Why Students from Bihar seek admission in Delhi University?

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July 2, 2019

It is a strong desire for all the students from across the country to study at Delhi University. The reputation of colleges such as Hindu, St. Stephens, Miranda House, Lady Sri Ram, Sri Ram College of Commerce, Hansraj, etc. is such that students want to get into these colleges. Boys and Girls from Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, etc. try to get admission into Delhi University. Students from Bihar for the last 50-60 years have studied in Delhi University and many Bihari students are still enrolled in colleges of Delhi University. But only a few students willing to study in Delhi University are successful in getting admission. The reason being in order to get admission into these colleges a student who clears his or her Class 12 or plus-2 board examination has to excel in the examination and secure a very high percentage of marks. Obviously, lakhs of students don’t get a chance to study at Delhi University due to high cut off marks for admission.

For this academic year, the first list of the cut-off mark for admission is 100 per cent, 99 per cent, and 98 per cent. A large number of students and their guardians are a disappointed lot. Even young boys and girls who are born, brought up and have their schooling in Delhi are also deprived of the opportunity to study at Delhi University because students from all over the country apply for admission. Delhi is a Central University. Meritorious students from all over the country will continue to seek admission in Delhi University. There is no concrete ground for complaint. After all, this country belongs to all of us.

However, the question is how to solve this problem of a few seats and many students. An initiative should be taken to increase the number of seats in Delhi University. One way out is to start evening shifts in all the colleges of Delhi University. At present only a handful of colleges run evening classes. Zakir Hussain College and Dayal Singh College are among them. The question arises how to utilise the space and facilities of these colleges having 8-10 acres of land with potential to increase its academic activities by adding infrastructure for teaching.

Classes and other academic curricula run in day colleges till afternoon. By 2 to 3 p.m. the campus wears a desolate look. Why not start selected evening course in these colleges between 4 pm to 8 pm, to begin with? On average, even when 300 students join the evening shift then thousands of students will get the opportunity to study at Delhi University.

It is not easy to start a new college in Delhi. A minimum of 7-8 acre of land is required and the land is not available. What is the alternative then? The answer is to begin an evening shift in existing colleges. We should start working in this direction with the gradual introduction of evening courses in day colleges. With a time frame of 5 years, all colleges should be covered where evening courses should be available. One added advantage of running evening classes is boys and girls who want to take up some job in the day can study in the evening. Delhi has the advantage of Metro rail service which runs till 11 p.m. beside buses. Evening course will also provide employment to young men and women who want to join the teaching profession. Many universities in foreign countries have evening courses. In India, many people will also get employment in non- teaching departments and in class IV category.

President of Malawi, (an African nation) Bingu was Muharika who was in office from 2004 till 2012 studied in Sri Ram College of Commerce on the scholarship of India and graduated from there. He also did his Master degree course in Economics from Delhi School of Economics.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Laureate of Myanmar studied in Delhi and did her graduation from Lady Sri Ram College.

Two students of St. Stephens College rose to become President of their respective country. One was Fakhrudin Ali Ahmed and the other was Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan who was a student of St. Stephens in 1941-45.

Delhi School of Economics is a world-class institution and can be said to be Asia’s London School of Economics. Dr. Sukhmoy Chakravarti, Dr. Mrinal Datta Choudhary, Dr. A L Nagar, Prof. T C A Anant, Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, and Ramj Singh are few names who have been India’s top economists and teachers. Dr. V K R V Rao founder of Delhi School of Economics had roped in some eminent economists of the country in the Faculty. There are many more names in the field of sports, acting and corporate world who are the product of Delhi University.

As of now, the initiative in opening evening courses can succeed only when all the departments concerned and the government take a serious view of the project. Simply by holding meetings and making announcements will not do. At the same time, the need of the hour is to enhance the teaching standard of other universities of the country by recruiting eminent teachers in their faculties. Some 50-60 years ago, meritorious students of not only from India but also from Asian countries used to rush to Banaras Hindu University, Allahabad University, Calcutta University, and Madras University for higher education. It is a matter of concern to see that many teachers today after getting jobs to stop reading and teaching let alone engage in meaningful research work. Teachers are makers of a new generation. They should perform their duty religiously. If it is done many Universities would become like Delhi University.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Malad wall collapse: Death toll hits 18, CM visits injured

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Web Team

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July 2, 2019

At least 18 people were killed while 13 others sustained injuries after a wall collapsed in Malad area of the city on Tuesday amid heavy downpour.

The compound wall of a building, located in Kurar village, collapsed on hutments on a hill slope in the wee hours.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Minister of State for Urban Development Yogesh Sagar visited Shatabdi Hospital to meet the injured.

Fadnavis also took stock of the situation in the rain-drenched city during a visit to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) control room.

The chief minister told reporters that the administration, police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are keeping a close watch on the situation.

“Last night, unprecedented rainfall was witnessed in Mumbai which led to several mishaps. In Malad, slums were destroyed after a wall collapsed and 30-40 people were injured. I personally met them today at the hospital,” he said.

Fadnavis said forces are on alert as high tide is expected.

“The western line (of the local train services) is operational, but the central line has been shut due to flooding. This morning, we declared a day’s holiday for all so that Mumbaikars can stay safe. Overall traffic is under control. We are trying to pump out water. In the next two days, the India Meteorological Office (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall, and we are closely monitoring the situation,” he said.

Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar also visited the BMC this morning to monitor the situation.

Torrential downpour in the city has caused widespread mayhem and panic, with over 20 people dead in rain-related incidents.

Several trains have been cancelled while select others have been short terminated due to the incessant rains.

In a statement, the Western Railway said due to heavy rains and water logging on tracks in Palghar, 19023 Janta Express, 19015 Saurashtra Express and 11104 Bandra T-Jhansi Express have been rescheduled, while 12935 Bandra T-Surat Intercity stands cancelled.

Sixteen mainline trains have been regulated at various stations in the Mumbai division due to heavy rain in Virar, Nallasopara and Palghar stations. The water level is above 150 mm on rail level, the railways said.

Due to water logging on tracks at Nallasopara, Virar and Palghar, train numbers 12904, 22904, 22928,12962, 12902, 19208, 19218, 22944,12928, 12264, 19424, 12450,19020, 59442, 12298 and 12268 have been stopped at various stations.

As many as 54 flights have been diverted to nearby airports while 52 others have been cancelled as rains continued to lash Mumbai and its neighbouring areas, an airport official said.

Letters to the Editor: 02 July, 2019

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Web Team

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July 2, 2019

St. Jude Thaddaeus

St. Jude Thaddaeus was one of the 12 apostles hand-picked by Jesus, as well as a cousin of Jesus (Matthew 13:55). He was also the brother of James the Less, the first Bishop of Jerusalem. St. Jude Thaddaeus is known as the Patron Saint of the Impossible because his New Testament letter stresses that we should persevere in difficult circumstances just as our forefathers have done before us. St. Jude Thaddaeus is also quoted in the Bible in John 14:22, asking Jesus why he won’t manifest himself to unbelievers after the resurrection.

After the death of Jesus, St. Jude travelled to Mesopotamia and Armenia. He suffered a martyr’s death while being beaten unmercifully, and then having his head shattered with an axe. Martyrdom was referred to by Jesus Christ as His baptism in Luke 12:50. Jesus told his apostles, including St. Jude, that they would also drink from the same cup as Jesus, and receive this “baptism” of martyrdom, in Mark 10:39. St. Jude knew this, and boldly preached the Word of God to unbelievers.

Jubel D’Cruz

Team India tamed by English lions

England edged out Team India at Edgbaston and touched a 4th spot in the points table. With a game in hand, England team is sure to enter the knock out stage even if the last game is rained off, as England has a better net run rate. Indian team with famed batting line up failed to go for runs from the word go. Rohit scored a hundred and Shami took 5 wickets but the match was lost without a semblance of a fight. Whereas Bairstow played a match-winning innings and became Man of the Match with his 8th one day century. It was a clinical performance by England.

Muringathery Ramaswamy Jayanthy

BMC exposed in the first showers to hit the city!

BMC got exposed in the first showers to hit the city as life came to a standstill in Mumbai when the city received a few inches of rainfall. Low lying areas like Andheri subway and Santa Cruz along with other known suspect areas of Mumbai was submerged in waist height water which means pre-monsoon work was done by BMC haphazardly as usual. The state govt needs to trail the amount of money spent by our civic body as corruption rules the roost and taxpayers money not utilised for the purpose taken.

Privatisation of our civic body is the need of the hour. BMC is the richest civic body in the world but there is no accountability and efficiency missing. The state govt blames BMC and vice versa as people suffer in the bargain. Time for people to raise their voice and efficient Corporators and MLA’s who are honest should be elected by the people!

S.N.Kabra

Shah blames Nehru for Kashmir problem

Union Home Minister Amit Shah deserves all appreciation for his directly blaming Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for creating Kashmir problem after snatching power of the then Union Home Minister Sardar Patel to look into the issue. However, the biggest surprise is that present nationalist government at the centre continues blindly politically worshipping a personality who was the real culprit at root level who misused his veto-power by snatching democratic right of Sardar Patel for becoming first Prime Minister of India and also doing injustice to majority community in so many ways apart from avoiding any help to save lives of great martyrs of freedom struggle of India.

BJP has won 2019-elections on its commitment to repeal articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution to make Kashmir at par with other Indian states in all respects. Central government should immediately present Constitution Amendment Bill in this regard without fearing majority in Rajya Sabha, in the manner it presented Triple Talaq Bill.

There are several non-NDA parties like TRS, BJD, YSR Congress, etc. which can be persuaded to support the Bill. Even Congress is unlikely to oppose the bill in fear of complete extinct of an oldest national political party like it unwillingly did on GST Bill. Even if the Bill fails in the first attempt, it can be re-introduced again after NDA gets a majority in Rajya Sabha in time to come.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

World Doctor’s Day — Opportunity to pay tribute

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Vinod Dixit

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July 2, 2019

World Doctor’s Day that falls on July 1 is an opportunity to raise awareness about the doctor’s role in our daily lives – a day when people across the country acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the medical and health care fraternity towards society. Doctor’s Day is the time to pay tribute to the entire medical profession.

It is a special and an ideal opportunity to remind people of the critical role doctor’s play in our lives. It is also a time for doctors to reflect on their own careers, realise their responsibility they bear and redirect themselves onto an ethical path of healing those in need. It is the day we celebrate the selfless service of doctors and their huge contribution to the medical advancement in India.

India has a long tradition of service to mankind. It is ingrained in its culture and all the religions. As a result, Indian doctors are well known for their charitable attitude, dedication, hard work, and personal touch. For the year 2019, the theme is “zero tolerance to violence against doctors and clinical establishment”.

India is unique in the sense that patients revere their doctors’ majority of who are sincere, honest and ethical. The concept of ‘Family Physician’ is more or less extinct in India. It is imperative for both patients and doctors to work together on re-establishing some of the lost trust, and truly, there could be no better day than Doctors’ Day to reinforce the unique relationship between the doctor and patient. Reverence for human life and individual dignity is both the hallmark of a good physician and the key to truly beneficial advances in medicine.

Doctors play an important role in our society. When you get ill the most important person in life is the doctor. A doctor performs diagnosis and treatment. He cares for the patient and keeps them well. It is not enough just to pay the bill or says “Thanks” for doctors are the life saviors who strive tirelessly to cure the ailments of the patients. Doctor’s Day is the perfect time for patients to acknowledge the high-pressured job and appreciate their doctor’s ability to comfort and heal.

It is observed that doctors are more often the victims of criticism while their successes are overlooked. No doubt, it is a fact that the medical profession carries a heavy responsibility with it, but people need to understand that behind the white coat and stethoscope is a normal human being and like in all other professions, doctors too need appreciation for their work and efforts. The value of medicine and doctors in human life is crucial. We cannot battle diseases and illnesses without medicines. People think God is Omnipotent – having unlimited power, omnipresent – one who is limitless, boundless, infinite and omniscient – one who knows everything and the patient finds the doctor as one of them.

The patient trusts and places his life in the hands of the doctor. On many occasions, the patient discloses confidential information to the doctor which he/she might or might not have discussed with his/her spouse or family member. In no other profession does the individual place so much trust and faith. In some regions, particularly in rural India, the doctor is equated with God. The doctor is, therefore, duty-bound to have a higher level of the moral code of conduct than those in other professions and must understand that he/she is in a very privileged position.

Doctors in India over the years have shown remarkable improvements and made definite progress in medical treatments that really need to be acknowledged. Let us honor their work to help mankind thrive by being healthy and disease free.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Biased Media a threat to Democracy: Right-wingers seeking for ban

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Rajesh Choudhary

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July 1, 2019

In a rare move, a social media group by the right-wingers is appealing people and financial institutions to ban a certain mainstream newspaper and not to give it any advertisement because of its anti-Modi and anti-RSS news coverage. The group accused the newspaper of being biased towards the RSS and the BJP and it is needless to say that biased media is a threat to democracy.

VT Gokhale, a city-based lawyer and social activist has told Afternoon Voice, “Media has got the right to criticise any government and any political leader but this criticism should be based on facts.” Gokhale further said that news coverage should not be untrue, false, and misleading.

He went on saying, “A certain newspaper has been publishing news articles which are not based on facts. I have written them several letters saying that this news is misleading and I have given the facts. However, they never gave any clarification and published my full letter.”

Advocate VT Gokhale also said, “Some gentlemen have gone to the Press Council of India. The Press Council censored the Editor of the newspaper because he had written that the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had justified the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq. Bhagwat had said that capital punishment should be given to the person who criticises the Vedas. However, the fact is that Bhagwat has never supported the lynching. In fact, he condemned the death of Akhlaq. The owner of the media house is concerned about the revenue stream and he/she does not care what is being published. If the revenue will be affected, he/she will ask the reason. That is why I have appealed through the WhatsApp group not to give advertisement to the news publishing house.”

“I do not mean to strangulate it or anybody. They have to improve their ways. They have to resort to objective criticism. Then, there is no problem. I discussed it to some friends and started appealing on social media to copy and paste this appeal to spread it. We have put it on Facebook, too. We appeal people to forward this message with their name and mobile number. This will create awareness among people,” he added.

It is notable that the right-winged WhatsApp group is appealing to ban a certain newspaper from advertisements to punish it financially. According to their message meant for the sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar or the BJP, they are appealing to banks, other financial institutions and industries that are behind Prime Minister Modi and his development and welfare programme and NDA government, that they should stop financial support to the mainstream media house. They said that the editorials of the Editor have taken a lot to defame PM Narendra Modi and Sangh Parivar without any reasonable reason. Even the request of publishing the disclosures about the wrong news has not been appreciated by the Editor.

Sanjiv Oak, another member of the right-wing WhatsApp group said, “Alike Saamana, the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena and Tarun Bharat, the mouthpiece of the RSS, if any newspaper is anti-BJP, they should declare it openly. However, a newspaper must be balanced and neutral.”

Retired Wing Commander ShashiKant Oak asserted, “Some journalists are behaving as if they were taking personal revenge. They always try to find out defects in the plans and works of PM Modi. It is good if they bring shortcomings to the fore. It is the job of a journalist or reporter. However, writing or reporting wrong is not good. We do not expect this from them. Therefore, we have started this initiative.”

Advocate VT Gokhale said, “We do not think that the Editor of the newspaper will see our WhatsApp message and soon write an apology. I have written a letter to three banks — Dombivli Nagari Cooperative bank, Thane Janata Cooperative bank, and Kalyan Janata Cooperative bank. It does not mean that we are against the freedom of the press. Giving advertisement is our decision. So, I am appealing to people.”

Ideological moorings and confusion hurting Congress: Part II

By

Vaidehi Taman

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July 1, 2019

When we study the history of Congress, we find that the party rose from ashes only when it had a charismatic leader or a strong wind in favour of it due to sympathy. The Indian National Congress is a “sinking ship”; many of us have heard that by now. Yet it’s a bit astonishing to think how far the political party has fallen. After all, until recently, the history of Congress ran almost in parallel with the history of India itself, to an extent where the line between these histories seemed blurred. The leaders of Congress were the leaders of India and a large part of the Indian Freedom Movement owed its existence to this “grand old party,” which was not just a political party, but also an umbrella organisation where different schools of thought used to co-exist together.

From Gandhi to Jinnah, from Nehru to Bose, from Tilak to Gokhale, the Congress itself contained people poles apart from each other ideologically. However, yet it not only remained as one party but also went on to define the political system itself in India, leading Dr. Rajni Kothari to coin the term “Congress System.” The organisational structure of the Congress was so deep-rooted and entrenched that it reached to the grassroot level, to the last man, as a part of Gandhian idealism.

However, Congress could not uphold these ideals of working on the ground for as long as the people of India hoped it would. Much of Congress’ dominance at the centre as well as the state level was due to the fact that people voted in the name of the Congress, which had won freedom for the country.

People felt almost indebted to the party and continued to bring them back to power in the hope that Swarajya (self-rule) would actually be realised on the ground and the days of Ram Rajya (the idyllic rule of Rama), which Gandhi used to mention in his speeches and writings, would come. People waited for years, but neither Swarajya nor Ram Rajya came about.

Instead, the people realised, nepotism and corruption were increasing day by day in the political system. It was not Ram Rajya, but the Raaj of one family — the Gandhi family. The family alone accounts for three Prime Ministers, who ruled the country for around 37 years, while another 10 years of governance in the 21st century was also largely led by the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty.

Slowly, as disillusionment set in, the Congress System started to deteriorate. Still, it took around a decade for a non-Congress party to come into power in a state. In Kerala, the Left was voted to power in the 1957 legislative assembly elections. E. M. S. Namboodiripad became the first democratically elected communist leader, though the Congress was still a huge force to reckon with.

However, things were about to change tremendously, especially in the heartlands of India, where people were now looking for an alternative. They were angry with the false promises made by the Congress politicians in election after election.

The first jolt to the Congress came when Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964. Everyone in the Congress was asking only one question: “Who comes after Nehru?” Nehru was the tallest national leader of the party and India itself; his death created a vacuum in the political space, which he had been acquiring for the last 17 years since the independence of the country. The Congress positioned Lal Bahadur Shastri as India’s second prime minister but not for long. He died suspiciously at Tashkent in 1966.

With the death of two Prime Ministers in quick succession, the Congress party, which had previously been able to win constituencies based solely on the charisma of its leaders, could no longer do so, at least at the regional level. The fight within the party was increasing. The tide finally turned in the 1967 elections, held from February 15 to 22. Out of the 16 states, only in eight, the Congress returned to power with absolute majorities in the state legislatures.

Equally bad was the rout of the Congress’ top leadership. The seven members of Indira Gandhi’s cabinet at the centre were defeated. The presidents of Congress party organisations in six states also lost, along with the Chief Ministers in four states.

Congress was clearly losing its touch, as the party started showing the first signs of a break. The party became divided into many factions like Indian National Congress (I), Indian National Congress (O), Bharatiya Kranti Dal, Utkal Congress, and Bangla Congress. Many of these factions later became defunct as they merged with the Janata Party during the emergency. The future of the Congress party lies in the hands of the people who are qualified to lead it.

(The final part will continue tomorrow.)

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Ayushman Bharat has its origin in Aarogyasri

By

Web Team

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July 1, 2019

Ayushman Bharat, Arogyashri, Narendra Modi, PM-JAY Ayushman Bharat is a National Health Protection Scheme which has its origin from Aarogyasri Introduced by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments.

Aarogyasri (Rajiv Aarogyasri) was a flagship healthcare program of the Government of Andhra Pradesh before the AP Re-organisation in 2014. After the split of the state into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Aarogyasri became flagship healthcare scheme of the Government of Telangana and is administered by Aarogyasri Health Care Trust. The new Government of Andhra Pradesh after the state split renamed the scheme in 2014 to Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva and is administered by Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva Trust. It covers those below the poverty line. The government issues an Aarogyasri Card and the beneficiary can use it at the government and private hospitals to obtain services free of cost.

The Programme Aarogyasri Scheme is the flagship scheme of all health initiatives of the State Government with a mission to provide quality healthcare for the poor. The aim of the Government is to achieve “Health for All”. In order to facilitate the effective implementation of the scheme, the State Government set up the Aarogyasri Health Care Trust under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. A Chief Executive Officer, an IAS Officer, administers the trust. The trust runs the scheme, in consultation with specialists in the field of healthcare.

The beneficiaries of the scheme are the members of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families as enumerated and photographed in White Ration Card linked with Aadhaar card and available in Civil Supplies Department database. Financial coverage (Height of Universal Health coverage): The scheme shall provide coverage for the services to the beneficiaries up to Rs 2.50 lakh per family per annum on a floater basis. There shall be no co-payment under this scheme.

Enrollment

The beneficiaries of the scheme, the members of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, as enumerated and photographed in BPL Ration Card and available in Civil Supplies Department database.

Extent of Cover

The benefit to the family is on a floater basis i.e. the total reimbursement of Rs 1.50 lakhs can be availed individually or collectively by members of the family. An additional sum of Rs 50,000 is provided as a buffer to take care of expenses if it exceeds the original sum i.e. Rs 1.50 lakhs per family. Excepting cost for cochlear implant surgery with auditory-verbal therapy is reimbursed by the trust up to a maximum of Rs 6.50 lakhs per case.

All transactions are cashless for covered procedures. A BPL beneficiary can go to any hospital either public or private and come out without making any payment to the hospital for the procedures covered under the scheme. The same is the case for diagnostics if eventually, the patient does not end up in undergoing the surgery or therapy.

Hospitals are mandated to conduct free health camp, thereby taking advanced evaluation at the doorstep of the patient.

Point of Contact

All the Primary Health Centers (PHCs) which are the first contact point, area/district hospitals, and network hospitals, are provided with help desks manned by AAROGYA MITHRAs to facilitate the illiterate patients. The Aarogyamithras were selected by the Zilla Samakhyas and Mandal Samakhyas under Indira Kranti Patham (Self Help Groups).

Excluded Treatments

The diseases specifically excluded from the list are high-end diseases such as hip and knee replacement, bone marrow, cardiac and liver transplantations, gamma-knife procedures in neuro-surgery, assisted devices for cardiac failures etc; and diseases covered by national programmes viz., TB, HIV/AIDS, leprosy, infectious diseases,malaria, filaria, gastroenteritis, jaundice, etc.

To the extended RAS covers the treatments, it would no longer be permissible for the BPL holders to apply for relief for medical purposes under Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF).

The Ayushman Bharat is a National Health Protection Scheme which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission — will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).

Salient Features

Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will have a defined benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year.
Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private impanelled hospitals across the country.
Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and impanelled private facilities.
To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on a package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.
One of the core principles of Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission is to co-operative federalism and flexibility to states.
For giving policy directions and fostering coordination between Centre and States, it is proposed to set up Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC) at apex level Chaired by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister.
States would need to have the State Health Agency (SHA) to implement the scheme.
To ensure that the funds reach SHA on time, the transfer of funds from Central Government through Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission to State Health Agencies may be done through an escrow account directly.
In partnership with NITI Aayog, a robust, modular, scalable and interoperable IT platform will be made operational which will entail a paperless, cashless

Merits of Scheme

A Strong Network of 1.5 lakhs Health and Wellness Centers across the country would constitute the foundation of India’s new healthcare systems.
It will cover more than 10 crore Poor and Vulnerable families of the society.
The support from trained nurses and health workers increase the availability near home in rural areas.
Vulnerable sections of the society would have access to healthcare to almost all medical and surgical conditions that can occur in a lifetime.
Package rates decided by the government for private hospitals would help in keeping the cost low.
It will generate employment especially for women would help in the economic empowerment of women.

Challenges

Major Challenge would be Implementation and Governance of the Scheme.
The private hospitals are based on profitability motives and fixing rates of procedures would increase the chances of hospitals neglecting poor Patients. Healthcare is a goal under SDG 2030 Goal-3 of good health. The scheme would ensure proper healthcare facilities for most vulnerable sections of the society.
By preventive disease at an early stage can make a change. For example, early detection of diabetes at the age of 35 can avoid kidney failure at the age of 50. Also, schemes exclude outpatient health care that is responsible for 70 per cent of health expenditure.
Budget allocation of Rs 2,000 crore scheme doesn’t serve the purpose. The amount is meagre as compared to the scope of the scheme.
The schemes are far from universal health coverage as it excludes 80 crores (60 per cent) of the population.

-By Dr. A. Jagadeesh

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Letters to the Editor: 01 July, 2019

By

Web Team

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July 1, 2019

Take care while enjoying in water!

After a long wait, finally it has started raining heavily and waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and beaches have started overflowing in some places, which are known as tourists’ spots. There are a lot of visitors crowding these places. Tourists get so carried away at these places and in their over-enthusiasm, they fail to gauge the depth of water and speed with which it flows, leading to accidents.

A few over-enthusiast young men and women, in their craze of taking ‘selfie’, fall in water; besides, the good swimmers also get in trouble when they enter the water under influence of liquor. Lifeguards are available at the places visited by tourists but their number is inadequate compared to the inflow of visitors. One should surely enjoy going and taking a dip in the water at such places during monsoon, but care should also be taken of own safety. They should not unnecessarily compete with the speed and depth of water; moreover, they should also warn their relatives and friends to be careful.

When we go for such trips, there is always somebody at home waiting for us and they want to listen to the things we did at such places and enjoy through our experiences. It is, therefore, our duty to take care of our near and dear ones that they don’t get any shock in the bargain?

Jagan Ghanekar

Be careful

This is a WhatsApp message received by me from a friend which I would like to share with readers:

“A mother killed her four children accidentally. Here is how she killed them:

The children refused to drink the cough syrup which she asked them to drink. So she mixed the cough syrup in milk. The children went to sleep after drinking the cough syrup mixed in milk and never woke up the next morning. The mixture of the cough syrup mixed with milk proved to be fatal for the children.”

So my dear readers avoid drinking medicine in milk. Not only cough syrup but do not drink any chemical additives in milk as it will become poisonous. Prevention is better than cure. So be careful.

Jubel D’Cruz

Team India must focus on getting quicker wickets

The recently concluded India-England WC match witnessed India’s struggle to outpace the top order batsmen in the initial 20 overs. Despite losing the toss, the favourites did not utilise much of the opportunity available on the steady pitch and thus the benefit of the doubt was in favour of English batsmen with the run rate exceeding 6 runs per over.

Team India should now focus on getting quicker wickets while bowling first, irrespective of the toss factor. English conditions are a challenge to new age bowlers who haven’t yet set a mark on its soil. Hence, the onus on getting good wickets depends on bowling squad only to reduce the opponent’s mammoth scorecard as witnessed in previous games.

The team has already suffered a major blow with the exit of Shikhar Dhawan owing to injury. As Indian team has already berthed in the semifinals, Indian team now should not be carried away by the mere successive win record in this tournament and should focus highly on strengthening the bowling department, especially when put to field first.

Varun Dambal

Yet other publicity-stunt

Fortunately, Indian film-industry has bold personalities like playback singer Abhijeet who without any hesitation openly speak the bitter reality as he commented on yet other publicity-stunt of a young film-actress Zaira Wasim of ‘Dangal’ fame leaving the film-industry in the name of Islam.

If it was so, why did her parents allow her to enter the film-industry which always had several Muslim film-actresses of fame? The film-industry is running even in purely Islamic nations also which evidently are dominated by the Muslim actresses and actors.

It seems Zaira Wasim became unpopular amongst masses because of her inhuman publicity-stunts like dragging an innocent business-executive travelling in a late-night flight in business-class levelling totally baseless allegations of touching her, for which media-trail made the innocent even facing torturing mindless police-case.

Unfortunately, our electronic media in the hunt for TRP-rating unnecessarily highlights such useless stories which at times cause big harassment for innocent persons like the one targeted by Zaira Wasim.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Mann Ki Baat — A Spiritual Journey

By

C K Subramaniam

-

July 1, 2019

A pet project of PM Modi in a Gandhian way, sanitation ministry’s Swachh Bharat Mission got wide public support, especially on social media after celebrities joined the Clean India challenge. Not just stopping with cleaning the locality, the government has taken initiatives such as building more toilets, waste management, and waste segregation. The real success will, however, happen when manual scavenging is completely eradicated.

India’s lobbying got success when the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day. The mass yoga performance at Rajpath, which was led by PM Modi himself, set the record of most number of people participating in such an event.

Mann Ki Baat made a mark at the national level. A first such initiative in India where a top leader addresses millions that too periodically. The programme even featured former U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to India.

Digital India saw significant progress. This flagship programme of Ravi Shankar Prasad’s Communications Ministry aims to create a knowledge economy and good governance is travelling on the right path. Every minister and every ministry is now on Twitter. A slew of e-governance measures like digital locker and feedbacks through mygov.in are some notable initiatives. Now, the public can air their views and the same reach Prime Minister for swift action.

Make In India got the much-needed momentum and the share market saw the first upheaval after a long time. Monsoon failure throughout the country gave some anxious moments and a setback for the ruling party but we hope rain Gods will open the skies early and we can see twilight in a Twitter and Facebook world and the Social media will shower more praise of the wholehearted efforts of a tireless leader. It is time to set right the goals.

A ‘smart city’ is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications, and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres. Though this may sound futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the ‘smart cities’ movement unfolds in India.

There are basic needs for achieving the yardstick and Citizens expect those basic amenities. The main and the major ones are commented upon here:-

We need to have a better public transport system to be on par with the world’s best cities. The growing urbanisation has increased the number of private vehicles thereby creating traffic congestion in almost all cities of India. In Mumbai, we look upon local trains as our lifeline and if it stops on day and everything goes awry.

Now it is time to make sure that the city is clean and green to give the much-needed ambiance required for setting up a smart city. The city will have to take up the additional responding of providing quality education, dependable power supply, health consciousness, e-governance, affordable housing for poor, water supply and several other sectors would be the centre of focus under the project. Smart city tag will bring cheers to the citizens of the country and we dream of becoming a place to behold in the world.

The task in hand is connecting the major rivers in India. In Assam, we get surplus rains but at the same time, down south Chennai is reeling under shortage of drinking water. It is high time we connect rivers in a well-planned manner and see that the water problem is solved in a five-year plan developmental programme.

Fulfilling its poll promise, the government has launched a new unified ‘Jal Shakti’ ministry that is aimed at providing clean drinking water as well as fight India’s water woes. The new ministry has been formed by merging the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. All water related works will be merged under one ministry. Both rail and surface transport are given an additional responsibility and we see the cities are connected with good quality roads all over the country. Thus, we see a new India and in the next five years, the renaissance of developments in this country with Sabka Vishwas going a long way in making Mann Ki Baat a spiritual journey.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Rahul to continue as Congress President?

By

Vijay Panchal

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June 30, 2019

The Congress party is suffering from a “leadership crisis”. It seems that there is no competent leader in the country’s oldest party who can be a binding force for its unity and lead it to a new high. That is why over 120 Congress office bearers resigned in a mass to force Rahul Gandhi to give up the decision to quit as the party President. These Congress leaders have resigned in mass to support Rahul Gandhi and allow him a free hand to choose a new team. Gandhi family is believed to be the undisputed power centre of Congress which can keep the party workers and the leaders united while avoiding factionalism within the party. No one dares to challenge its supremacy.

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe told Afternoon Voice, “Congress workers feel that Rahul Gandhi has worked hard for the sake of the party. It is our fault that we did not work so hard and failed up to his expectations. We want that he must continue as the Congress President. Taking the responsibility of the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the party leaders have resigned in mass and we have given Rahul Gandhi a free hand to constitute a team of his choice. The President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Chavan was first to submit his resignation from Maharashtra. The Chairman of Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress Nana Patole has also resigned.”

It is remarkable that after suffering severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on May 25 announced his decision to quit as party chief. Many senior party leaders requested him not to resign and reconsider his decision. His resignation offer was unanimously rejected by the Congress Working Committee. However, Rahul Gandhi remained unfazed. Rahul Gandhi became the party President in 2017. The Congress won only 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which is just eight more the lowest tally of 44 in 2014 polls. Rahul Gandhi himself lost elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh although he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala.

According to party sources, all the Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states will meet Rahul Gandhi on Monday, urging him to take back his decision to resign from the post of party President. Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, and Punjab will meet Gandhi at the party headquarters in the national capital. Karnataka Deputy Chief Ministers G Parameshwara is also likely to come for the meet. The Chief Ministers are also likely to discuss the mass resignations taking place in the party. A meeting of CWC will be called to decide on a new party chief. Ahead of this meeting, more resignations are likely at the party.

Congress leader Karuna Shukla said, “Mass resignation is an expression of feelings of the Congress workers. They have taken the responsibility of debacle on the recent Lok Sabha elections. At the same, party workers will accept the final decision of Rahul Gandhi, whatsoever it may be.”

The resignation spree started on Thursday night when Vivek Tankha quit from the post of the party’s Chairman for Law and RTI cell. After this, many leaders from Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana also resigned from their posts.

In a series of tweets on Friday, Vivek Tankha said, “We all should submit our resignations from party positions and give Rahul a free hand to choose his team… Party cannot afford a stalemate for too long.” Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has said that he had offered to resign as the state Congress chief after the party’s debacle in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections. Prominent party leaders who resigned include Haryana Women Congress chief Sumitra Chouhan, General Secretary Netta P Sangma of Meghalaya, Secretary Virender Rathore, Chhattisgarh Secretary Anil Chaudhary, Madhya Pradesh Secretary Sudhir Chaudhary and Haryana Secretary Satyavir Yadav.

The Congress dissolved all district committees of its Uttar Pradesh unit and formed a three-member disciplinary committee to look into acts of gross indiscipline and anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha elections.

On the other hand, the BJP leader Tom Vadakkan said that mass resignation in the Congress is part of ‘scripted drama’. Tom Vadakkan was in the Congress and he was the party’s spokesperson. He joined the BJP in March this year, just ahead of 17th Lok Sabha election.

The Congress party’s spokesperson Pawan Khera said that the entire organisation, in one voice, wants its President Rahul Gandhi to continue in the post. Whatever be Rahul Gandhi’s final decision in this regard, mass resignation has created a scene that Congress is in crisis. In this difficult time, Rahul Gandhi should give up the idea of his resignation.

The Congress does not need mass resignation for its revival but the party leaders should ensure mass support so that the party can be a vital political force in India and lead the country. Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand are to be held later this year. The Congress party and its leaders should concentrate on these elections.