General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs) of the Central Health Services attending the 4^th Foundation Training Programme at the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, called on the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, today (January 23, 2020) at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Addressing the young doctors, the President said that our country has made great strides in providing healthcare to our people. Diseases such as polio and smallpox, which once claimed so many lives, have been defeated. Our immunisation programme is gaining strength. We have brought down the Maternal Mortality Rate and Infant Mortality Rate. Yet, we still face many challenges and have a long way to go in evolving a holistic healthcare system, one which is uniformly affordable and accessible to our citizens both in rural and urban areas. In this regard, it is a matter of satisfaction that the government has made Universal health coverage a priority. The rollout and success of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana is a critical step in this direction. We have to keep building on this great momentum and doctors will play an important role in doing so.

The President said that the disease burden in our country is undergoing an evolution. We have to tackle widespread diseases such as TB, malaria and dengue, and at the same time deal with the rising incidence of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, hypertension, depression etc.  He urged doctors to work towards a multidisciplinary approach to health – from prevention, wellness, cure, community empowerment to research and innovation.

The President said that as doctors, they can play a major role in encouraging healthy lifestyles. We can address the increasing stress in our lives with regular exercises and physical activity, practicing Yoga and Meditation. Doctors can be a major influencer in promoting such lifestyles and bringing about a culture of wellness.

Click here to see the President’s speech 

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The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation between the Ministry of Citizenship of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Ministry of Women & Child Development of the Republic of India for bilateral cooperation in the field of early childhoods.

Benefits

It will strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries and increase bilateral cooperation on the issues of early childhood care.  Both countries will benefit from exchange of best practices of the respective countries in the field of early childhood.

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Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today launched a scheme of SAIL to promote Voluntary Philanthropist Activities (VPA) by its employees.    The scheme called “SAIL Employee Rendering Voluntarism and Initiatives for
Community Engagement (SERVICE)” will promote and facilitate philanthropist activities by the employees in a structured manner.

The Minister also launched a portal for the employees to register for the scheme. The dedicated interactive “SAIL SERVICE” portal for implementation of this Scheme shall act as a platform for enabling faster interaction and communication amongst the various stakeholders.  It shall eventually be developed as a repository of knowledge management in this regard.

Speaking on the occasion, ShriDharmendraPradhan said that it is a great initiative of SAIL to encourage its employees and their families to give back to society in a positive manner.  He said “This year marks 70 years of our Constitution coming into effect. Honorable President of India ShriRamnathKovindji has said that while being alert about their rights, citizens should also be conscious of their duties. Through SERVICE, employees of SAIL will come forward to perform their social duties voluntarily and contribute towards social welfare and nation building.”

ShriPradhan called for mass scale mobilisation of employees towards achieving social good through voluntary activities, based on their interest areas. He said that the SAIL employees and their families can contribute in nation building and community development.  He called upon the SAIL employees to participate in this Scheme whole-heartedly andmake the habit of helping others an integral part of their lives.He also called for incentivising initiatives taken by employees aimed towards social welfare.

There are about 70,000 regular employees of SAIL and 60,000 contractual employees in various plants of SAIL.  All these employees and their families will be encouraged to come forward and undertake such VPA for community development.  They will be encouraged to undertake Voluntary Philanthropist Activities preferably under the identified thrust areas under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  These include education and health, women empowerment, sustainable income generation, assistance to Divyangjan, access to water and sanitation, village development, environment sustenance, sports coaching, and traditional arts and culture.  The Scheme may also promote other related VPAs by employees which should not be related to any other organisation or receiving any funding from any organisation.

SAIL will undertake mass mobilisation programmes in its plants and units to spread awareness about this scheme and to encourage employees to participate in VPS.  A pledge shall be administered at all plants and units of SAIL on the SAIL Foundation Day i.e. 24^th January for VPS towards community development.

SAIL shall provide logistic support to such employees or groups for undertaking the VPAs, subject to evaluation and assessment.   Due recognition will also be given for the employees or groups under the scheme, based on their contribution.

On this occasion, Shri Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman, SAIL, also apprised the media about the SERVICE scheme.

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ment in Central Government posts & for admission in Central Government Educational Institutions are expected to be benefitted upon implementation of the recommendations of the Commission. The Commission is likely to make recommendations for benefit of such marginalized communities in the Central List of OBCs.

Financial Implications:

The expenditure involved are related to the establishment and administration costs of the Commission, which would continue to be borne by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Benefits:

All persons belonging to the castes/communities which are included in the Central List of SEBCs but which have not been able to get any major benefit of the existing scheme of reservation for OBCs in Central Government posts & for admission in Central Government Educational Institutions would be benefitted.

Implementation strategy and targets:

Orders for extension of the term of the Commission and addition in its Terms of Reference will be notified in the Gazette ‘in the form of an Order made by the President, after receipt of the approval of the Hon’ble President to the same.

Background:

The Commission was constituted under article 340 of the Constitution with the approval of President on 2^nd  October, 2017. The Commission, headed by Justice (Retd.) Smt. G. Rohini commenced functioning on 11th October, 2017 and has since interacted with all the Stats/UTs which have subcategorized OBCs, and the State Backward Classes Commissions. The Commission has come to the view that it would require some more time to submit, its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription etc appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared. Hence the Commission has sought extension of its term by six, that is upto 31st July 2020 and also addition in its existing Terms of Reference.

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The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), for furthering their mutual objectives of strengthening grassroots institutions of the rural poor. The MoU was signed by SmtAlkaUpadhyaya, Additional Secretary and Mission Director NRLM on behalf of MoRD and by Shri AlkeshWadhwanion behalf of BMGF in presence of Secretary, Shri Rajesh Bhushan who appreciated the initiative and collaboration between the two parties.

The MoU reiterates DAY-NRLM and the Foundation’s shared focus on improving the lives of India’s poor and the marginalized with the aim of reducing poverty through institutions of marginalized rural women for promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment while creating skilled wage employment opportunities.

On the occasion, SmtAlkaUpadhyaya, Additional Secretary and Mission Director NRLM, Ministry of Rural Development, expressed happiness on signingof the MoU with the Gates Foundation. She said that the Ministryis striving to remove barriers such as poor health, gender inequality and lack of opportunities for women’s entrepreneurship while providing them access to financial institutions and markets. She further added that the Ministry is glad to make use of the foundation’s expertise, and leverage its network, to provide technical assistance and support to the DAY-NRLM.

Shri Alkesh Wadhwani from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation saidthat India is a focus country for many of the foundation’s programs and is glad to partner with DAY-NRLM on improving the lives of India’s poor and marginalized, especially women. He said that the foundations support will include assistance in improving implementation quality, documenting best practices, and designing of monitoring learning and evaluation. Shri Wadhwani also expressed happiness towardsthe collaboration on India’s vision of eradicating poverty from the grassroots.

The foundation is already working with self-help groups (SHGs) for layering Maternal and Child Health interventions where rural women from marginalized communities come together to work collectively towards empowerment and poverty alleviation. Such efforts help to remove barriers facing women and girls, to ensure they have an equal chance to thrive and lead healthy, productive lives.

The scheme lays special emphasis on targeting the poorest and the most vulnerable communities, as it recognizes the need to address barriers to their development. DAY-NRLM is also building social capital and ensuring financial linkages to alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of the life of rural poor women. It has ambitious plans on innovations for alternate channels of financial inclusion like digital finance, creating value chains around rural products, improving market access, rural enterprise and also creating awareness on social development issues and services.

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