JULY 2016: 15-31 (FORTNIGHTLY)
(15-31) JULY 2016 (पाक्षिक)
GREEN FEATURES
- जलवायु संकट,
पारिस्थिकी
-
प्रदूषण
-
आदिवासी विमर्श
-
कृषि और किसानी
- जल
दर्शन
- देशज ज्ञान और स्वास्थ्य
- विविध
India seeks market access for sesame seeds in Japan
NEW DELHI, July 13, 2016
The country also wants access for its service professionals like
nurses
India will seek greater market access in the Japanese market for
its farm products such as sesame seeds as well as for its services
professionals including nurses, when senior officials of both the countries
meet on July 28 in New Delhi.
India’s Commerce Ministry will be pushing a proposal asking Japan
to bring its big ‘general trading companies’ such as Itochu, Mitsui and
Mitsubishi to India for bulk purchase of sesame seeds (locally known as
‘till’), official sources told The Hindu .
July 28 meeting
The July 28 meeting will be that of the (India-Japan) Joint
Committee — a panel set up following the signing of the bilateral Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011. The committee’s functions
include reviewing the CEPA and suggesting amendments to the pact to boost
bilateral trade and investment.
The focus on sesame seeds is because Japan is the world's second
largest importer of the item (after China) with annual imports of around 1.6
lakh tonnes. Sesame seeds are used in Japanese cuisine in salads, soups,
snacks, candies, and for flavouring and baking. Sesame oil is used in cooking,
and in manufacture of soaps, perfumes and pharmaceuticals, while sesame meal (a
by-product of the oil) is used as poultry feed.
However, following the detection of pesticides and insecticides
such as DDT and malathion in some sesame seeds consignments from India over two
decades ago, Japan has been reluctant to import the commodity from India, according
to Sanjiv Sawla, chairman, Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council
(IOPEC). However, he said, there is no official ban in Japan on import of
sesame seeds from India.
“The issue is yet to be resolved as Japan is insisting that the
seeds should be pesticide and insecticide-free. We have been having regular
dialogues and have even taken them to the fields where the item is grown. Now
we are encouraging our farmers to use pesticides/insecticides permitted as per
global norms, besides asking the farmers to shift to organic farming,” Mr.
Sawla said. To convince Japan that India can be a reliable sesame seeds
supplier, IOPEC has held meetings with several leading Japanese general trading
companies regarding bulk purchase of sesame seeds from India, Sawla said,
adding that these companies are also in touch with some of the leading Indian
sesame seed exporters.
India is the world’s largest sesame seed producer with an annual
production of around 7 lakh tonnes. India is also the world's largest exporter
of the item. India’s sesame seeds exports in FY'15 was 3.76 lakh tonnes valued
at Rs.4717.77 crore but it slipped in FY’16 to 3.28 lakh tonnes worth
Rs.3011.52 crore.
Learning Japanese
On the services side, India – with a large resource pool of professional
nurses — is keen to expedite the signing of a Mutual Recognition Agreement
(MRA) between the Indian Nursing Council and its Japanese counterpart to ensure
that Japan accepts Indian qualified nurses and certified care-workers.
As per the CEPA, it was decided that Japan will conclude
negotiations with India in this regard by 2013-end, but sources said there has
been a delay. Japan is learnt to be reluctant to allow Indian nurses.
Promote labour-intensive industries: NITI Aayog
NEW DELHI, July 12, 2016
Developing
coastal economic zones would allow India to meet demand from export markets’
NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya stressed upon the need
to promote labour-intensive industries in the country in a bid to create jobs.
In a meeting with central trade unions and industry bodies, Mr.
Panagariya gave a presentation on employment generation drawing a comparison
with other countries such as China, Korea and Japan, said Virjesh Upadhyay,
general secretary, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, who attended the meeting.
“The presentation talked about the need to promote big and
capital-intensive industries,” Mr. Upadhyay said.
The meeting comes ahead of the labour ministry’s meet on July 18
with central trade unions to revive talks on their 12-point charter of demands.
“He also said that legislative reforms in the area of tax, land and reforms are
a must to generate jobs,” Mr. Upadhyay said, adding that this was the first
time that the government think-tank held a meeting with the trade unions. CII
and FICCI representatives also attended the meeting.
Centre to amend compensation law
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/centre-to-amend-compensation-law/article8923262.ece
NEW DELHI, July 31, 2016
Employers
will be penalised up to an amount of Rs.1 lakh
Millions of people working in the unorganised sector, who sustain
injuries at their workplace, will soon be eligible for higher compensation from
employers as the Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the Employee’s
Compensation Act of 1923.
Although there has been no official communication on the approval
given by the Union Cabinet, top labour ministry officials said Labour Minister
Bandaru Dattatreya moved the labour law amendments to the Lok Sabha Secretariat
and it is expected to be introduced in the Lower House in the next few days.
Injury or death
According to the amendments approved by the Cabinet, employers
will be liable for penalty amount in the range of Rs.50,000-Rs.1 lakh, up
substantially from Rs.500 at present, in case they fail to report the
authorities about an accident occurring in work premises leading to injuries,
serious body injuries or death of a worker.
Employees or their families will be eligible for higher
compensation from employers as the latter will no longer be able to move the
court for paying them a sum of up to Rs.10,000. At present, employers can move
the High Court for an appeal against the Labour Commissioner’s order of paying
more than Rs.300 as compensation. “The law will ensure that employees are not
harassed by the employers for a small amount of compensation. This proposal
will help employees get at least Rs.10,000 as compensation without facing legal
hurdles,” said another senior labour ministry official.
The Employees’ Compensation Act, enacted in 1923, is one of the
first legislations providing a social security net to workers in the country
which covers all work-related injuries. It provides payment of compensation to
workers and their families in case of injury or death by industrial accidents.
Increased compensation
The law is applicable to unorganised workers employed in
factories, mines, plantation, construction site and also, to certain railway
servants. Earlier known as the Workmen’s Compensation Act, it was amended by
the UPA government in 2009 to substantially increase compensation for workers.
“The proposed amendment related to a hike in penalty in case of
non-reporting of accidents is a very encouraging move. This will incentivise
the employers to report all form of accidents and once that happens, the
judicial proceedings will take over and the workers or their dependents can get
compensation well within time,” said K.R. Shyam Sundar, professor of human
resources management at XLRI Jamshedpur.
He said the proposed change related to increasing compensation
amount not entitled for appeals from the employer is a move in tune with the
present level of minimum wages prevalent in the country compared with 1923. “It
doesn’t alter the situation at all. The employers can still move the High
Court. It is seen that compensation cases go on for very long because of appeal
and counter-appeal proceedings that go to the Supreme Court,” Mr Sundar said.
He backed a system of such cases going to the industrial courts.
It will help employees get at least Rs.10,000 as
compensation without facing legal hurdles
Merging Railway and Union Budget won’t alter the
fiscal deficit
July 31, 2016
Edited excerpts:
Railways Minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu has sought a merger of the
Railway Budget with the Union Budget. If accepted, will the move widen fiscal
deficit?
We are looking at the proposal. In the past too some committees
have made the recommendation. The thought has been with us for some time. My
own sense, without having gone deep into the matter, is that it will not make
too much of a difference to the general budget. It only means that the Railway
Budget will not be presented separately. It will alter the numbers [the
expenditure and revenue projections etc] but I don’t think it will alter the
fiscal deficit. The Railway Budget is taking care of its own requirements. The
Railways don’t have an operating loss. Their operating ratio varies but is
always around 90 per cent. It has never been over the top.
The next Budget could see several institutional changes—new
fiscal year and no plan-non-plan distinction. How different will the Budget
process be?
For eliminating the distinction between plan and non-plan and
replacing it with revenue and capital expenditures, a decision is already in
place. A very elaborate exercise is going on for both the procedural as well as
the formatting aspects. Soon we should be in a position to lay down the new
structure of the budget.
The necessity of planning has been underscored. For every scheme
being implemented, a new scheme conceived or a new project to be made, the
first decision is that the scheme should have a sunset clause. This entails two
things: you are able to predict the kind of resources which will be required in
a given length of time and the corollary to that is that you have given
yourself and the system a certain timeframe within which the desired outcome
and the output should be achieved.
There could always be cases where even after achieving the output
for the outcome you might have to wait. This is the thinking behind the new
design. We are also expecting all the ministries to undertake an evaluation of
the current schemes as you happen to be in the terminal year of the 12th plan.
Should they decide for good reasons after their evaluation that the schemes
need to continue then they will have to make a case for that.
A similar exercise was undertaken by a committee of state
chief ministers that gave its report to the NITI Aayog on centrally-sponsored
schemes.
This is the time to take stock, review, evaluate and come to a
well-reasoned conclusion on whether they want to end a scheme or revamp it,
such as the central sector schemes in the department of human resource
development or social welfare or the environment.
The 7th Pay Commission recommended that no more pay commissions
should be appointed and a system of pay revisions linked to performance should
be introduced. Did the Centre miss an opportunity to improve governance and
introduce efficiency by not accepting it?
The government has accepted recommendations pertaining to pay and
pension.
All the rest, it left to be decided subsequently. Issues which
are administrative in nature, those have been left to respective departments to
examine.
So is there a deadline?
The government has not said it has not accepted or rejected the
other recommendations. Commissions have made observations, advice that can not
be strictly categorised as recommendations. But all the same, since experts go
into issues of governance, the government does consider their observations.
There is no deadline, but obviously, at some point, the ministries will be
asked to tell us their view on those recommendations.
The government is bottom-heavy with perhaps too few
bureaucrats. Do you expect any decision to rationalise it?
There is an ongoing process in which cadre strengths are
reviewed. All organised services are supposed to carry out cadre restructuring
exercises every five years. It is at that point in time you take a view whether
you want to increase or decrease the posts, or change the strengths at the different
levels. There are authorities within the government empowered to create posts
when situations demand it. Equally, there are rules that say if a post is
sanctioned but not utilised for a certain length of time then it lapses.
On the other hand, there could be an argument that government
should downsize or right-size. There could be a case to re-engineer the work of
the government by which the burden of various departments is divested. Take the
case of passport services or Registrar of Companies.
India looks to counter U.S. move on trade sanctions
NEW DELHI, July 31, 2016
The
sanctions, if approved, could cost India more than $450 million annually
The Centre is weighing “all” options
including retaliatory measures to counter a U.S. move to seek imposition of
more than $450 million in trade sanctions against India on the grounds that New
Delhi failed to comply with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) order in the
poultry import ban case.
The WTO Appellate Body had found
that India’s import prohibition on poultry and poultry products was
‘discriminatory’ and ‘more trade-restrictive than required’, and therefore
violated WTO norms. As per the U.S., India failed to comply with the WTO body’s
recommendations within the set deadline (of June 19) -- a claim which New Delhi
is contesting on technical grounds.
The U.S. now wants an arbitration
panel under the WTO to approve imposing trade sanctions that could cost India
more than $450 million annually.
‘Sequencing agreement’
According to the WTO, the U.S. had
filed the case against India’s prohibition on importation of various
agricultural products (including poultry) from the U.S. purportedly because of
concerns related to Avian Influenza (bird flu). The U.S. had claimed that the
ban was against WTO norms and had hurt its poultry exports to India.
Official sources said that the
“options” now being considered by India include: (i) raising its concerns --
over the “surprisingly aggressive” U.S. push for such trade sanctions -- at
high-level bilateral meetings in August (the Strategic & Commercial
Dialogue) and October (Trade Policy Forum) and (ii) ensuring through
discussions that the U.S. agrees to withdraw its efforts to seek an arbitration
panel for assessing the quantum of trade sanctions, and instead give consent to
India’s demand for a “sequencing agreement.”
The ‘sequencing agreement’ is to
ensure that the matter is instead referred to a WTO ‘compliance panel,’ which
will look into India’s claim that it has complied with the WTO appellate
panel’s recommendations.
The sources said the retaliatory
measures that India is planning include expediting internal preparations to
file as many as 14 cases at the WTO against the U.S. alleging that renewable
energy policies of many State governments in the U.S. have “very significant”
domestic content requirements “violating” America’s obligations under the WTO
agreements on Trade-Related Investment Measures as well as on Subsidies &
Countervailing Measures.
“We (India) are exploring all
options to protect our interests,” a senior official said.
The sources said Indian officials
from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (Ministry of
Agriculture & Farmers Welfare) and the Commerce Department, as well as U.S.
officials from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, had on July 20 held a video conference.
Health certificates
During the conference, India had
clearly explained the notification issued by the Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare, related guidelines and the required health certificates. The
Indian side explained that the norms were in line with the international (OIE)
guidelines on Avian Influenza and that they complied with the WTO order. The
sources said the U.S. did not raise any major objections during that
conference, adding that India will, therefore, seek to know why the U.S. is now
keen on imposing trade sanctions.
India had sought a ‘sequencing
agreement’ with the U.S. before the June 19 deadline itself in the poultry
case.
However, Washington rejected it
saying it could not enter into such negotiations especially when India had not
even put out its official notification at that time in compliance with the WTO
ruling.
Bird flu
As against the June 19 deadline
agreed at the WTO, India’s final notification (on poultry import) came only on
July 8. In an interview to The Hindu on July 13, Commerce Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman had said that when the case was going on at the WTO level, the
Centre had received many representations from farmers in states such as Uttar
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana who had raised their concerns on such poultry
imports.
The Centre also received legal
advice on concerns including bird flu, she said. “Since the notification has
come now, I am sure the U.S. will take note of it, and there wouldn’t be a
basis for sanctions.”
We have missed the 2020 bus: Jaitley
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/we-have-missed-the-2020-bus-jaitley/article8923316.ece
New Delhi, July 31, 2016
Need
to ensure credible policies that could push GDP growth rates’
Delivering the first Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Memorial Lecture here, whose first death anniversary was on Wednesday, Mr. Jaitley said that if India could grow faster and distribute the benefits, that would be the best antidote to poverty and to bridge the divides of caste, religion and regions.
‘Focus on education’
“Dr. Kalam’s vision of becoming developed by 2020 doesn’t seem possible now, we have missed the bus, the date will have to be pushed...what can we do to achieve it by 2030,” he said. Dr. Kalam, he said, spoke of a system of providing urban-like facilities in rural areas and laid emphasis on education and the development of scientific temperament. Mr. Jaitley said “we cannot afford to have Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the IT hubs that are representatives of India globally, in the condition they have been over the last few hours”. The monsoon rains have brought the two cities to their knees.
The BJP-led NDA government had emphasised large scale investment in infrastructure, including in highways and irrigation, the Minister said, was in line with Dr. Kalam’s vision. The Goods & Services Tax, a uniform tax across the country, was important not only because it would lower the burden of taxation but also improve the ease of doing business.
Mr. Jaitley, who had been the one to be tasked with briefing Dr. Kalam with the responsibilities of the President in wake of the decision of his candidature for the post by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, shared memories of their interactions. “After I had briefed him, he asked two questions: how developed are our laws with regard to the resources under the sea and the other about our resources in the hemisphere,” Mr. Jaitley said.
Recounting Dr. Kalam’s “ability to charm,” Mr. Jaitley said that instead of delivering a lecture at Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce, he put it up on the Internet and sought questions from students. At the college, he replied to 20 questions he had picked from those posted and interacted with students. Just before leaving, he stepped out of his car and returned to the auditorium, saying he had forgotten something, Mr. Jaitley recollected. “Back inside, he told the 20 students that he had forgotten to get a picture with them and got some shot.”
Ministries included in new clusters
NEW DELHI, July 31, 2016
The Narendra Modi government has moved the Ministry of Rural
Development from ‘Economic/ Commerce cluster to the Social Sector cluster’ and
Food Processing from the social sector to infrastructure.
It is not clear what has prompted the government to make the
shift and what could be its implications. The move has come at a time when the
government is facing criticism from several quarters for systematically
downsizing the Ministry by cutting funds under various programmes and schemes
conceived by it.
The Ministries and departments in the Government of India are
bracketed under one of the four clusters — Social, Economic, Infrastructure and
Regulatory.
A memorandum by the department on the re-allocation of the
cluster of Rural Development and Food Processing merely brought it to the
notice of various wings of the government without elaboration.
In the second week of July, the Rural Development Ministry held a
two-day meeting to review the schemes it executes and monitors. It is the Nodal
Ministry for the ‘development and welfare’ activities in rural areas to ensure
a ‘sustainable and inclusive growth’.
With a budgetary outlay of Rs. 86,000 crore, the Ministry runs
major programmes, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act for wage employment, the National Rural Livelihoods Mission for
self-employment and skill development, the Indira Awaas Yojana for providing
housing to BPL households, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for
construction of quality roads and the National Social Assistance Programme for
social pension.
Poor returns nip guar production
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/poor-returns-nip-guar-production/article8908447.ece
NEW DELHI, July 28, 2016
Little overseas demand and poor
returns have forced guar-seed farmers in Rajasthan and Haryana to cut down on
production this kharif.
In Rajasthan, the area is down to
14.27 lakh hectares from 28 lakh hectares in the same period last year,
according the Agriculture Department.
In Haryana, farmers have sown
guar-seed on 91,000 hectares, far below the target of three lakh hectares set
by the government for this year.
“Farmers are unhappy with poor returns
and are shifting to pulses and bajra. We could see a 40 per cent reduction in
guar-seed area in Rajasthan alone, if it doesn’t rain in the coming days,” G.L.
Sarda, president of the Guar Gum Manufacturers Association of India, told The
Hindu .
Guar gum is extracted from the guar
seed.
Rajasthan and Haryana account for 80
per cent of India’s guar-seed production. “The next 7-10 days are critical...
If there is good rain in the major growing areas, sowing may pick up,” Mr.
Sarda said.
Guar seed price has dipped 40 per
cent to Rs. 3,150 a quintal, from Rs. 5,000 last year. In 2014, it was around
Rs. 5,500.
Since the late 2009, the price had
risen from below Rs. 2,700 a quintal to Rs. 30,000 because of the huge demand
from the crude oil industry overseas.
‘Difficult now’
“Till a couple of years ago,
guar-seed cultivation was profitable; but with the price falling steadily, it
is difficult now,” said Rakesh Kumar, a farmer in Sirsa district of Haryana. He
has switched to pulses this year on his 15 acres. “I still have last year’s
stock and I hoped the price would recover. But so far, it has not,” he said.
Purshotam Hisaria, former president
of the Indian Guar Gum Manufacturers Association, said the huge carryover stock
and the poor demand from the crude oil sector forced the farmers to abandon
guar. “Unless inventories dry up and the demand for guar gum picks up again,
the prices in domestic markets may not rise significantly,” Mr. Hisaria said.
Supercomputer to forecast monsoon with dynamical model
New Delhi, July
28, 2016
Tested
over a decade, the updated method ready for operations in 2017
Next year, India’s annual summer monsoon forecast may be made by
a supercomputer running a dynamical model.
The Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Madhavan
Rajeevan, said the dynamical model, being tested at the Indian Institute of
Tropical Meteorology, (IITM) Pune for a decade was “ready for operational
purposes next year.” A dynamical monsoon model works by simulating the weather
on powerful computers and extrapolating it over particular timeframes.
Though this method is normally effective in forecasting weather
over a few days, using it to forecast the annual monsoon over 3 or 4 months has
proved difficult.
While such models have been used for research purposes for long,
the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has never integrated them into its
operational forecast. “We hope to be able to launch it next year though
discussions are still ongoing,” Mr. Rajeevan said, on the sidelines of an Earth
Sciences Ministry foundation day event on Wednesday. The IMD, a division of
MoES, is the official national weather forecaster. Mr. Rajeevan clarified that
statistical models would still be in use next year. The IMD Director-General,
L.S. Rathore, said, “We are ready to use the dynamical model, but this doesn’t
mean one is abandoned for the other. Both have their role and we must use
what’s best.”
The IMD relies on an ensemble model, a statistical technique that
uses an average of six meteorological values correlated to the monsoon such as
sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, and North Atlantic sea level pressure.
These values are derived from century-old meteorological data linked to the
historical performance of the monsoon.
Prediction failures
This traditional approach in recent decades has failed to predict
monsoon failures — in 2002 and 2004 for instance — leading to calls by
meteorologists for a new, modern forecasting system.
Though the dynamical model, called the Coupled Forecast System
version 2, has so far achieved only 60 per cent accuracy in forecasting the
monsoon, Rajeevan says it is good enough for now. “No doubt it needs to improve
and the aim is to make that 77 per cent but we have to start somewhere,” he
added. A confidence boost came when the dynamical model and the ensemble
technique correctly signalled a drought in 2015.
While the IMD has for some years put out the dynamical model’s
forecast along with the traditional one, its plans to give prominence to the
dynamical model signals a new approach. This is a precursor to giving monsoon
predictions over India’s 36 sub-divisions rather than only four broad
geographic regions that encompass them. A dynamical approach can also be more
easily tuned to account for rapidly changing global weather conditions.
Earthquake clues found in ancient temples in Himalayas
July 29, 2016
Adorned with hand-carved sculptures of gods and goddesses, the
seventh-century stone and wooden temples scattered across northwestern India
are marvels from an era when ancient kings ruled the Himalayas.
But if you look carefully you’ll notice many have tilted pillars,
slanted rooftops and warped stone floors. To the average visitor these may seem
like wear and tear from centuries of aging, but to archaeoseismologists they
are telltale signs of massive earthquakes that once devastated the region.
Disaster in 1555
A pair of researchers from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan
Geology used the damaged temples to better understand the range and extent of
damage caused by a quake that struck a nearby district in 1905 and another that
hit a more distant region in 1555.
They say the marks imprinted by these disasters provide clues of
potential temblors to come.
The archaeoseismologists have reported their findings in the
journal Seismological Research Letters . They wrote that the 1905 Kangra
quake killed 18,815 people, and described the other in 1555 as “a destructive
earthquake in Kashmir, which ruined towns, killed several hundred people, and changed
the course of the River Vesha, a tributary of the Jhelum.”
Their work focused on temples in two towns, Chamba and Bharmour,
which are in Himachal Pradesh.
The Chamba temples are about 50 km north of Kangra and the
Bharmour ones are about 65 km northwest of the district. Both towns are about
145 km south of Kashmir, which is a very seismically active region.
This area has remained relatively quiet for some time, but
powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or larger have ravaged the regions that
surround it. One of the deadliest struck the eastern part of Kashmir in 2005,
killing more than 85,000 people in northern Pakistan.
The temples, which provide a look into the lives and culture of
the ancient people of the Himalayas, are sandwiched between Kashmir and Kangra.
Yet, they escaped the 1905 and 2005 earthquakes generally
unscathed, and there were no evident signs of the quakes in the area’s
geological record.
“The Chamba kings built many temples at different places during
their long reign,” Mayank Joshi, lead author of the study, said in an email.
“Both earthquakes didn’t generate any deformation and destruction in the Chamba
area. This factor led us to study earthquake history of the area.”
By analysing broken bricks, cracked walls and deformed doorsteps
in the temples in both towns and then comparing that data with historical
accounts of natural disasters, the researchers linked the earthquakes with
damage in the ancient structures.
Decoding history
They were able to tell the difference between deformation done by
earthquakes and that incurred through old age. The tremors created damage with
consistent patterns, like shear marks that were seen on multiple pillars and
walls. The damage in the unaffected temples they examined did not have similar
patterns.
They concluded that the 1905 Kangra earthquake damaged the
Bharmour temples, but left the Chamba temples untouched. They also found that
the 1555 Kashmir earthquake shook the temples in Chamba, but did not affect the
ones in Bharmour.
This latter finding helped provide a clearer picture of how far
the historic 1555 earthquake was felt, improving upon the few reports that
survived nearly 500 years after that event.
Mr. Joshi suggested that because Chamba is surrounded by faults,
the area has the potential to become active again. He added that because the
findings show that the area had not experienced any major earthquakes in the
last 461 years, it could be overdue for a catastrophic quake. — New York Times
News Service
MRP for coronary stents to be announced in three
months
NEW DELHI, July
30, 2016
The
medical device has been added to NLEM recently, bringing it under price control
l?
Within three months, the general
public can expect the government to announce the maximum retail price for
coronary stents, which has recently been added to the national list of
essential medicines (NLEM) 2015, effectively bringing them under price control.
While patients, doctors and
Indian-stent manufactures have welcomed the move, others aren’t celebrating the
announcement.
Recommendations
Speaking about the move, Joint
Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, K.L. Sharma explained that
the move has been based on recommendations which noted that all types of
stents, including the latest biodegradable stents should be put on the list.
Sub-committee
“The sub-committee has submitted its
report and the government has accepted its recommendations. We have now sent
this to the Department of Pharmaceuticals and the process of price fixation
will take its natural course. We are hopeful that the maximum retail price will
be fixed and announced in the next three months. Processes are already underway
to ensure that a transparent and fair mechanism is adopted for price ceiling,
which will benefit the poorest of the poor and make good quality stents
available at the best price,” Mr. Sharma added.
The sub-committee of expert
cardiologists was constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in
October 2015 under the chairmanship of Professor Y.K. Gupta, head, department
of pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), to examine
the issues relating to the essentiality of coronary stents and recommend
whether it should be included in the NLEM.
Medicines and devices listed in the
NLEM are sold at the price fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing
Authority (NPPA), while those in the non-scheduled list are allowed a maximum
annual price hike of 10 per cent.
Dr. Ripen Gupta, Interventional
Cardiologist, Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, said: “Of course we welcome the
move as the cost benefit goes directly to my patients and I am hoping that more
people will be able to afford this advancement in technology. Price control
will ensure that base price is uniform across government, semi-private and
private facilities. It will also bring in much needed transparency in the
system. Drugs outside price control can be sold at prices set by the
manufacturer, which is governed by profit making and market forces.”
“We appreciate the government move
to include stents in NLEM, which will ensure more transparency and
accessibility of these essential life-saving devices for the patients. However,
we request NPPA to follow a diligent process to arrive at a fair MRP
considering the fact that unlike pharmaceuticals, every Class III medical
device like Drug Eluting Stents (DES) needs huge investment on R&D and
clinical trials and an ad-hoc decision may be detrimental to the Industry,”
said Gurmit Singh Chugh, managing director, Translumina Therapeutics, DES,
manufacturer in India.
Ganesh Sabat of Sahajanand Medical
Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which manufactures stents, said: “We welcome the move as
this would mean that this treatment can be made available to all, including the
middle class and the poor. Local manufacturing means that we are offering
stents at 1/5 of the cost.”
However, the medical devices
industry said the inclusion of stents in the NLEM and the consequent price cap
could stop manufacturers from introducing technologically advanced stents in
India.
Nathhealth, a forum comprising both
Healthcare Providers and Medical Technology Companies, has strongly opposed the
inclusion of Stents in NLEM.
“Affordable”
“Medical procedures in India are
among the most affordable in the world, which is a combination of cost of
devices and services. Any notification should be considered only if it can
bring down the overall cost of treatment for the patient without denying them
the options to avail the treatment of their choice. Additionally, such
notifications significantly impact the ‘Make in India’ attractiveness of the
country,” said Mr. Milan Rao, chairman, medical technology forum, Nathhealth.
Himanshu Baid, the chairman of the
Confederation of Indian Industry, medical technology division, said: “A price
control on the nascent medical devices sector at this stage does not bode well
in creating a conducive environment for FDI.”
FOOD :
An overview of Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Europe. "CSA is a direct partnership
between a group of consumers and one or
several producers whereby the risks, responsibilities and rewards of farming activities are shared, through long-term formal or informal shared agreement. Generally operating on small scale, CSAs aim at providing quality food produced in an agroecological way.”
several producers whereby the risks, responsibilities and rewards of farming activities are shared, through long-term formal or informal shared agreement. Generally operating on small scale, CSAs aim at providing quality food produced in an agroecological way.”
China’s new dietary guidelines
outlines 50% reduction in meat consumption for its population. This will cut
down 1bn tonnes of livestock-related carbon emissions by 2030. http://bit.ly/28JIcq5
FSSAI sets standards for
cereal products, instant noodles and more “The product shall be of good
characteristic colour, appearance, texture, aroma and taste and shall be free
from added colour, undesirable taste, dirt, insects’ larvae and impurities or
any other extraneous matter”.
A food writer's story on
people who are reconnecting the urban population with its food source http://bit.ly/29O3FMk
First of its kind in India,
14.5% fat tax implemented in Kerala over the purchase of junk food http://bit.ly/29vaiV2
Watch out for artificial
sugar! "Researchers at
the University of Sydney have identified a possible brain pathway that might
push us to eat more sweet stuff after taking in calorie-free sugar
substitutes" http://bit.ly/29Ro57J
Behind the toxic
sweetener https://youtu.be/TB6L9S_jc5E
Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh lead in
earmarking special organic farming zones" India is now looking at a
"cluster" approach for promoting organic farming of crops to cater to
growing domestic demand and the high export potential. http://bit.ly/29AUdxw
Citizens’ Report on Second year of
the NDA Government -2016
http://wadanatodo.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/%E2%80%98Citizens-Report-on-the-2-nd-Year-of-the-NDA-Government-2016-Promises-amp-Reality%E2%80%99.pdf
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