual values that had formed the foundation of India in the past. It is on this foundation that we seek to formulate the vision of India 2020.
It is indeed a challenge to formulate a cohesive vision for India in 2020. Therefore, we thought it appropriate to seek inspiration from one who had a clear vision and possessed the gift to articulate it in a manner that has inspired the hearts and minds of countless Indians. The vision articulated by Rabindranath Tagore is all encompassing in every sense.[2]
[edit]The views of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
- Set a goal in life. To achieve that goal, acquire the knowledge, work hard and when problem occurs, defeat it and succeed.
- Always keep myself, my home, my surroundings, neighbourhood and environment clean.
- Lead an honest life free from all corruption and set an example for others to adopt a righteous way of life.
- light the lamp of knowledge in the nation and ensure that it remains lit for ever.[3]
[edit]Global Initiative
A flagship program of IAPB and WHO and is a functional convergent model (eye care community) of INGOs, eye care organizations, professionals and country specific national programs.
Aim is to work together to eliminate avoidable blindness worldwide by the year 2020, in order to give everyone in the world the Right to Sight.[4]
[edit]Initiatives of India Vision 2020
- Vision for Vast Indian Population
- Incremental reduction of the burden of Avoidable Blindness - 75%
- Social Responsibility
- Imbalance and Inadequacy in Service – Urban & Rural
- Overcoming obstacles in Outreach
- Necessity of Human Rights / Dignity[4]
[edit]Core Values of India Vision 2020
The Right to Sight – India is committed to being a transparent, accountable, inclusive and sustainable organization that respects all its members and stakeholders whose participation is actively sought in democratic decision-making and organizational learning. We promote quality and equity in eye care, with the highest ethical standards[4]
[edit]Focus Area
- Underserved, Unreached, Rural Communities
- Institutions engaged in Eye care
- National & State Government
- Ophthalmologists & Para-Ophthalmic Professionals
- Membership Development and value addition to members[4]
[edit]Overview
India Vision 2020 was initially a document prepared by the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of India'sDepartment of Science and Technology under the chairmanship of Kalam and a team of 500 experts. The plan is further detailed in the bookIndia 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium, which kalam coauthored with Dr. Y.S. Rajan.
kalam described the plan as follows:[5]
"Transforming the nation into a developed country, five areas in combination have been identified based on India's core competence, natural resources and talented manpower for integrated action to double the growth rate of GDP and realize the Vision of Developed India.
These are:
- Agriculture and food processing — with a target of doubling the present production of food and agricultural products by 2020. Agro food processing industry would lead to the prosperity of rural people, food security and speed up the economic growth;
- Infrastructure with reliable and quality electric power including solar farming for all parts of the country, providing urban amenities in rural areas and interlinking of rivers;
- Education and Healthcare: To provide social security and eradication of illiteracy and health for all;
- Information and Communication Technology: This is one of our core competencies and wealth generator. ICT can be used for tele-education, tele-medicine and e-governance to promote education in remote areas, healthcare and also transparency in the administration; and
- Critical technologies and strategic industries witnessed the growth in nuclear technology, space technology and defence technology".
[edit]Dream activities of India Vision 2020
At DreamIndia, they believe in each and every one of us doing ground work, and doing it periodically. That is why they have built up and sustained 'DI centers' in every city of our existence.Volunteers visit these centers regularly (mostly on every weekend) and engage the kids. These variegated sessions consist of English and computer classes, school academics, sports and drama sessions, singing and dancing activities etc. For the tiny tots, there are phonetics, handwriting, clay modelling and other sessions for building overall reading, writing, and motor skills of the child.
Apart from weekend study sessions, we also make periodic visits to orphanages, old age homes, and homes for children with special needs. These are DI's way of supporting other organisations that do excellent work and that strive to make childrens' world better
Select a city name from the drop down in 'Our activities' to view the activities we do in that city. This also serves as a pointer to prospective volunteers on what to expect. Enjoy volunteering![6]
[edit]Nodal Points of India Vision 2020
1.Peace, Security & National Unity – Physical security both from external and internal threats—strong national defence, domestic law enforcement and social harmony.
2.Food & Nutritional Security – A vibrant, highly productive commercial farm sector that can ensure food & nutritional security, generate employment opportunities, stimulate industrialisation, and produce renewable energy from biomass and fuel crops.
3.Jobs for All – A constitutional commitment to ensure the right of all citizens to a sustainable livelihood that will provide them with the purchasing power needed to freely cast their economic votes in the market place.
4.Knowledge – 100 per cent literacy & school education, and vocational training for all new entrants to the workforce, to equip youth with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive world: adult education programmes to compensate working age school drop-outs for the lack of education, and continued investment in science and technology to improve productivity, quality of life and the environment.
5.Health – Expansion of the infrastructure for public health and medical care to ensure health for all.
6.Technology & Infrastructure – Continuous expansion of the physical infrastructure for rapid low-cost transportation and communication that is required for rapid economic growth and international competitiveness. Application of computers to improve access to knowledge and information, and increase in the speed, efficiency and convenience of activities in all fields of life.
7.Globalisation – Successful integration of India with world economy.
8.Good Governance – Farsighted and dynamic leadership to maximise national prosperity, individual freedom and social equity through responsive, transparent and accountable administration that removes all the bottlenecks to economic development.
9.Work Values - Activation of all these nodal points requires firm and determined adherence to high values, including prompt decision-making, disciplined execution, systematic implementation, finely tuned co-ordination, unceasing effort and endurance.[7]
[edit]External link
[edit]See also
[edit]References
- ^ "India Vision 2020". India Vision 2010 Website. thehindu.com. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ^ "India Vision 2020". India Vision 2010 Website. planningcommission.nic.in. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ^ "INDIA 2020 : THE MESSAGE". India Vision 2010 Website. 2020india.in. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ^ a b c d "About VISION 2020 India presentation". India Vision 2010 Website. vision2020india.org. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ^ "What is India Vision 2020 ?". India Vision 2010 Website. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- ^ "Dream India activities". India Vision 2010 Website. dreamindia.org. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ^ "India Vision 2020 Best-case Scenario for India 2020". India Vision 2010 Website. www.akhilesh.in. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
It's problem of plenty for Bengal potato growers
Debajyoti Chakraborty, TNN | Jan 20, 2012, 02.29AM ISTBURDWAN/HOOGHLY: Not a crop failure, it's a bumper produce that is dogging the potato growers of Bengal.
And the story of their plight remains largely untold while the opposition and the government fight over the farmer deaths across south Bengal. The farmers - who fail to get enough price even after a bumper harvest - remain in the dark themselves, forgotten by the powers that be.
Two potato farmers in Burdwan ended their lives in the past two weeks. It's said that it was the bumper crop that forced them to take the extreme step. Because of a bumper crop, there now is a huge gap between the actual price and what the farmers should have got for their produce.
Here is a story of two farmers from Shaktigarh, Burdwan. Seikh Sukur Ali and his brother SeikhAli Hussein had cultivated potato on nine bighas. They also cultivated potato for PepsiCo on a much smaller plot of 9 acres under contract farming. PepsiCo will buy their produce at Rs 275 per bag of 50 kg. But they are not getting Rs 135 a bag for the Pokhraj variety they grew on their 9-bigha land. But then this is just half of the story.
"And the A-1, Jyoti and Chandramukhi varieties will be reaped in the last week of February or the first week of March," Seikh Sukur Ali says. He has already taken an Rs 70,000 loan from SBI for cultivating potato, which needs to be repaid
. He took the loan for he couldn't sell 460 bags of paddy of the past season.
West Bengal Cold Storage Association vice-president Patit Paban De said, "Even as the government's yearend deadline got over, there are nearly one lakh tonne of potato lying unsold in 405 cold storages across the state. The cold storages need to be cleared now for the new crop. Farmers are now selling the crop for whatever price they get. For a 50-kg bag they are getting not more than Rs 100 even if it's sold in Orissa; where the cost and transportation prices make it nearly Rs 175 of a 50 kilogram packet."
Susanta Saha (24) cuts a desolate figure in Memari's Rajpur'. His father Amiya Saha had committed suicide. The first thing Sushanta says is that he would never return back to the field - a graduate, he works in a private firm in Malda and would continue with it. "My father committed suicide due to debt in market. We have failed to sell the paddy of last season but still cultivated potato on 8 bighas of land. The crop is still in the field and will be reaped on March, but due to poor market price he chose to end his life in frustration. The state government instead of helping us is claiming that he was a heart patient and committed suicide as he could not bear the treatment of heart ailment. I have to sell the crop in the market to get relief on his bank loan and return back to my workplace," Sushanta says. His uncle, Ashok Saha alleges, "The local MLA has never been to our home, how they would know why he ended his life for." The anger is evident which the opposition is fanning.
West Midnapore, Bankura, Burdwan and Hooghly account for almost the entire potato produce - Hooghly with 27 lakh metric tonne potato last year topped the charts. The problem isn't that acute Hooghly's 137 cold storages, like in the other districts. The same pictures greet one in Bankura. Asit Das, a Baital villager, is yet to put a figure to his actual loses - the second year in a row. Meghraj Bhadra, a Kotulpur resident who works in his field and also trades potatoes, says he'd cultivated in 10 bigha of land. "The initial harvest is unsold; I really don't know what I will do with the new crop."
Chittaranjan Banerjee, Director, Burdwan Central Cooperative Bank said that the government deadline to clear out the cold storage stocks is leading to distress sales of potato in 105 cold storages (in Burdwan) at Rs 70 per 50 kg packet, which means a mere Rs.1.30 per kilogram. Potatoes are sold in the retail market at nothing less than Rs 10 per kilogram even to this day. Banerjee explaining the distress says of the Rs 76 crore disbursed last year to potato cultivators, only 2 per cent has been recovered. This year, another Rs 80 crore has been disbursed. For an average farmer in Bengal - heavily dependent on Boro and Rabi cultivation - a poor price for paddy first, followed by an even worse price for potatoes has left them reeling.
Would Bengal then continue to suffer after a bumper harvest? Both Banerjee and De feel that the solution lays partly in government playing a more active role to export potatoes to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Arab counties, where local consumption is more than they produce. The farmers also need to opt for alternative farming of mustard, cereals and wheat - which the state imports from outside. A Minimum Support Price (MSP) can also stop farmers being victimized by unscrupulous agents. The farmers also should also consider using organic fertilizers as the cost of chemical fertilizers is very high.
Potato production in Bengal:
2009 - 65 lakh metric tonne
2010 - 92 lakh metric tonne
2011 - 95 lakh metric tonne
The state's own consumption - 50 lakh metric tonne
A third of the country's potato is produced in Bengal.
The potato being produced now is the Pokraj variety, extremely perishable and can't be kept in cold storages for long.
The other varieties, A1, Jyoti and Chandramukhi, are expected to hit the market by February-end. This can be stored in cold storages for even 36-weeks.
Cold storages need to be vacated to accommodate the fresh potato stock; only 137 cold storages in Hooghly have managed to do that.
In 405 cold storages, one lakh metric tonne potatoes are unsold.
What is the problem now?
Production in other major potato growing states UP and Punjab - which gets through by mid October - has been exceptionally good this year on the back of favorable weather
Bengal's traditional potato export markets of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, have been flooded by produce from Punjab and UP. Lesser transportation costs make import from these states cheaper than Bengal.
Such stiff is the competition that Punjab has already exported 40,000 quintal of fresh potatoes to even Bengal.
Farmers and traders - who were holding on to their stock in anticipation of fetching better prices - are now going in for distress selling.
The result: take for example the Orissa market. Rs 100 per 50 kg packet are the price being offered to farmers; they need to sell this at least 175 per 50 kg packet to recover the money invested.
What is the state government doing?
The state had extended the deadline for storage of potato till December 15 - has further extended it till December 31 - in order to help release the entire quantity of produce.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 400 crore to consumer cooperatives under Confed, Benfed and ECSC last year to purchase potatoes. This, however, remained mired in allegations that the potatoes were never purchased from farmers. The amount purchased, however, was just a drop in the ocean.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Its-problem-of-plenty-for-Bengal-potato-growers/articleshow/11560185.cms
Healthcare in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | It has been suggested that Health Issue In Rural India be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2011. |
Healthcare in India features a universal health care system run by the constituent states and territories of India. The Constitution charges every state with "raising of the level ofnutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties". The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Parliament of India in 1983 and updated in 2002.[citation needed]
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Healthcare Issues
[edit]Malnutrition
47% of India's children below the age of three are malnourished, almost twice the statistics of sub-Saharan African region of 28%.[1] World Bank estimates this figure to be 60 million children out of a global estimated total of 146 million.[2] Although India's economy grew 50% from 2001–2006, its child-malnutrition rate only dropped 1%, lagging behind countries of similar growth rate.[3] Malnutrition impedes the social and cognitive development of a child, reducing his educational attainment and income as an adult.[3] These irreversible damages result in lower productivity.[3]
[edit]High infant mortality rate
Approximately 1.72 million children die each year before turning one.[4] The under five mortality rate and infant mortality rate indicators have been declining comparing years 1970 and 2002 (202 to 90 & 192 to 68 per thousand live births respectively).[4] However, this rate of decline is slowing. Reduced funding for immunization leaves only 43.5% of the young fully immunized.[3] Infrastructures like hospitals, roads, water and sanitation are lacking in rural areas.[5] Shortages of healthcare providers, poor intra-partum and newborn care, diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections, also contribute to the high infant mortality rate.[4]
[edit]Diseases
Diseases such as dengue fever, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria and pneumonia continue to plague India due to increased resistance to drugs.[6] And in 2011, India finally developed a Totally drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.[7] India is ranked 3rd among the countries with the most number of HIV-infected.[8] Diarrheal diseases are the primary causes of early childhood mortality.[9] These diseases can be attributed to poor sanitation and inadequate safe drinking water in India.[10]
However in 2012, India was polio free for the first time in its history.[11]
[edit]Poor sanitation
As more than 122 million households have no toilets and 33% lack access to latrines, over 50% of the population (638 million) defecates in the open.[12] This is relatively higher than Bangladesh and Brazil (7%) and China (4%).[12] Although 211 million people gained access to improved sanitation from 1990–2008, only 31% uses them.[12] 11% of the Indian rural families dispose of child stools safely whereas 80% of the population leave their stools in the open or throw them into the garbage.[12] Open air defecation leads to the spreading of diseases and malnutrition through parasitic and bacterial infections.[13]
[edit]Inadequate safe drinking water
Access to protected sources of drinking water has improved from 68% of the population in 1990 to 88% in 2008.[12] However, only 26% of the slum population has access to safe drinking water[13] and 25% of the total population has drinking water on their premises.[12] This problem is exacerbated by falling levels of groundwater, caused mainly by increasing extraction for irrigation.[12] Insufficient maintenance of the environment around water sources, groundwater pollution, excessive arsenic and fluoride in drinking water pose a major threat to India's health.[12]
[edit]Healthcare infrastructure
The Indian healthcare industry is seen to be growing at a rapid pace and is expected to become a US$280 billion industry by 2020.[14]
Rising income levels and a growing elderly population are all factors that are driving this growth. In addition, changing demographics, disease profiles and the shift from chronic to lifestyle diseases in the country has led to increased spending on healthcare delivery.[15]
In order to meet manpower shortages and reach world standards India would require investments of up to $20 billion over the next 5 years.[16]
[edit]See also
- Environment of India
- HIV/AIDS in India
- Indian states ranking by institutional delivery
- National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
- Poverty in India
[edit]References
- ^ "India's Malnutrition Dilemma". Source: The New York Times 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Child Malnutrition In India: Why does it persist? /". Source: Report by Sam Mendelson, Dr. Samir Chaudhuri. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ a b c d "India's Medical Emergency". Source: Time US. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ a b c "Childhood Mortality and Health in India". Source: Institute of Economic Growth University of Delhi Enclave North Campus India by Suresh Sharma. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Medical and Healthcare Facility Plagued". Source: Abhinandan S, Dr Ramadoss. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Dengue". Source: Centrers for Disease Control and Prevention US. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ Goldwert, Lindsay. "'Totally drug-resistant' tuberculosis reported in India; 12 patients have not responded to TB medication." New York Daily News 16 January 2012.
- ^ "HIV/AIDS". Source: Unicef India. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Life Expectancy and Mortality in India". Source: The Prajnopaya Foundation. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Health Conditions". Source: US Library of Congress. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "India marks one year since last polio case." Al Jazeera, 13 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Water, Environment and Sanitation". Source: Unicef India. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ a b "Initiatives: Hygiene and Sanitation". Source: Sangam Unity in Action. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
- ^ "Indian Healthcare: The Growth Story". Indianhealthcare.in. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ "Medical Industry Diagnosis: Triage for Health Care and New Vision for Life Sciences - India Knowledge@Wharton". Knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ "Medical Industry Diagnosis: Triage for Health Care and New Vision for Life Sciences - India Knowledge@Wharton". Knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
-
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
[edit]External links
- Health Care NGO India
- The State of the World's Midwifery - India Country Profile
- Another perspective on Indian Healthcare - [1]
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India Today - 13 hours ago
Four more children died at Malda hospital taking the total number of crib deaths in the last three days to 15. Doctors at the hospital mentioned that the babies were mostly referred from village health centres and couple of them from neighbouring ...
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WB: Seven more infant death reported from Malda hospital
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Privatisation of health care - Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
- www.ijme.in/063or085.html
- Block all www.ijme.in results
- Increasing economic liberalisation and privatisation have affected health care as much as they have affected many other social and administrative systems, ...
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Privatisation of Health Care in India - INDIAN INSTITUTE OF ...
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Healthcare in India: Features of one of the most privatised systems ...
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- Healthcare in India: Features of one of the most privatised systems in the world. September 1, 2009. By Pinaki Chaudhuri, Sanhati. Americans are currently ...
Commercialization of Health Care: Good or Bad? - Group Discussion
- www.indiabix.com › Group Discussion
- 27 Dec 2011 – Therefore Commercialization of Health care is not suitable in India. ....Well, according to me commercialization/privatization of health sector is ...
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- www.tgfworld.org/critical-proposal.htm
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THE NEED FOR HEALTH SECTOR REFORM IN INDIA - Cehat
- www.cehat.org/publications/pa24a63.html
- India's health care system is characterized by a pattern of mixed ownership and with... The two major aspects of the SAP are privatisation and liberalisation.
Just see this report:
Only a quarter of the population can afford Western medicine, with the rest relying on traditional remedies or alternative treatments, such as acupuncture and Ayurvedic medicine (which can at least boast fewer adverse reactions).
Eighty-one per cent of health care across India is paid from private funds, mainly individual pockets. To compound the problem, the booming economy has attracted millions into the cities and away from the country's rural network of hospitals.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in 2009 lower-income groups in India had less access to health care than 15 Asian countries surveyed, where, on average, only 55 per cent of health care is paid from private funds.
Infants at risk
India has come under criticism for not doing more to tackle the problem of infant deaths, the chief marker of the efficacy of a country's health care system.
Unicef, the children's charity, pointed out that of all deaths of children aged under one across the globe in 2008, a quarter occurred in India.
At 47 deaths per 1,000 live births, on the latest figures, infant mortality is 10 times that in the UK. However, only three years ago, the toll was 57 deaths per 1,000 live births. So progress is being made. It's not as if funds are tight. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Indian health care has grown recently at a compound annual rate of 16 per cent. The accountants put the total value of the sector in 2009 at $34 billion. This translates as $34 per head, or roughly 6 per cent of GDP. The estimate for the current value of India's health care sector is thought to be $40 billion.
For comparison, the annual budget enjoyed by the NHS is £110 billion (taking some 9 per cent of GDP) and serving a very small population relative to India.
Outstripping China
There is no questioning the need for a hugely expanded health care sector. By 2050, India's population is projected to hit 1.6 billion, overtaking China as the world's most populous nation.
The growth projection is not just based on fertility in India's population. Life expectancy is fast moving to Western levels. Government drives against hepatitis and polio in the young will give another twist to the population spiral.
The number of inhabitants aged 60-plus is estimated to reach 189 million by 2025 – three times the 2004 total.
Alongside the population spurt, India's economy can be expected to grow by at least 5 per cent a year for the next 40 years, according toGoldman Sachs, the bank.
Factors behind the forecast include urbanisation, an expanding middle class, and a rapid increase in the number of well-educated women entering the labour market.
But India has much to do. A quarter of the population is below the national poverty line. Some 300 million live on less than $1 a day.
What's the government doing?
A drive to increase rural health care provision began in 2005. The rural health mission is aimed at improving primary care in the countryside so that fewer patients overwhelm specialist services in the cities. To that end, general practitioners have been trained in basic surgery.
Another Indian initiative is the government-run health insurance plan. The Government Insurance Company has the greatest slice of a market that in total attracts only some 11 per cent of the population. Premiums exceed $120 a year. Policyholders do not benefit from direct settlement, as in many Western schemes. Instead, customers pay from their pocket and apply for reimbursement. That can take months.
Health tourism
If the medical tourist wants to go "cheap", few countries beat India. Reports from various sources point to huge price differences:
- Heart surgery is typically priced at $50,000 in America, $14,200 in Thailand and $4,000 in India.
- For liver transplants, it's $500,00 (America), $75,000 (Thailand) and $45,000 in India.
- For bone marrow transplants, prices are closer – $62,500 in both America and Thailand. In India, the bill is roughly halved.
Clearly, with some of the treatment costs a fraction of the American rates, flights and a week or two staying in a top hotel are minor factors.
India has quickly developed a lively trade, despite the known hazards of medical tourism – variable infectious-disease rates, different medical-accreditation standards for staff, and exposure to organisms against which the patient has no built-in resistance.
This last point is a particular hazard for people in fragile health. Dysentery and mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya fever are widespread and could derail recovery. Long flights in cramped airliners are a known risk for circulatory problems.
Most of the possible risks do not apply to established expats, who have a range of Western-level hospitals to pick from. Staff speak English, have the most modern equipment and direct links with Western hospital chains.
One such, Wockhardt Hospitals Group, is partnered by Harvard Medical International. Hospitals in this group, based in Mumbai and Bangalore, are among the best. The 400-bed Bangalore unit specialises in cardiology, orthopaedics, neurosciences and women/child care.
Wockhardt Mumbai claims very high diagnostic facilities among the usual range of services, including orthopaedics. It advertises total hip replacement at $6,500 (compared with about £12,000 in a private hospital in UK). A total knee replacement also costs $6,500.
Dr Sneh Khemka, medical director of Bupa International, knows the country well. "There are medical centres in the cities that really are truly excellent, especially Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi." Other cities with top-class hospitals include Hyderabad and Bangalore. But there are not enough new facilities outside the urban centres.
One exception is the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, a public-private partnership, opened in 2000. It involved the Apollo Hospitals Group and the government of Karnataka, with support from the Opec fund for international development.
Dr Khemka said: "The tier-one cities are world class, with international patient clientele, and the tier-two – the Hyderabads and so on – are certainly able to cope with their metropolitan communities. But clinics and hospitals are still underinvested by government and are a massive problem.
"Sometimes the uninformed perception is that India is a dirty place and there is a higher rate of infection. But if you look at outcome data – and we've done quite a few inspections of hospitals in India – you'll see they have much better outcome records than many places in Western Europe. They have meticulous attention on quality and safety."
Bupa International has close ties with the Max hospital chain in India. Newly qualified consultant surgeons in such hospitals were about a third more experienced than their European counterparts because they were not hampered by the EU's working time directive, Dr Khemka said. And "hotel" services in leading hospitals were outstanding.
Medical insurance
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office urges Britons going to India to buy holiday or international medical cover. It states: "You should take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling. Check exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities."
The FCO adds: "Local medical facilities are not comparable to those in the UK, especially in more remote areas. In major cities private medical care is available, but expensive. For psychiatric illness, specialised treatment may not be available outside major cities. "
International premiums
The insurer Aviva comes out well in a list of insurers recommended by brokers Medical Insurance Services of Brighton. Aviva International Solutions, a comprehensive plan but with reduced outpatient cover, costs £715 a year for a 25 year-old in India (£643 budget).
AxaPPP comprehensive with a £100 excess costs £866 for the same person (£670 budget), while Medicare International is £1,203 (£912 budget).
For a couple (aged 34 and 31), the Aviva scheme is again cheapest at £1,615 (£1,450 budget). Again, outpatient caps apply – but no two schemes are fully comparable, as with all medical insurance plans.
Hazards
Usual hygiene advice applies strongly. The FCO says: "Take care with your water and food hygiene. Drink or use only boiled or bottled water and avoid ice in drinks. If you suffer from diarrhoea seek immediate medical attention."
Bird flu outbreaks have occurred most recently in the north-eastern states of West Bengal and Assam. "As a precaution avoid visiting live animal markets, poultry farms and other places where you may come into close contact with domestic, caged or wild birds," says the FCO. "Ensure poultry and egg dishes are thoroughly cooked."
Prevalence of HIV/Aids is greater in India than in the UK: 0.3 per cent of the adult population as opposed to 0.2 per cent in Britain.
Patchwork
Europeans in rural India are unlikely to find health care to Western standards. But Indian cities are very different. As Bupa's medical director puts it: "If you are going for elective or emergency treatment, it is absolutely fine to go to the centres in the big cities."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/expathealth/9017878/Expat-guide-to-India-health-care.html
'If farmers are the backbone of the economy, then it is fractured'
M. J. PRABUSHARE · PRINT · T+
R. Subbaian. Photo: M.J. Prabu
"All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied" says the Bible.
"This is true in agriculture too. Our politicians shout, preach from platforms that farmers are the backbone of the country's economy, but in reality, the backbone lies fractured and our politicians are just not bothered. Their attitude is to throw the produce from the broken bone in the garbage dump and import from the U.S. or Australia," says Mr. R. Subbaian, of Kanakkan Thottam in Coimbatore district.
Polluted
Both the soil and water in Mr. Subbaian's field became polluted due to the chemical waste seepage from nearby dyeing factories into the Noyyal river which runs across his village.
Several farmers in the area started selling their lands and moved into the cities as the Government failed to check the pollution or clean up the river.
"Petitions, demonstrations, nothing seemed to work and the dyeing factories continue their pollution unabated," says the farmer.
But unlike others, Mr. Subbaian did not sell his lands. "The fields are my extended family and the birds and insects here are my relations, I wanted to stay on and do something.
"During the course of my search for some information on what crops can be grown in these soils I came to know that Alfalfa (called Kudhirai masal in Tamil) grows well and I decided to cultivate it," he says. The farmer also took to multiple cropping to increase his income.
"Multiple cropping system is ideal for farmers as it is an effective method of avoiding risk of loss for the farmers. In case one crop fails, the farmers need not worry but can easily tide over the financial crunch through income from the other crops," explains Mr. Subbaian.
"In fact, much of the crop loss and farmers suicides happen only in areas where there is monocropping. Can you ever show me an instance of failure in multi-cropping?" he asks.
Mainly organic
The crops are mainly grown organically as chemical farming proved to be a failure for him. "Though I did chemical based agriculture nearly a decade back, all that it left was debts, which accumulated to nearly Rs. 30 lakh.
One thing I realised in all my life as a farmer is that no government is really interested in helping farmers. The centre is willing to import anything from the West and these countries are ready to dump us with their produce. Our Ministers are only too willing to accept it with open hands at the cost of destroying the lives of crores of farmers' livelihoods," he says.
Becoming a debtor
"How did farmers become debtors and suffer this wretched condition? Is it their own doing? Don't people in other professions take loans and default? But it is only when a farmer fails to make one or two payments that it becomes news," he fumes.
He adds, "the bank goes in search of him as though he is a terrorist. What happened to the people who swindled crores? That money could have been used to improve agriculture and production for many years. Is anybody bothering about this?"
The much trumpeted green revolution in reality turned out to be a farce and was not able to either sustain production or improve farmers' lives, according to him.
"What is the use of only fields turning green? The lives of farmers must also turn green with money. Only then can we accept it as a revolution," says his son Kulandaivel. "A sugarcane farmer goes through much hardship and it is the sugarcane mill owner who prospers.
A paddy farmer remains poor throughout his life but the rice mill owner expands his mill or even buys two or three additional rice mills. Similarly it is not a cotton farmer but the buyer who flourishes.
"This is the ground reality. Even a 10-acre farmer is driven to sell his lands for getting money to finance his daughter's wedding," he emphasises.
Eye wash
According to the Mr. Kulandaivel the Government's campaign that rural India is shining and that too brightly, is just an eye wash. India no longer lives in villages; it lives in cities and cramped towns.
"The barren fields and almost empty streets in many villages with dilapidated homes are living proof of this," he concludes.
Contact Mr. R. Subbaian at 4/5-A, Kanakkan thottam, A.G. Pudur (P.O), Irugur (via), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: 641-103, mobile: 0936-3228039, phone:0422-2627072
Keywords: Indian farmer, Indian economy, chemical waste, Multiple cropping system
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/article2811593.ece
Trial, error and regulation
PREETI MEHRASHARE · PRINT · T+
Norms for clinical trials tightened
There were 22 cases of deaths reported in clinical trials in the year 2010. Global pharma major Bayer, Lilly, Sanofi and Pfizer were sponsors of 14 of these cases. Information on the background of these people who lost their lives during clinical trials by the pharma firms, especially with regard to their socio-economic profiles, is sketchy.
Now, waking up to the need to beef up regulations relating to clinical trials by pharmaceutical firms in the country, especially with the view to check possible exploitation of people from the lower strata of society, the Government has come up with a draft notification for amendments in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. The notification — GSR 821 (E) dated November 18, 2011) — attempts to change the current procedure for filling out the 'Informed Consent' that is taken at the time of the enrolment of trial subjects, effectively ensuring that the socio-economic profiles of the subjects is duly filled in. According to the new notification, the details to be take note of from now on in the 'Informed Consent' form include the details of address, occupation, annual income of the subject, so as to have information regarding the socio-economic status of the trial subjects. The notification also provides for incorporation of provisions for providing financial compensation to the trial subjects in case of trial-related injury or death. Also, an enhancement of the responsibilities of the Ethics Committees, the sponsors and investigator to ensure that financial compensation as well as medical care is provided to the trial subjects who suffer trial-related injury or deaths, has been provided for in the notification.
The Ethics Committee, which reviews and accords its approval to a trial procedure, is essentially entrusted with the task of safeguarding the rights and well-being of all trial subjects. "Strengthening the role of the Committee is a positive," a health sector expert said. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, deaths may occur during clinical trails due to various reasons. "These could be disease-related deaths as in case of cancer or administration of the drug to critically ill patients or side-effects or unrelated causes. Such deaths are investigated for causal relationship by the investigator and by the medical experts of the sponsor… So far, the socio-economic profiles of the trial subjects have not been included in the format for Informed Consent taken at the time of their enrolment."
Keywords: clinical trials, Health Ministry
http://www.thehindu.com/health/policy-and-issues/article2801522.ece
Healthcare sector takes a leap in city
M. SAI GOPALSHARE · PRINT · T+
K_RAMESH BABUHYDERABAD, 17-01-2012--- A patient being treated at Yashodha Hospital in Hyderabad on January 17, 2012. PHOTO: K_RAMESH BABU
At least 12-15 super-specialty hospitals to come up along Shamshabad-Hi-tech city stretch
Walk into any corporate hospital in the State capital, and the first thing that one confronts is non-availability of beds for a patient. If the patient's condition is serious, then hospital authorities shift him/her to the emergency wing and wait till a bed is empty.
This is all-pervading, despite the fact that in the last two years, there has been huge growth in healthcare industry.
Lucrative sector
Promoters have realised that the sector has become lucrative in Hyderabad and more hospital beds are being added everyday. Small and budget hospitals (50 beds) are opening by the day in big numbers. Several middle and large sized hospitals (200 beds and above) have either come up or are setting up their facilities. Existing top corporate hospitals have expanded to other parts of the city and added beds. And yet, despite the leap in hospital beds, more or less, all corporate hospitals are running full.
By the last count, industry observers assert that 12 to 15 super-speciality hospitals (200 beds and above) are coming up along the Shamshabad-Hi-tech city stretch. The total investment that is expected to pour in through these projects is between Rs.1,000 to Rs.1,200 crore, in the next few years.
Among many factors, two major reasons that have fuelled the growth of private healthcare here is the manifold increase in population between Shamshabad and Hi-tech city and medical tourism. The government has given up on tertiary care and hence the private sector has led the growth.
In this decade, Hyderabad has witnessed a steep growth in population by almost five million. And, apparently, the metropolitan area alone has a population close to 6.5 million. "To be able to service this population, Hyderabad requires about 25,000 hospital beds and at present, estimates suggest that there are 10,000 to 12,000 hospital beds and that too majority may not be in the higher secondary or tertiary care," says Medical Director, Care Group of Hospitals, Dr. Rampapa Rao.
Other factors driving this 'boom' in the private health sector includes increase in the number of 'insured' population, Arogyasree and traditional government sponsored re-imbursement schemes like CGHS, ESI and large pool of patients from nearby States like Orissa, West Bengal, border towns of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Another reason for the growth of the healthcare sector is the entrepreneurship of doctors, which has spawned mini-hospitals. "Large number of medical graduates from Andhra Pradesh (between the 60's and 90's) had gone to UK and US for specialisations. Few faculty positions at teaching hospitals forced these doctors to take up private practice. They later turned entrepreneurs and set up mini-hospitals. That's why the capital has large number of facilities with 50 bed capacity or less," analyses Dr. Rampapa Rao.
Number of hospitals
The estimated number of mini-hospitals (with 50 beds) in Hyderabad is between 120 and 150 and the number of clinics and nursing homes (10 to 20 beds) will be anywhere between 3,000 to 4,000. The medium to large sized hospitals (200 beds capacity and above) will be a little more than 15 in number.
"The demography of doctors is cosmopolitan. Nearly 40 per cent of the doctors here are from other States and they, in turn, attract a large number of patients from other States. Hyderabad, compared to Delhi and Mumbai, still provides affordable options in medical care and even lifestyle. In the end, it is the goodwill of the doctor that attracts patients," asserts Chairman, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy.
Observers, however, caution that the growth in medical infrastructure should be commensurate with availability of talent. "The present ratio of 0.6 medical professionals per 1,000 population in the country reflects the big gap between infrastructure and expertise. The situation is even worse in relation to other key human resource areas like clinical nurses, technicians, paramedical healthcare givers and healthcare managers," they surmise.
Keywords: Healthcare sector, Hi-tech city
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2809193.ece
Health insurance for more unorganised segments
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTSHARE · PRINT · T+
The HinduA beneficiary showing his smart card which allow health services under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana in Bangalore. A file photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy.
The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to provide health insurance cover is likely to be extended to more people among the vulnerable sections. This was decided at a Union Cabinet meeting, which reviewed the scheme on Thursday.
The scheme has already been extended to MGNREGS beneficiaries, street vendors, domestic workers, beedi workers and those working at building and construction sites.
"The scheme has been extended to a few segments of unorganised workers. In future, it is likely to be expanded to other segments of such workers," a release said.
The scheme has got wide appreciation from the International Labour Organisation and the World Bank. It was launched on October 1, 2007 as the health insurance scheme for families living below the poverty line and came into operation in April 2008. Beneficiaries are entitled to a smart card-based, cashless health insurance cover of Rs. 30,000 per family per annum on a family floater basis.
The Centre contributes 75 per cent of the annual premium, while the States' share is 25 per cent. For the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre's share is 90 per cent.
The beneficiary family has to pay only Rs. 30 a year as registration and renewal fee. The administrative cost is borne by the States.
Keywords: Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2795899.ece
Privatisation of health care: new ethical dilemmas
Surinder Jindal
Surinder Jindal discusses some of the complexities arising from new trends in health care
Increasing economic liberalisation and privatisation have affected health care as much as they have affected many other social and administrative systems, perhaps even more so. Though the changes are global, in India, the shift seems to have happened overnight, and public health services have been overwhelmed all of a sudden.
This was inevitable. How can one expect proper health care from a state which is unable to guarantee its people clean water, food and housing? Infact, very few countries can afford to provide their citizens comprehensive health care. Wherever state-managed care is free it is nominal – or there are "hidden" costs to the user. Today the majority of us must take care of our own food, clothing, shelter and health needs.
State responsibility in health care
There are three main elements of health care: prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Prevention of disease is both a personal and a state obligation. In fact, the state has enormous stakes in the maintenance of healthy and relatively disease-free society. It is committed to providing a good and clean environment, water supply, family and social welfare services, vaccination and health advice.
Individuals, on the other hand, may choose to abide by the state's laws and follow general health guidelines, in their own interests. Private and voluntary organistaions have an important role to play, depending on their specific aims and objectives.
It is largely curative and rehabilitative medicine which is getting privatised, and rightly so. Such services are not only costly but highly individualised and time-consuming as well. Recent advances have expanded vistas in health care, raising people's expectations. They can not only stay healthier but also live longer. Body imaging and scanning procedures, endoscopic surgery and screening examinations have helped diagnose diseases earlier and with greater precision. New drugs and interventions have modified the natural histories of most diseases. Both morbidity and mortality have decreased.
Newer methodologies have also helped rehabilitate even the most severely disabled, including those with chronic and systemic diseases. People with gross respiratory, cardiac, renal or cerebral insufficiencies are now able to live more meaningful, useful and enjoyable lives.
Better services, more choices
People are no longer satisfied with general panaceas for their ills. Some patients may want a quick fix if possible, but a large number prefer to have their condition diagnosed and treated with the help of all available technology. Moreover, this is both scientifically and legally required.
Individualised care is obviously easier in private than in government institutions. One can choose both the treating doctor and the time and place of treatment. In certain conditions the patient may want to choose the method of treatment as well. This is especially true for surgery where more than onc eoption is available, such as between endoscopic and open removal of a gall bladder. It can be even more critical when there could be a choice of a life support device such as a pace maker.
A privatised system can also provide better nursing and allied services. It can provide better facilities for attendants and other care-givers. Patients and their relatives are not pushed around, neglected and ignored. Such care may also provide patients with a choice of convenient timings, treatments and costs, though these factors can be limited in both private and public sector settings.
Thus, privatisation has helped improve health services – their type, scope, quality and consequences.
The price of privatisation
Privatisation leads to steep hike in health expenditures, attributable to the increased costs of medical consultations, drugs and devices, medical tests and hospitalisation. Everybody involved has to earn; private medical practice is a profession, not just a public service.
Because of the pressure to make a profit, many private doctors, hospitals and diagnostic centres promote uncalled-for investigations and treatment in order to recover their initial investment. So services with limited value will be popularised and promoted to many people – whether or not they need it.
This is true for the simple ultrasound scanner, endoscopy centre and test laboratory as well as the more costly and sophisticated lithotripsy, CT and MR imaging, balloon angioplasty and transplant. Every test and treatment must be marketed like a commercial consumer product. This is done y individuals as well as big commercial organisations. Newly developed drugs, test kits or instruments are promoted aggressively. All kinds of methods are used to prove that the product at hand is superior to other, and almost indispensable in itself. The strategy succeeds at the cost of rational, ethical practice and patient care.
Points of concern
I will not make value judgements, only raise certain points that concern all of us. The most important is the availability of health care. The economically deprived are bound to suffer in a private health system.
The public sector provides limited services and charity encourages inefficiency and dependency. But knowing this does not help one overcome a feeling of helplessness and guilt when seeing a needy patient with a curable illness suffering because of the absence of a sincere social welfare system.
Privatisation has also encouraged unhealthy competition among the groups involved, since the objective is not only to earn, but to earn more than others.
Privatisation leads to the relative neglect of problems from which there is little to earn. Everyone including the state is interested in setting up commercially viable units. National preventive programmes get neglected.
There is also an undue stress on procedure-oriented medicine. Well-considered, comprehensive advice is bypassed for a computerised laboratory test, resulting in the loss of the human touch.
Effect on medical education
The general decline in standards of medical education and research in most Indian medical colleges can be partly attributed to privatisation. Busy clinicians and hospitals see little reason to invest their time and money in education.
Running private medical colleges is lucrative, but the standards of education have fallen, especially at the undergraduate level since the primary motive is to make money. The basic MBBS diploma is devalued today. An MBBS doctors is reduced to doing the work of a village level health worker or being a postgraduate-in-waiting.
I believe this is at least partly due to privatisation, because private practitioners and institutions almost always prefer practice to teaching and training.
Research, a high-cost investment with poor or uncertain returns, is largely the domain of a few institutions and pharmaceutical companies. Most medical research in India is unoriginal, rarely resulting in improved techniques or therapies.
Privatisation has undoubtedly improved the quality of health care, and widened its scope and availability. And private health services will continue to flourish, since they provide curative and rehabilitative services that the state does not provide. But privatisation has resulted in a number of problems hitherto alien to Indian society. Promoting health care as a consumer service and product is both unhealthy and risky.
It is high time we ponder this worsening situation and take remedial steps.
http://www.ijme.in/063or085.htmlHealth Care Industry
By: EconomyWatch Date: 30 June 2010
About The Author
The core Content Team our economy, industry, investing and personal finance reference articles.
EconomyWatch, Content Team
Health care industry plays an important part in the economy of a country. The health care industry determines the GDP or the gross domestic product of any country. It also determines exports status, employment, capital investment etc. Health care segment provides employment openings to many individuals directly associated with the health care sector or other associated sectors, related to the health care industry in some way or the other. Efforts are usually made to keep the dollars rolling within the country economic set up. Businesses dealing in health care adds to the already existing economy by buying utility programs, by paying taxes for property etc.,.
The health care industry consists of the following:
- Dentists and doctors
- Protective care and nursing
- Pharmacies
- Allied medical, health services
- Hospitals
The present era is likely to be dominated by expansion of demands in the market, increasing prices and increasing awareness among the customers. Such changes will trigger a change in the health care industry scenario for the better. The year of 1990 witnessed a sluggish rate of growth, the health expenses per capita marked an all time low. The sluggish nature could be due to the fact that several health programs were implemented efficiently.
With the invention of latest technological developments, the world health care industry is catching up with the other leading industries of the world. World health care industry is one of the largest industries catering to the medical needs of innumerable people around the globe. Statistics show that in the year 2004, employment provided by the health care industry accounted for 13.5 million job opportunities. Out of the 13.5 million jobs, some of the people opted for self employment while others remained salaried workers related to the health care. It has been predicted that between 2004 through 2014, increase in the health care jobs would be by approximately 19% or as many as 3.6 million job opening would be produced.
The statistics provided above reflect the health care scenario in the USA.Generally, the world health care industry comprises of the following segments:
- Hospitals
- Nursing
- Physicians
- Dentists
- Health care services at home.
- Medical practitioners
- Outpatient departments
- Ambulant health care facilities
- Diagnostic laboratories and medical services
World health care industry includes any medical institution which includes either a single medical assistant to the medical practitioner or medical practitioners attached to different hospitals and other medical establishments.
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Health care industry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The health care industry, or medical industry, is a sector within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care. The modern health care sector is divided into many sub-sectors, and depends on interdisciplinary teams of trained professionals and paraprofessionals to meet health needs of individuals and populations.[1][2]
The health care industry is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing industries.[3] Consuming over 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) of most developed nations, health care can form an enormous part of a country's economy.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Background
For purposes of finance and management, the healthcare industry is typically divided into several areas. As a basic framework for defining the sector, the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) categorizes the health care industry as generally consisting of:
- hospital activities;
- medical and dental practice activities;
- "other human health activities"
This third class involves activities of, or under the supervision of, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, scientific or diagnostic laboratories, pathology clinics, residential health facilites, or other allied health professions, e.g. in the field of optometry, hydrotherapy, medical massage, yoga therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, homeopathy, chiropractics, acupuncture, etc.[4]
The Global Industry Classification Standard and the Industry Classification Benchmark further distinguish the industry as two main groups: (1) health care equipment & services; and (2) pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and related life sciences. Health care equipment and services comprise companies and entities that provide medical equipment, medical supplies, and health care services, such as hospitals, home health care providers, and nursing homes. The second industry group comprises sectors companies that produce biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and miscellaneous scientific services.[5]
Other approaches to defining the scope of the health care industry tend to adopt a broader definition, also including other key actions related to health, such as education and training of health professionals, regulation and management of health services delivery, provision oftraditional and complementary medicines, and administration of health insurance.[6]
[edit]Providers and professionals
See also: Health care provider and Health workforce
A health care provider is an institution (such as a hospital or clinic) or person (such as a physician, nurse, allied health professional orcommunity health worker) that provides preventive, curative, promotional, rehabilitative or palliative care services in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities.
The World Health Organization estimates there are 9.2 million physicians, 19.4 million nurses and midwives, 1.9 million dentists and other dentistry personnel, 2.6 million pharmacists and other pharmaceutical personnel, and over 1.3 million community health workers worldwide[7], making the health care industry one of the largest segments of the workforce.
The medical industry is also supported by many professions that do not directly provide health care itself, but are part of the management and support of the health care system. The incomes of managers and administrators, underwriters and medical malpractice attorneys, marketers, investors and shareholders of for-profit services, all are attributable to health care costs.[8]
In 2003, health care costs paid to hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers and other components of the health care system, consumed 15.3 percent[9] of the GDP of the United States, the largest of any country in the world. For United States, the health share of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to hold steady in 2006 before resuming its historical upward trend, reaching 19.6 percent of GDP by 2016.[10] In 2001, for the OECD countries the average was 8.4 percent [11] with the United States (13.9%), Switzerland (10.9%), and Germany (10.7%) being the top three. US health care expenditures totaled US$2.2 trillion in 2006.[12] According to Health Affairs, US$7,498 be spent on every woman, man and child in the United States in 2007, 20 percent of all spending. Costs are projected to increase to $12,782 by 2016.[13]
[edit]Delivery of services
- See also: Health care delivery
The delivery of health care services —- from primary care to secondary and tertiary levels of care — is the most visible part of any health care system, both to users and the general public.[14] There are many ways of providing health care in the modern world. The place of delivery may be in the home, the community, the workplace, or in health facilities. The most common way is face-to-face delivery, where care provider and patient see each other 'in the flesh'. This is what occurs in general medicine in most countries. However, with modern telecommunications technology, in absentia health care is becoming more common. This could be when practitioner and patient communicate over the phone,video conferencing, the internet, email, text messages, or any other form of non-face-to-face communication.
Improving access, coverage and quality of health services depends on the ways services are organized and managed, and on the incentives influencing providers and users. In market-based health care systems, for example such as that in the United States, such services are usually paid for by the patient or through the patient's health insurance company. Other mechanisms include government-financed systems (such as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom). In many poorer countries, development aid, as well as funding through charities or volunteers, help support the delivery and financing of health care services among large segments of the population.[15]
The structure of health care charges can also vary dramatically among countries. For instance, Chinese hospital charges tend toward 50% for drugs, another major percentage for equipment, and a small percentage for health care professional fees.[16] China has implemented a long-term transformation of its health care industry, beginning in the 1980s. Over the first twenty-five years of this transformation, government contributions to health care expenditures have dropped from 36% to 15%, with the burden of managing this decrease falling largely on patients. Also over this period, a small proportion of state-owned hospitals have been privatized. As an incentive to privatization, foreign investment in hospitals — up to 70% ownership — has been encouraged.[16]
[edit]Medical tourism
Main article: Medical tourism
Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global health care) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care.
Such services typically include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including psychiatry, alternative treatments, convalescent care and even burial services are available. As a practical matter, providers and customers commonly use informal channels of communication-connection-contract, and in such cases this tends to mean less regulatory or legal oversight to assure quality and less formal recourse to reimbursement or redress, if needed.
Over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry.[17] However, accreditation and other measures of quality vary widely across the globe, and there are risks and ethical issues that make this method of accessing medical care controversial. Also, some destinations may become hazardous or even dangerous for medical tourists to contemplate.[citation needed]
[edit]See also
- Acronyms in healthcare
- Health administration
- Health care
- Health policy
- Health sciences
- Health economics
- Medicine
- Pharmaceutical industry
- Philosophy of healthcare
[edit]References
- ^ Princeton University. (2007). Health profession. Retrieved June 17, 2007, from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=health%20profession
- ^ United States Department of Labor. (2007, February 27). Health Care Industry Information. Retrieved June 17, 2007, fromhttp://www.doleta.gov/BRG/Indprof/Health.cfm
- ^ From the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation
- ^ United Nations. International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, Rev.3. New York.
- ^ "Yahoo Industry Browser – Healthcare Sector – Industry List".
- ^ Hernandez P et al,'Measuring expenditure on the health workforce: concepts, data sources and methods,' in: Handbook on monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health, Geneva, World Health Organization, 2009.
- ^ World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2011 – Table 6: Health workforce, infrastructure and essential medicines. Geneva, 2011. Accessed 21 July 2011.
- ^ Evans RG (1997). "Going for the gold: the redistributive agenda behind market-based health care reform.". J Health Polit Policy Law 22 (2): 427–65. doi:10.1215/03616878-22-2-427. PMID 9159711.
- ^ From Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- ^ "The Not So Short Introduction to Health Care in US", by Nainil C. Chheda, published in February 2007, Accessed February 26, 2007.
- ^ OECD data
- ^ Snapshots: Comparing Projected Growth in Health Care Expenditures and the Economy
- ^ "Average 2016 health-care bill: $12,782" by Ricardo Alonso-Zalvidar Los Angeles Times February 21, 2007
- ^ World Health Organization, 2011. Health Service Delivery. http://www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/delivery/en/index.html
- ^ Institute of Development Studies, Health service delivery in developing countries
- ^ a b Robert Yuan (2007-06-15). "China Cultivates Its Healthcare Industry". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.): pp. 49–51. Retrieved 2008-07-07. "(subtitle) The Risks and Opportunities in a Society Undergoing Explosive Change"
- ^ Gahlinger, PM. The Medical Tourism Travel Guide: Your Complete Reference to Top-Quality, Low-Cost Dental, Cosmetic, Medical Care & Surgery Overseas. Sunrise River Press, 2008
[edit]Further reading
- Mahar, Maggie, Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much, Harper/Collins, 2006. ISBN 9780060765330
- Starr, Paul, The Social Transformation of American Medicine, Basic Books, 1982. ISBN 0465079342
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Palash Biswas
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