To capture and showcase innovation and progress in elementary education sector of India by continuous monitoring of flagship scheme SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN(SSA)
THE MINISTRY of HRD will also codify The learning outcome to set assessment standards for abilities with regards to comprehension, mathematics, language etc. And thus ensuring that" all children acquire at least the minimum levels of learning" from class 1 to class 8 under right to education act, 2009.
Online portal NARI Developed by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, the portal will provide women citizens with easy access to information on government schemes and initiatives for women
To provide a platform for NGOs and Civil Societies to interact with the Ministry of Women & Child Development, e-Samvad portal has also been developed
Conditional Cash Transfer under maternity benefit scheme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) was started.
Six languages i.e. Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia have been given status of classical languages. The Criteria adopted by the Government to determine the eligibility of a language for granting classical language status, are as under:
High antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots
Yameen government in Maldives has included itself in the Chinese Belt and Road initiative enthusiastically as well as signed a free trade agreement with them. The Indian envoy wasn’t allowed to meet the Majlis (Parliament) members of Maldives. Maldives opposition as well as Indian concerns with the growing Chinese clout were brushed aside. FTA with China is going to create a trade deficit with the country.
Nepal PM Oli and Prachanda have taken power in Nepal but the Leftist government formed by them has become closer to China. India’s meddling in the internal affairs of Nepal, along with the unwelcome economic blockade and lack of timely action during the constitution drafting process has lowered ties between Nepal and India. Chinese currently have a clear advantage with the Nepalese administration.
To protect, preserve & promote various forms of folk art, indigenous art and craft throughout the country, the Government of India has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Allahabad, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur.
For this purpose, these ZCCs organize various cultural activities, workshops, exhibitions, craft fairs etc.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) : , a comprehensive programme is being implemented to address the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of women over a life-cycle continuum.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) : , {erstwhile Maternity Benefit Programme} has been contributing towards better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.
Scheme for Adolescent Girls : aims at girls in the age group 11-18, to empower and improve their social status through nutrition, life skills, home skills and vocational training.
Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme : , promote community participation through involvement of Student Volunteers for empowerment of rural women.
National Creche Scheme : to provide day care facilities to children of age group of 6 months to 6 years of working women who are employed.
Rastriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) : to provide micro-credit to poor women for various livelihood support and income generating activities at concessional terms in a client-friendly procedure to bring about their socio-economic development. Swadhar Greh : to provide relief and rehabilitation to destitute women and women in distress.
Ujjawala : , a Comprehensive Scheme for prevention of trafficking and for rescue, rehabilitation, re-integration and repatriation of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
Working Women Hostels : for ensuring safe accommodation for women working away from their place of residence. Under this scheme, 2 new proposals have been received and 2 sanctioned in Himachal Pradesh during last three years.
Schemes of One Stop Centre (OSC) and Women Helpline (WH) : are being implemented to facilitate access to an integrated range of services including medical aid, police assistance, legal aid/ case management, psychosocial counseling and temporary support services to women affected by violence.
Gender Budgeting Scheme : is being implemented as a tool for mainstreaming gender perspective at various stages of planning, budgeting, implementation, impact assessment and revisiting of policy/programme objectives and allocations. The Scheme helps in strengthening of institutional mechanisms and training of various stakeholders so as to mainstream gender concerns in Central and State Governments.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme : is being implemented through States/UTs with the aim of holistic development of children upto 6 years of age and to meet nutritional needs of pregnant women and lactating mothers.
Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) : (now Child protection Services) is being implemented through the State Government/UT Administrations to create a safe and secure environment for overall development of children in need of care and protection in urban and semi-urban areas.
National Nutrition Mission (NNM): : The Government of India has approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) commencing from 2017-18. The NNM, as an apex body, will monitor, supervise, fix targets and guide the nutrition related interventions across the Ministries. The programme through the targets will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth weight babies
Electoral bonds are interest free bearer instruments which can be purchased in a designated window of 10 days in every quarter of the financial year. The bond will have a life of 10 days and can be encashed within that period by any political party. The party shall have to disclose the amount to the government by filing tax returns.
Currently only SBI has been allowed to issue such bonds. The current system allows donations anonymously and pseudo anonymously. The donor , done, amount donated and nature of its expenditure all remain hidden. Thus political parties enjoy income and wealth tax exemption but dont disclose political donations to tax authorities. The current system allows donations below Rs. 20000 to be anonymous and so is exploited by everyone.
Bonds will introduce transparency as the buyer shall have to disclose his source of income, the political party shall have to disclose how much amount they received. However no one can know which individual donated to which political party. This means that protection is given to individuals and companies against harassment. However SBI and the government shall be aware of the donee and donors both.
The government now aims to remove the ceiling on corporate funding and limit the cash donations received from individuals to below Rs. 2000.
Constitution of the National Medical Commission: The NMC will consist of 25 members, appointed by the central government. These posts will have a maximum term of four years.
Members of the NMC will include: (i) the Chairperson, (ii) the President of the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board, (iii) the President of the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board, (iv) the Director General of Health Services, Directorate General of Health Services, (v) the Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research, and (vi) five members (part-time) to be elected by the registered medical practitioners from amongst themselves from the prescribed regional constituencies under the Bill.
Functions of the National Medical Commission: (i) framing policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals, (ii) assessing the requirements of healthcare related human resources and infrastructure, (iii) ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils of the regulations made under the Bill, (iv) framing guidelines for determination of fees for up to 40% of the seats in the private medical institutions and deemed universities which are regulated as per the Bill.
Medical Advisory Council: Under the Bill, the central government will constitute a Medical Advisory Council. The Council will be the primary platform through which the states/union territories can put forth their views and concerns before the NMC. Further, the Council will advise the NMC on measures to enable equitable access to medical education.
Autonomous boards: These Boards will be responsible for formulating standards, curriculum, guidelines, and granting recognition to medical qualifications at the undergraduate and post graduate levels respectively,
Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB): The MARB will have the power to levy monetary penalties on medical institutions which fail to maintain the minimum standards as laid down by the boards. The MARB will also grant permission for establishing a new medical college
Ethics and Medical Registration Board: This Board will maintain a National Register of all licensed medical practitioners, and regulate professional conduct. Only those included in the Register will be allowed to practice medicine.
Entrance examinations: There will be a uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to under-graduate medical education in all medical institutions regulated by the Bill.
There will be a National Licentiate Examination for the students graduating from medical institutions to obtain the license for practice. The National Licentiate Examination will also serve as the basis for admission into post-graduate courses at medical institutions.
What is it? Saksham (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav) is an annual flagship event of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India , with active involvement of the Oil & Gas PSUs along with other stakeholders like State Governments, for creating focused attention on fuel conservation through people centric activities and to sensitize the masses about the conservation and efficient use of petroleum products leading to better health and environment.
Context: Every winter, the whole of north India is covered by dense fog. But a phenomenon called urban heat island is burning holes in this grey shroud over New Delhi and other cities on the Indo-Gangetic Plain, says a new study.
The urban heat island effect is so strong in Delhi, the largest city in the region, that it saw 50% less fog than surrounding areas. In Delhi, the heat island effect also appears to be suppressing the very formation of fog. Scientists found that while areas outside Delhi have seen a 20 per cent increase in fog in the period 2012-2016 compared with 2000-2004, Delhi itself did not see an increase.
The analysis found a correlation between the size of the urban population and that of the fog hole. Population size has been shown to be related to the intensity of urban heat islands since they are an indicator of urban growth.
The findings from the study are important since dense and polluted winter fog envelopes north India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh every year from December to January severely affecting air quality and disrupting air, rail and road traffic. The study will be very useful in understanding the process of why fog occurs and ultimately to predict its occurrence.
The urban heat island is a phenomenon when the heat gets trapped near the earth’s surface as a result of a decline in green cover, rapid urbanisation, energy-intensive activities, and concrete structures.
Urban heat islands can have worse air and water quality than their rural neighbours. UHIs often have lower air quality because there are more pollutants (waste products from vehicles, industry, and people) being pumped into the air. These pollutants are blocked from scattering and becoming less toxic by the urban landscape: buildings, roads, sidewalks, and parking lots. Water quality also suffers. When warm water from the UHI ends up flowing into local streams, it stresses the native species that have adapted to life in a cooler aquatic environment
The Election Commission (EC) has constituted 14 member committee headed by Umesh Sinha to suggest changes to Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) in view of social media expansion.
Section 126 of RP Act, 1951 prohibits displaying any election matter by means of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency. It does not include social and news media under its ambit.
Composition: The Committee will be headed by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha. It will comprise of 9 officers of EC, one nominated member each from Ministry of Law, Information and Broadcasting Ministry, IT Ministry, Press Council of India (PCI) and National Broadcasters Association (NBA).
The committed will study impact of news media and social media during the “silence period” i.e. during 48 hours period prior to elections and its implication in view of Section 126 of RP Act, 1951. It will suggest modifications to the RP Act, 1951 and model code of conduct (MCC). It will also examine difficulties faced in regulating media platforms during the prohibitory 48 hours in a multi-phase election It will submit its report within three months.
India and Myanmar are all set to streamline free movement of people within 16 km along their borders. The Centre has asked the four states that share unfenced border with Myanmar to distribute “border pass” to all the residents living within 16 km from the boundary line. It has also asked the governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram to enrol the border residents under Aadhaar on war footing.
The border pass will be given only to the domiciles. All residents going across the border for agriculture, work or to meet relatives should carry the pass at all times. There will be no restrictions on their movement.
Both the countries had been intending to put a system in place after India raised the issue of movement of extremists and smugglers freely across the border. On January 3, the Union Cabinet had approved the agreement between India and Myanmar on land border crossing which the government said would enhance economic interaction between the people of the two countries.
India and Myanmar share an unfenced border of 1,643 km, touching Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km).
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its Global Manufacturing Index. This is WEF’s first ‘Readiness for the future of production report’. The report calls for new and innovative approaches to public-private collaboration are needed to accelerate transformation.
The report has categorised 100 countries in four major groups for its ranking:
Leading (strong current base, high level of readiness for future).
High Potential (limited current base, high potential for future).
Legacy (strong current base, at risk for future).
Nascent (limited current base, low level of readiness for future).
Japan has topped the list. India is at the 30th position, five places below China, but higher than the other BRICS members Brazil, Russia and South Africa. India has been placed in the “Legacy” group.
India’s manufacturing sector has grown by over 7% per annum on average in the past three decades and accounts for 16-20% of Indias GDP. Home to the second-largest population in the world and one of the fastest growing economies, the demand for Indian manufactured products is rising.
India has room for improvement across the drivers of production, except for demand environment where it ranks in the top 5. Human capital and sustainable resources are the two key challenges for India and the country needs to continue to raise the capabilities of its relatively young and fast-growing labour force. This entails upgrading education curricula, revamping vocational training programmes and improving digital skills. India should also continue to diversify its energy sources and reduce emissions as its manufacturing sector continues to expand
E-way bill is a single permit for transport of goods across state borders in the country. It is needed by transit of goods of more than Rs. 50000 value.
E-way bill shall be enforced from 1 February throughout the country and this shall remove the need for departmental inspection checks and the system shall move towards self certification.
As there are no checkpoints under GST, there shall be no need for transporter to verify and generate transport permits at checkposts. This shall increase convenience and ensure faster deliveries. The E-way bill can be generate via mobile app, online website, software or Suvidha service providers.
The user can generate e-way bill and monitor bills generated in his name.
The Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System , or the Justice Malimath Committee, was constituted by the Home Ministry in 2000 by the then Home Minister L.K. Advani .
Main recommendations:
The Committee suggested constituting a National Judicial Commission and amending Article 124 to make impeachment of judges less difficult. The Committee however, feels that the aberrations in the conduct of judges can be checked or even corrected if the problem is noticed at the earliest and efforts made to correct them. It said, in the High Court, the Chief Justice is regarded as only the first among the equals. Except constituting benches and assigning work, he does not exercise any authority over his colleagues. This has considerably eroded discipline which is so necessary for any institution.
The core of the report was the "duty of the court to search for truth. The committee also evaluated the two legal systems – Adversarial system - where two advocates represent their parties' case or position before jury or judge, who attempt to determine the truth and pass judgment accordingly. It is practiced in many countries including India and the US. Inquisitorial system – where the investigation is supervised by the judicial magistrate. It is practiced in some situations in France and Germany. This is seen as more efficient as it results in a high rate of conviction. The Committee on balance felt that, a fair trial and in particular, fairness to the accused, are better protected in the adversarial system. However, the Committee felt that some of the good features of the Inquisitorial System can be adopted to strengthen the Adversarial System and to make it more effective.
Empowering courts: It recommends that the court be empowered to summon and examine as a witness any person it considers appropriate and to issue directions to the investigating officers as may be necessary to assist it in its search for the truth. The right of the accused to silence (the right not to be compelled to be a witness against oneself) must also be amended with this in mind. With the court given the right to examine and cross-examine the accused during trial "with the object of ascertaining truth and to draw adverse inferences if he refuses to answer the questions put to him by the court.
Burden of proof: The committee also recommended that the current standard of proof — "beyond reasonable doubt — put a "very unreasonable burden on the prosecution. It has suggested that the standard of proof be set midway at "clear and convincing proof, which between the current standard in India ("beyond reasonable doubt) and the much lower standard current in continental Europe ("preponderance of probabilities"
Admissibility of confessions: It had suggested that Section 54 of Evidence Act be substituted by a provision to the effect that in criminal cases, evidence of bad character and antecedents is relevant. It recommended admissibility of confessions made before a police officer as evidence in a court of law.
Justice to victims of crime: It said that the criminal justice system was weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime. The committee had therefore recommended that the victim should be given the right to be impleaded as a part in criminal cases involving serious offences punishable with imprisonment for seven years or more. So, the law be enacted to permit the participation of the victim in the trial and to ensure enough protection against threats.
Separation of Investigation and Law & Order: With reference to the investigation of crimes, the committee called for a separation of the investigating wing of the police from the law and order wing. To ensure that the investigating agency was insulated from extraneous influences it has suggested the setting up a National Security Commission and State Security Commissions. It has also endorsed the recommendations of the Police Commission for a new Police Act and suggested setting up permanent benches in the Supreme Court and High Courts to deal with criminal cases to be presided over by judges specialised in criminal jurisprudence.
This is an annual geo-political event, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF). It is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s integration with the larger world. It is predicated on India’s vital role in the Indian Ocean Region and how India along with its partners can build a stable regional and world order.
Participants: The conference is a multistakeholder, cross-sectoral meeting involving policy and decision-makers, including but not limited to Foreign, Defence and Finance Ministers of different countries, high-level government officials and policy practitioners, leading personalities from business and industry, and members of the strategic community, media and academia.
Significance of the event: The Raisina Dialogue was born two years ago, in 2016, in the belief that the Asian century that the world was talking about was not about any exclusive geographical region. It was rather about the engagement of global actors with Asia and of Asia with the world. So this dialogue took birth as a platform, where the old and the new could work together, to discover their connections, their inter-dependence. It has today become a crucible for conversations and ideas that while located in India can be owned by the world.
NPPA fixes ceiling price of essential medicines of Schedule I under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order (DPCO) 2013. In respect of medicines that are not under price control, manufacturers are allowed to increase the maximum retail price by 10% annually. The calculation for essential drugs is based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment with sales of more than 1%.
NPPA is an organization of the Government of India which was established, inter alia, to fix/ revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995. The organization is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers. It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels.
Functions of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority:
To implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it.
To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority.
To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps.
To collect/ maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc, for bulk drugs and formulations.
To undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals.
To recruit/ appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government.
To render advice to the Central Government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy.
To render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug pricing.
It is an attempt to scrutinize the budget from the gender lens and bring out the gender differential impact. In Gender Budgeting, “Gender” means women and her empowerment. Gender budgeting is used as a tool for effective policy implementation where one can check if the allocations are in line with policy commitments and are having the desired impact.
Gender budget is not A separate budget. Its not about spending the same on women and men. Its just about assessing programmes targeted specifically at women and girls and is Confined to budgets alone. It covers analysing various economic policies from the gender perspective.
Why is gender budgeting necessary ?
The achievement of human development is highly dependent on the development and empowerment of the 496 million women and girls. In addition, the Constitution of India has mandated equality for every citizen of the country as a fundamental right
Nevertheless, the reality is that women in India continue to face disparities in access to and control over resources. These disparities are reflected in indicators of health, nutrition, literacy, educational attainments, skill levels, occupational status among others.
The poor status and value attached to women is also reflected in the fact that the female sex ratio for the 0-6 age group declined from an already low 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001, implying that millions of girls went missing in just a decade. There are a number of gender-specific barriers which prevent women and girls from gaining access to their rightful share.
Unless these barriers are addressed in the planning and development process, the fruits of economic growth are likely to completely bypass a significant section of the country’s population. This, in turn, does not augur well for the future growth of the economy
What are the issues in Gender Budgeting adopted by India ?
Total magnitude of Gender Budget is very low.
Focus has been mainly on identifying programmes/schemes meant entirely for women or having visible components that benefit women.
Very little information is available in the public domain as regards the assumptions made by various ministries in the reviews of their expenditure profiles from a gender perspective.
Many misleading and patriarchal assumptions limit the scope of Gender Budgeting. Sectors such as Water Supply, Sanitation, and Food & Public Distribution still remain outside the purview of the GB Statement. Large schemes do not figure yet in the Gender Budgeting Statement.
What needs to be done to make gender budgeting more effective ?
Gender budgeting should be fully incorporated into standard budget processes so that it becomes fully institutionalized. Otherwise, even initiatives adopted with enthusiasm may not be sustained. Some elements of gender budgeting, such as an analysis of benefits or tax incidence, may require periodic special efforts.
It should address specific goals, such as reducing inequality in educational attainment, that have clear benefits and can be measured even with somewhat crude tools and data.
It should draw on civil society for support and assistance with the more research-oriented aspects, and should apply to subnational levels of government where relevant. It should cover both spending and revenue.
It should not be a rule set specific goals for spending on women-related objectives because this tends to reduce flexibility, making the budget process less effective.
Theme - “Shaping the Future of Livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently” is being held in Berlin. It is held during International Green Week (IGW).
The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that focuses on central questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry. It gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to share ideas and enhance understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy.
During the GFFA there will be a Cooperation Market where associations, companies, universities and the BMEL will showcase their activities in the agri-food sector. This – along with the Business Lounge – provides all the GFFA participants with an opportunity to withdraw from the bustle and conduct bilateral talks in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Agni- 5 is the intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile. It is the latest in India’s “Agni” family of medium to intercontinental range missiles.
Agni-5 has a range of over 5,000 km and can carry about a 1,000-kg warhead. It can target almost all of Asia including Pakistan and China and Europe.
The 17-metre long Agni-5 Missile weighs about 50 tonnes and is a very agile and modern weapon system.
The surface-to-surface missile is a fire-and-forget system that cannot be easily detected as it follows a ballistic trajectory. India describes the Agni – 5 missile system as a ‘weapon of peace’. India has already joined an elite club of nations that possess the ICBM launch capability when the maiden test-firing of Agni-V was successfully conducted in April, 2012. Only the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United States and Britain, along with Israel, have so far possessed such long-range missiles.
Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu today dedicated to the nation, the iCREATE facility located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
iCreate is an independent Centre created with the objective of facilitating entrepreneurship through a blend of creativity, innovation, engineering, product design and leveraging emerging technologies to deal with major issues such as food security, water, connectivity, cybersecurity, IT and electronics, energy, bio-medical equipment and devices etc.
iCreate aims to develop an ecosystem in India to generate quality entrepreneurs
It is a position in the government which cannot be held by an MLA or an MP. The post can yield salaries, perquisites and other benefits. The origin of this term can be found in the English Act of Settlement, 1701. Under this law, "no person who has an office or place of profit under the King, or receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons." This was instituted so that there wouldn't be any undue influence from the royal household in administrative affairs.
What do parliamentary secretaries do ?
In the Westminster system, a parliamentary secretary is a Member of Parliament who assists a Minister in their duties. Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers usually appoint parliamentary secretaries from their own parties.
Why should an MLA or an MP not hold an office of profit ?
According to Articles 102(1)(a) and 191(1)(a) of the Constitution, an MP or MLA is barred from holding an office of profit as it can put them in a position to gain a financial benefit. "A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament, (a) if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder," says the law.
Under the Representation of People Act too, holding an office of profit is grounds for disqualification.
Do other states in India have MLAs holding offices of profit ?
West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, Mizoram and Manipur have had similar incidents. In West Bengal, Telangana and Punjab, the respective High Courts called the appointments "unconstitutional" and struck down the appointments. The case regarding appointment of parliamentary secretaries is pending in the Karnataka High Court. In Rajasthan, the State passes a Bill in October 2017 to make the posts constitutional, but the validity of this law has been challenged.
Odisha too has appointed MLAs as chairpersons of district planning committees by amending an Act. The Supreme Court struck down The Assam Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004 in July 2017 leading to a wave of resignations in Northeastern states
There is no doubt that the Medical Council of India (MCI) has outlived its utility and should be reformed or replaced. The remit for the proposed new body, the National Medical Commission, should be clear, direct and workable. A regulatory body should be expected only to regulate and not to formulate policy, which is the function of Parliament and requires inputs from a number of sources, preferably with different points of view.
It is poor policymaking to smuggle in clauses about interdisciplinary meetings between different medical systems and bridge courses into this Bill, under the omnibus “miscellaneous” section. The failure of successive governments to promote scientific medicine and integrate the best of indigenous systems into one unified system has led to unhealthy competition among the various streams of medicine in India. It must be emphasised that modern medicine is wrongly labelled “Western”or “Allopathy”. Modern medicine takes all that is useful in therapy regardless of its source. It subjects every treatment protocol to the impartial tests of science. “Allopathy” is a term coined by Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy, and is seldom used in countries other than India. It would be great statesmanship to move to just one scientific system of medicine in India, combining all that is proven from different streams.
The present system of appointing members to the MCI has failed, resulting in rent-seekers repeatedly entering the Council. The present method of election, where potential candidates have to spend quite a large amount of money and time to get elected, has the unfortunate outcome of ensuring that mostly rent-seekers seek election. The election process should be reformed, not replaced. The proposal to have sections of society other than medical professionals in the commission is laudable. Having an almost entirely nominated commission, as the present Bill provides, is unhealthy. It will lead to a collection of ‘yes men and women’ whose chief qualification will be proximity to the existing government.
If the government is sincere in its objective of providing universal medical care, it is clear that high-cost private education will further exacerbate the problem of too many specialists in metropolitan areas chasing too few patients. Many ethical problems in India arise from this basic situation of too many doctors chasing too few paying patients. Issues such as unnecessary investigations and procedures, and too little time spent with each patient arise from the need to earn a reasonable amount and the need to do it from the small pool of paying patients. More importantly, such policy decisions should not be left to the Commission.
To start a medical college, State governments first issue a certificate of essentiality. The MCI then decides whether the proposed college has enough facilities to start the first year. Subsequently, inspections are done every year till the first batch of students has completed the final year. This has led to problems, as somewhere along the way, the Council finds that some colleges are unable to meet the requirements and withdraws recognition. This leaves students in a lurch and they then approach the judiciary to solve their unhappy situation. The proposed Commission has no mechanism to prevent this from happening. Merely shifting this responsibility to a medical assessment and rating board is no solution.
The present Bill is unlikely to provide a dynamic new thrust to medical care in India. It falls between the stools of excessively ambitious objectives and micro-management. On the one hand the Commission is expected to formulate policy, but on the other it is to decide fee structure. The government should exhibit statesmanship and form a parliamentary committee to draft a new Bill altogether with clear and workable objectives. In the end, policy decisions should be decided by policymakers, and not bureaucrats.