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Why are Kanshi Ram’s statues covered, asks his brother
Candidates forget to file IT returns
Dismiss plea challenging PGI Director’s appointment: Centre
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UK delegation begins 5-day visit from tomorrow
Govt mulls mandatory 1-year rural stint for MBBS interns
Nuke
Plant
Doctors must report each cancer case: ICMR
‘Roadshows’ mark run-up to Mumbai civic polls
Bihar govt to confiscate BJP MLA’s property
Do we see a more assertive Chidambaram now?
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Why are Kanshi Ram’s statues covered, asks his brother
Lucknow, February 4 Bahujan Sangharsh Party national president Dalbara Singh, brother of Kanshi Ram, met the additional chief election officer M Narayan to complain against the covering of his brother’s statues. Narayan sent a notice to Lucknow DM Anil Sagar to explain within three weeks why Kanshi Ram’s statue had been covered when the EC order had directed to cover only the statue of elephants and CM Mayawati. In a clarification, the state government spokesperson said that it was misleading to say that all statues of Kanshi Ram had been covered when only one statue on the banks of the river Gomti at the Samajik Parivartan Pratik Sthal had been scaffolded due to renovation work going on at the site. “Neither has the EC given any such instructions nor has the Lucknow district administration carried out such an act,” said a state government press release. Kanshi Ram’s statues have been installed at various places in Lucknow including the Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthall, Buddha Vihar Shanti Upvan, Manyavar Shri Kanshiram Sanskrit Sthall, Manyavar Kanshiram Smarak Stall and near the Gomti Nagar Bandha. None of these statues have been covered, pointed out the government press release in explanation.
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Candidates forget to file IT returns
Lucknow, February 4 The average asset of MLAs contesting in these constituencies has also gone up from Rs 86 lakh in 2007 to Rs 2.47 crore. The number of affluent candidates too have risen. While the last election had 22 per cent ‘crorepati candidates’ in these constituencies, the percentage this time has increased to 41 per cent. The BSP candidate from Mubarakpur, Shah Alam, has declared the highest assets worth Rs 54.44 crore, followed by the SP candidate from Saidpur (35.32 crores) and the Congress candidate from Gorakhpur (27.88 crores). 35 per cent of the candidates in the fray for the second phase of polling in UP have declared pending criminal cases against themselves. The percentage in the same constituencies in 2007 was 28 per cent. Mokhtar Ansari of the Qaumi Ekta Dal has declared 15 criminal cases while the Samajwadi Party candidate from Phephana, Upendra, and the BSP candidate from Kushi Nagar Javed Iqbal declared 11 and five criminal cases respectively.
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Dismiss plea challenging PGI Director’s appointment: Centre
New Delhi, February 4 listed the case for final arguments on Monday. In a rejoinder to the application of Dr Digamber Behera, who has challenged the Director’s appointment, the Ministry denied mala fide and said the application was “unfounded” and fit for dismissal as the applicant participated in the entire process which he now calls flawed. Behera, one of the 24 candidates in the fray for the post, had challenged the appointment of Chawla on the following grounds - recruitment rules were changed arbitrarily to suit some candidates and no notification was issued nor the approval of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) sought; Special Selection Committee approved to select the Director delegated its authority to a sub panel of four in violation of laws; sub panel comprised members lower in rank than the Director they had to appoint though DoPT says selection panel members must either similar or higher in rank to the appointee. The Health Ministry made some interesting points in its rejoinder. On the establishment of sub-panel (which short listed five candidates for appointment out of 19 who appeared before the original 8-member selection committee approved by DoPT), the Ministry suggested the special committee had not delegated powers to the sub- committee and the same was only done to save time. “Since a large number of candidates appeared, it was appropriate to assign the task to experts to assess bio-datas and recommend a short-list,” the ministry said. On lack of seniority of sub panel members, the Ministry made revealing comments and said since the PGI Director was a secretary-level post, it wasn’t possible to have all sub panel members senior to him. “The objection that members of the committee should be one step higher in pay structure from the post in question is neither feasible nor tenable. Moreover, these instructions are general guidelines and not mandatory. This expression is used normally,” the ministry said referring to DoPT guidelines mandating seniority of selection panel members.
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UK delegation begins 5-day visit from tomorrow
New Delhi, February 4 Rafale was selected as the lowest bidder beating Eurofighter produced by a four-country consortium of Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy on January 31. The deal is worth $ 10.4 billion and Britain is still trying that India has a re-look at Eurofighter’s abilities. Prime Minister David Cameroon went public and told the House of Common in London that Eurofighter was better than Rafale and he would make efforts that India has a re-look at the warplane.
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Govt mulls mandatory 1-year rural stint for MBBS interns
If notified by the Centre, it would mean all 40,000 students passing out of medical colleges annually would get MBBS degrees only after they have served one year in villages. The additional rural posting of one year is proposed to be linked to the National Rural Health Mission to allow the Centre to get medical under graduates from states to do villages postings. There is also a proposal to make it mandatory for all MD and MS doctors of clinical specialities like paediatrics, medicine, etc, to compulsorily serve for one year in district hospital before going in for higher speciality. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad favoured this proposal at a meeting held today with members of the Medical Council of India (MCI) Board of Governors (BOG) and the Governing Body of National Board of Examinations (NBE) to discuss the shortage of doctors in rural areas. Expressing concern that the ministry’s attempts to lure medics for rural stints had failed, the minister called for consideration of the proposal to enhance MBBS duration from 5.5 years to 6.5 years. In 6.5 years, there would be two years compulsory internship — one in the medical institute (as is the case now) and one in a designated rural area. The proposal came from Chairman, MCI Dr K.K. Talwar, who later told The Tribune that he would talk about the issue after a week. “I can’t comment now. I will talk after a week,” he said. Another MCI member, Dr H.S Rissam, who supported the move at the meeting, evaded queries despite repeated calls. The proposal envisages that until the completion of two-year internship (after the 4.5 year MBBS course), medical undergraduates would get provisional registration of the MCI. They would get permanent licences to practice only after the full 6.5 year course. While Azad had asked the MCI chief to come back to him with a concept note on the issue in consultation with the ministry officials, the ministry is learnt to be working on the proposal, Ashok Gupta, MCI member, said the idea needed wider deliberations. “We must look at broader aspects of the matter,” he said. Dr PS Maini, vice president, NBE said the Health Minister was rightly concerned about shortage of doctors in villages and had sought consideration of the proposal. “You can’t cover students who are already in the system as they enrolled for 5.5 years and not 6.5 years which comprise two years internship. Some participants like me felt rural stint could be mandated for those enrolling for MD or MS,” Dr Maini said. If implemented, the proposal would have its fallout on colleges offering NRI seats. Government medical colleges in Punjab offer about 15 pc seats to NRIs and charge them heavily for the course. If MBBS duration is enhanced, NRIs may stop coming for courses and forex incomes would take a hit. But shortage of docs in villages is a graver concern. Even earlier, former health minister Anbumani Ramadoss had in 2009 mooted compulsory rural stint for MBBS pass-outs applying for PG. Azad is now reviving the proposal and going a step further by considering mandatory rural postings for medical undergraduates and not just those doing PG. Azad had on May 26 last indicated that the Ministry would have to adopt tough measures to tide over the shortfall of doctors in villages. He had said the government’s incentive schemes had failed including the one to grant weightage in PG entrance to MBBS graduates who served villages and another that reserved 50 per cent seats in MD (Diploma) and MS (Diploma) courses for MBBS graduates who wanted diplomas later. The schemes got no takers.
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Nuke Plant
Chennai, February 4 Jayalalithaa's announcement in the Assembly comes days after efforts by the Central expert group to resolve the issue hit a dead end with both the panel as well as the anti-KNPP activists ruling out further talks after four rounds of discussions. Wrapping up the week-long session of the Assembly, Jayalalithaa said that at the last meeting (on January 31) between the Central group and representatives of the protestors, the former had submitted a report and said its job was over. "Under these circumstances, the state government will constitute an expert panel which will look into the fears and concerns of the locals and submit a report soon," she said in her reply to the motion to thank the Governor for his address. The state government would plan further action based on this report, she said. —
PTI
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Doctors must report each cancer case: ICMR
New Delhi, February 4 While government doctors still share this information with the cancer registries running in some select states with the help of ICMR, private doctors are under no obligation to manage or report cancer cases. “By making the disease notifiable on the lines of polio, plague, swine flu and bird flu, one can enforce reporting of cases by law. We have sent a proposal to the Health Ministry as the cancer burden is rising,” VM Katoch, ICMR Chief told The Tribune. Better documentation of the disease will lead to better assessment of trends and better treatment strategies. One third of cancers can be treated if detected early. If cancer reporting is made mandatory, doctors would have to report even suspected cases. The Centre said it was considering the ICMR proposal and would discuss it with the states as health is a state subject. “We have received the ICMR proposal. We are considering it,” Health Secretary PK Pradhan said. So far, Punjab is the only state to have made it mandatory for private and government doctors to report to civil surgeons every diagnosed and suspected case of cancer. The state had in October last issued a gazette notification directing every doctor in a hospital, pathology and radiology lab and medical teachers, to report online every cancer case. “We asked doctors to report these cases within a week to our two cancer registries at PGI, Chandigarh and Government Medical College, Patiala. We have an online proforma which doctors have to fill. We have received over 1000 cases post the order,” Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary Health, Punjab said. Tripura also issued an administrative order to this effect but did not notify the same in the gazette which means it can’t act against the non complying doctors. Mandatory reporting of cancer cases is critical considering in 2010, India recorded 9.8 lakh new cancer cases, a jump of 80,000 from 2009. Estimated cancer prevalence in India is 2.5 million with over eight lakh new cases and 5.5. lakh deaths occurring annually on an average. This data comes from the 27 cancer registries which the National Cancer Registry Programme of ICMR runs in 27 locations in the northeast, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bhopal and Delhi. “We don’t cover Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and some other areas. Our data is reliable but not actual as it does not reflect absolute number of cancer cases on the ground. Mandatory reporting is critical to assess the profile of patients, types of cancer, trends across India, risk factors and the actual cancer prevalence and sites of occurrence. That way we can design treatment strategies to help patients better,” Dr A Nandakumar, Project Director, National Cancer Registry said. Around 1.5 lakh cancers a year are caused by tobacco alone. While 65 pc cases are contributed by tobacco related, breast and cervical cancers, 30 pc head and neck cancers are attributed to non-smoking tobacco.
Step will boost survival rate’ l
Data on the disease limited and leads to late detection of the disease. l
Better documentation of the disease will lead to better assessment of trends and better treatment strategies, say experts. l
So far, Punjab is the only state to have made it mandatory for private and government doctors to report to civil surgeons every diagnosed and suspected case of cancer. |
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‘Roadshows’ mark run-up to Mumbai civic polls
Mumbai, February 4 Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, who has overcome health concerns, will address two rallies in Mumbai and Thane while son Uddhav and grandson Aditya have already hit the streets to mobilise voters for the Shiv Sena. The three will appear together on stage at the Thane and Mumbai rallies, say Shiv Sena officials. The Shiv Sena is using the BMC elections as a launchpad for Aditya, still a college-student. “Aditya has had good response at rallies of college students and is a popular leader among youth,” says Vinayak Raut, Secretary, Shiv Sena. The party specially launched the Yuva Sena as a platform for Aditya to reach out to younger voters. According to Raut, Aditya will participate in 18 roadshows and rallies in Mumbai alone.
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Bihar govt to confiscate BJP MLA’s property
Patna, February 4 The legislator, Sonelal Hembram, whose house may be converted into a government school after the verdict of Special Vigilance Judge hearing confiscation proceedings, happens to be a BJP MLA from Katoria Assembly constituency under Bhagalpur district. BJP is the coalition partner of Nitish Kumar government in the state. Additional Director General of Police, PK Thakur, heading the investigation bureau of Vigilance wing, told The Tribune that a case for owning assets disproportionate to one’s legitimate source of income was lodged against Hembram when he was a Deputy Commissioner of State Excise department. The Vigilance Police Station had lodged the case on the report of the Income Tax department that had raided his house and office premises in 1997. A chargesheet was also filed against him. Meanwhile, he retired from service and joined politics. “It is a mere coincidence that he happens to be an MLA now when the proceedings to confiscate his house had been moved by us in the special court under the new anti-corruption Act,” Thakur said. According to him, 44 government officials including an IAS officer and a retired DGP were facing similar proceedings in the six special courts set up exclusively to hear these cases till date. Quite a few of them against whom the court had passed the confiscation order had moved the Patna High Court. The state government was awaiting the high court’s decision on their appeal to move ahead with the confiscation proceedings. Two of them whose appeal was dismissed by the high court had already lost their house to the government, which had opened schools in those buildings. One of them is an IAS officer of 1980 batch, SS Verma and another one is a treasury officer. The Special Vigilance Court had recently passed the confiscation order against a retired
DGP.
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Do we see a more assertive Chidambaram now?
New Delhi, February 4
Chidambaram — who has authored changes in the security apparatus of the country in the past three years and more - has not been made a co-accused in the 2G spectrum case by Special CBI Judge OP Saini in New Delhi.
The judge dismissed Subramanian Swamy's petition, saying Chidambaram had not acted with ‘malafide’ intention and had not colluded with former Telecom Minister A Raja to subvert the telecom policy for pecuniary gains.
This morning, as the CBI special court heard out the matter at the Patiala House Court, Chidambaram waited for the verdict at his Safadarfjung Road residence. Once given the clean chit, he left for Tamil Nadu, his home state. Within the Ministry, officials have been admitting privately: “In case Chidambaram quits, there will be a vacuum and it will need a man with great conviction to keep on track all projects.”
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With cancer burden on the rise, the Indian Council for Medical Research
(ICMR) is pressing the Centre to mandate doctors to report every single case of the disease.
Presently, doctors may or may not report cases to state health authorities.
While government doctors still share this information with the cancer registries running in some select states with the help of
ICMR, private doctors are under no obligation to manage or report cancer cases.
New Delhi, February 4