100 Days agenda for health sector

The President’s address to both the houses of Parliament has given roadmap for next hundred days for the Union Government. On the Health sector, the President promised consolidation of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), setting up a National Council for Human Resources in Health as an overarching regulatory body and revival of vaccine producing institutes in the public sector.

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has chalked out medium term and long term policy prescriptions to fulfill the promises made by the government.

National Rural Health Mission

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has started showing very good results. Janani Suraksha Yojana has succeeded in bringing pregnant mothers in large numbers to Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) for institutional deliveries. This has resulted in reduction of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) from 301 per 100,000 live births in 2001-03 period to 254 in 2004-06 period. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has been brought down from 58 per 1000 live births in 2005 to 55 per 1000 live births in 2007. There is also significant increase in attendance of out-patients and in-patient cases in PHCs, CHCs, availability of drugs, diagnostics and Doctors .  

While the benefits of the National Rural Health Mission have reached the common man to a great extent, yet the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has come to the conclusion that much more needs to be done particularly for remote and far off areas of the country. Therefore, in the next three months, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in consultation with state governments, will identify, difficult, most difficult and inaccessible areas, particularly in hilly states, North Eastern States and tribal areas in other states. After having identified these areas, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare shall help these state governments in filling up the deficiencies in the strength of doctors and paramedical staff. The Ministry, through NRHM, shall make funds available for contractual appointments and provide significantly higher monetary incentives based on location of posting. These incentives will encourage the medical personnel to brave the difficult conditions in such remote locations and encourage them to serve the poor and needy people at the cutting edge level. In inaccessible and remote locations, efforts will also be made to train health personnel to assist in safe home deliveries and greater attention will be paid to ‘home based new born care’ in such locations.

Monitoring Mechanism

A web-based Health Management Information System (HMIS) will be fully operationalised by 31st July 2009 to enable District specific reporting of progress in NRHM on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. This will enable timely monitoring of physical and financial progress more effectively.

Health Manpower Policy

One of the major bottlenecks in our efforts to improve the public health care system is the overwhelming shortage of Specialist Doctors and Para medical personnel across the country. While Government is taking action to expedite the setting up of 8 AIIMS like institutions and upgrade 19 State medical institutions across the country, this alone will not fully meet the shortage of human resources in health sector. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare will therefore, formulate a comprehensive medium and long term policy within the next three months for meeting the deficiencies of human resources in health sector. This would also include the initiation of setting up of a National Council for Human Resources in Health as an over-arching regulatory body as announced by the Hon’ble President of India in the Parliament in the 100 days’ Programme of our Government.

Within the next three months, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare would also formulate a scheme for strengthening and upgradation of State Government Medical Colleges to increase Post Graduate medical seats in departments where there are critical shortages such as Gynaecology, Anaesthesia, Paediatrics, etc.  

Revival of Vaccine institutes

  The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is committed to revive the vaccine manufacturing units under Public Sector. An oversight committee has already prepared a roadmap for revamping of the vaccine manufacturing facility at CRI, Kasauli. Project reports are being prepared for revival of BCG, Guindy and PII, Coonoor.

Other important initiatives

A bill to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Act(1940) would be prepared for creation of the Central Drug Authority, an autonomous body to regulate drugs and pharmaceutical products. The objective of this Act is to ensure that all regulatory norms like Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs), and Good Distribution Practices (GDPs) are enforced in uniform manner throughout the country. The bill would also provide separate provisions/chapters in the Act to regulate medical devices, clinical trials and exports. This would further ensure that high quality drugs are within the reach of Indian population at affordable prices and would also ensure freer movement of Indian pharmaceutical products in international trade and commerce. 

There has been an increasing perception that the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 (THOA) has not been effective in curbing commercial transactions in organ transplants and has, at the same time thwarted genuine cases due to the complicated and long drawn process involving organ donation. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare will initiate a proposal to introduce a Bill in Parliament to comprehensively amend the THOA to make the process of organ transplantation less cumbersome for genuine cases and also network all transplantation centres for better coordination and utilization of harvested organs.

Petrol and Diesel prices raised marginally; no increase in prices of common-man’s fuels -PDS Kerosene and Domestic LPG

The international price of crude oil has risen from $ 40 per barrel in December 2008 to $ 70 per barrel today. When prices had declined to $ 40 per barrel, Government responded by reducing, in two steps, the price of petrol by Rs. 10 a litre and the price of diesel by Rs. 4 a litre. In view of the increase in the price of crude oil by 75%, the under recoveries have reached a level where it has become inevitable to revisit the prices. 

Nevertheless, having regard to the need to provide relief to the poor and the middle classes, Government has decided that there will be no increase in the prices of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG. On this account alone, Government will bear a loss of over Rs. 30,000 crore in this financial year which is, in fact, a subsidy to the consuming public. On kerosene, the subsidy is Rs. 15.26 per litre and on domestic LPG the subsidy is Rs. 92.96 per cylinder. 

However, it has become necessary to make a marginal increase in the prices of petrol and diesel. Against the under recovery of approximately Rs. 6 per litre in petrol, the price will be increased by Rs. 4 per litre. Against the under recovery of Rs. 3.62 per litre in diesel, the price will be increased by Rs. 2 per litre. 

Government hopes that the people will understand the circumstances under which it has become painfully necessary to make these adjustments in the prices of petrol and diesel. 

The price increase will come into effect from the midnight of 1st / 2nd July, 2009.

India’s Foreign Trade: May, 2009

India’s exports during May, 2009 were valued at US $ 11010 million (Rs. 53435 crore) which was 29.2 per cent lower in dollar terms (18.4 per cent in Rupee terms) than the level of US$ 15550 million (Rs.65506 crore) during May,2008. Cumulative value of exports for the period April- May, 2009 was US$ 21753 million (Rs. 107214 crore) as against US $ 31626 million (Rs. 129846 crore) registering a negative growth of 31.2 per cent in Dollar terms and 17.4 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year. 

India’s imports during May, 2009 were valued at US $ 16212 million (Rs.78682 crore) representing a decrease of 39.2 per cent in dollar terms (30.0 per cent in Rupee terms) over the level of imports valued at US $ 26684 million ( Rs. 112405 crore) in May,2008. Cumulative value of imports for the period April- May 2009 was US$ 31959 million (Rs. 157514 crore) as against US$ 51507 million (Rs. 211752 crore) registering a negative growth of 38.0 per cent in Dollar terms and 25.6 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.  

  Oil imports during May, 2009 were valued at US $ 4135 million which was 60.6 per cent lower than oil imports valued at US $ 10495 million in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April- May, 2009 were valued at US$ 7768 million which was 59.6 per cent lower than the oil imports of US $ 19244 million in the corresponding period last year.  

  Non-oil imports during May, 2009 were estimated at US $ 12078 million which was 25.4 per cent lower than non-oil imports of US $ 16189 million in May, 2008. Non-oil imports during April- May, 2009 were valued at US$ 24191 million which was 25.0 per cent lower than the level of such imports valued at US$ 32262 million in April- May, 2008.  

  The trade deficit for April- May, 2009 was estimated at US $ 10206 million which was lower than the deficit of US $ 19880 million during April-May, 2008.

High speed internet is key to economic growth and job creation in developing countries, says new World Bank report

 
 
DHAKA, July 1, 2009 — A new report from the World Bank Group finds that access to affordable, high quality internet and mobile phone services enables development across all levels of the economy and society.

Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact takes an in-depth look at how ICT impacts economic growth in developing countries. The report finds that for every 10 percentage-point increase in high speed Internet connections there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points. It also identifies the mobile platform as the single most powerful way to reach and deliver public and private services to hundreds of millions of people in remote and rural areas across the developing world. 

“Internet users in developing countries increased tenfold from 2000 to 2007, and there are now over four billion mobile phone subscribers in developing countries,” says Mohsen Khalil, World Bank Group Director for Global Information and Communication Technologies. “These technologies offer tremendous opportunities. Governments can work with the private sector to accelerate rollout of broadband networks, and to extend access to low-income consumers.” 

The World Bank in Bangladesh is providing technical assistance on stock-taking of the ICT sector, including in IT-enabled services (ITES) and government use of ICT, mobile telephone-based payments, and for the Digital Bangladesh program.

Broadband also provides the basis for local IT services industries, which create youth employment, increase productivity and exports, and promote social inclusion. Developing countries should seize this largely untapped opportunity, with less than 15 percent of the potential global market for IT services industries currently being exploited. In 2007, this market represented nearly US$500 billion.

“Governments should proactively encourage the development of local IT services industries through policies and incentives directed at entrepreneurs and the private sector, and through investments in skills and infrastructure,” says World Bank Economist Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang, editor of the report.

The International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group is looking at a potential investment in a broadband operator in Bangladesh and has supported telecommunications firm Grameen Phone with senior debt and equity investments.

“Access to broadband completes the information foundation for a modern economy and should be a priority in national development plans.” says Katherine Sierra, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. “Governments can play a key role in expanding broadband access by policies and incentives that encourage competition and private investment.”

The report builds on experience drawn from the Bank’s own significant involvement in the sector. The Bank Group is the largest international donor in the field of ICT for development and supports ICT activities projects in over 100 countries with a portfolio amounting to more than US$3 billion. 

World Bank Provides more Support to Boost Incomes of Poor Farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India

 The new project to directly benefit over 325,000 farm families

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2009 ─ The World Bank today approved a US$197 million IDA credit to India, designed to increase the agricultural productivity of degraded lands in the state of Uttar Pradesh. 

Nearly 80 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s 166 million inhabitants live in rural areas, and about two-thirds of them depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Poor households not only own very small pieces of land, but their land is often degraded and productivity is typically low. Ten percent of total cultivable area of the state comprises low productivity sodic lands, with yields less than one-third of the state average. 

The Uttar Pradesh Sodic Lands Reclamation III Project aims to reclaim 130,000 ha of predominantly barren and low productivity sodic lands, covering about 25 districts. This will help improve food security for thousands of poor farming households through increased productivity and cropping intensity. The project builds on the achievements of the first two sodic lands reclamation projects in the state which have already helped reclaim more than 250,000 hectares of unproductive land. 

“These projects have been very successful in raising the incomes of poor people in Uttar Pradesh,” said Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director for India. “More than 425,000 poor families have benefitted so far, experiencing three- to six-fold increase in crop yields. The new project is expected to directly benefit over 325,000 farm families” 

Beyond reclaiming sodic lands for sustainable agricultural use, the project also aims to boost agricultural productivity through introducing new technology, better agronomic practices, and more effective provision of key support services. In addition, it will improve the drainage networks in the project areas to remove excess rain and irrigation water from reclaimed land and adjoining areas.

“Local communities will play an active role in planning and implementing the project,” said Animesh Shrivastava, World Bank Senior Agriculture Economist and project task team leader. “This ensures that the project benefits reach the marginalized and most vulnerable people in the state. In fact, around 90 percent of the project beneficiaries are vulnerable groups, including women, scheduled castes, small farmers, and landless.”

A key component of the project is to mobilize these vulnerable groups, especially women, into Self Help Groups (SHGs). The project will support the formation of some 5,500 SHGs in around 2600 project villages. The previous projects have already supported around 15,000 SHGs, helping them pool savings and connecting them to the formal banking network. 

The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, carries a 0.75 percent service fee, a 10-year grace period, and a maturity of 35 years.
 

Euro Bank Extends Cards Processing Agreement With First Data For An Additional Three Years

WARSAW, Poland - June, 2009 - First Data, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment services, announced today that it has extended its cards processing agreement with Euro Bank S.A. until 2012. The new agreement also broadens the scope of First Data's services to the bank to include chip-based card products.

Euro Bank has been working with First Data since 2003. Under the terms of the agreement, First Data will continue to provide a range of issuer processing services to the bank including ATM transaction authorization on Euro Bank's ATM network, fraud monitoring, customer services and support for the upcoming launch of Euro Bank's new chip-based Visa-branded payment cards. The new cards are intended to be compliant with the requirements of the Single Euro Payments Area, providing customers with increased transaction security and functionality. With the addition of chip cards to its portfolio, Euro Bank will also upgrade its ATM network to service Visa chip-cards.

"To remain a leading player in the Polish market we are constantly striving to meet our clients' growing demands, which requires an experienced and trusted payments services provider," said, Tomasz Romanowski, Director of Card Payment Development at Euro Bank. "First Data has supported us for several years, and we extended our relationship with them because we are confident that First Data will continue to deliver safety, reliability and the highest quality of services to our customers."

"We have a well-established relationship with Euro Bank having worked with them since the launch of their cards business in Poland," said Grzegorz Dlugosz, a member of the management board at First Data's Polish operation. "Their decision to extend our agreement demonstrates their confidence in us and acknowledges the quality and breadth of our payment solutions." 

First Data will also provide transaction routing for magnetic-stripe-based MasterCard payment cards used at Euro Bank's ATM network, opening up the network and making it accessible to all MasterCard users. Customers with a MasterCard payment card will be able to withdraw cash, check their account balance and change their PIN at Euro Bank ATMs across Poland.

About First Data
First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. 

World Bank Provides more Support to Improve Water Resource Management and Agricultural Productivity in Sindh Province, Pakistan

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2009 ─ The World Bank today approved a US$50 million IDA credit to Pakistan, designed to improve water resource management and enhance agricultural productivity in Sindh Province. 

About half of Sindh’s 35 million people live in rural areas, and one-third of them live below the poverty line. Rural people, 70 percent who are landless, derive almost 60 percent of their income from agriculture. 

The additional financing for the Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project aims to improve the efficiency, reliability, and equity of irrigation water distribution at watercourse levels and enhance agricultural productivity. Under the additional financing around 3,000 watercourses will be improved, which comprises earthen improvements, lining, installation of concrete turnouts (pucca nuccas), and culverts in watercourses. 

“Irrigation and drainage are critically important to Sindh’s irrigated agriculture, which is the backbone of the economy,” said Yusupha Crookes, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “The improved watercourses under the original Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project have made positive impacts in terms of enhanced and more equitable water supply and increased incomes by farmers. This additional financing will help extend these benefits to broader sections of the farming community in Sindh.” 

The Province has about 42, 000 watercourses and so far 17,000 watercourses have been improved/lined under various on-farm water management programs, including the Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project.

The additional financing will also support efforts to boost agricultural productivity through demonstration on tunnel farming for high value crops, and training of farmers in improved water management, agricultural practices, and new technology and information dissemination. 

“Participation of the farmers themselves in irrigation management is vital for the long-term sustainability of the irrigation system,” said Tumurdavaa Bayarsaihan World Bank Senior Rural Development Specialist and project task team leader. “This project supports capacity building and social mobilization of farmers in order to develop and strengthen sustainable Watercourse Associations which will participate in planning, designing, and implementing the rehabilitation works and will also operate and maintain the improved watercourses.” 

The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm, carries a 0.75 percent service fee, a 10-year grace period, and a maturity of 35 years.