News Analysis India

Tag: Mandaviya

  • India strongly poised to implement framework of ‘Total Health and One Health’: Mandaviya 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India is strongly poised to implement the framework of “Total Health and One Health” through its focussed, integrative and holistic policies, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.

    In his valedictory address at the post-Union Budget webinar of the Ministry of Health, Mandaviya said telemedicine and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will rightly propel India towards a revolution in the healthcare sector.

    Today, India is the leading country in the world to have created more than 17 crore health IDs, the highest number globally, he stated.

    Teleconsultation is a revolution and it is providing expert healthcare services even in the remotest of the areas, the minister said. He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for holistic healthcare has guided the integration of various healthcare platforms.

    “Today’s brainstorming sessions with all stakeholders will help to create a well-defined blueprint for timely action for citizen-centric policies and output-based programmes,” Mandaviya said.

    ALSO READ | India needs to remain vigilant as neighbouring countries not polio-free: Mandaviya 

    The consultation with private companies and non-government organisations, including experts and health sector stakeholders, through deep discussions, is a step in enriching the policies, initiatives and actions of the ministry, he added.

    “India is strongly poised to implement the framework of ‘Total Health and One Health’ through its focussed, integrative and holistic policies,” Mandaviya said. Ayurveda and mental health form a vital part of “total health” and should be extended through telemedicine services, he added.

    With the new approach to early Union Budget presentation, funds allocation and programme implementation can now be started in a much timely manner, leading to a timely spending of the allocated funds, he stressed.

    ALSO READ | Union Cabinet approves nationwide roll-out of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission 

    Reforms in a timely manner have ensured that India is not left behind on the global platform, the minister said, adding that “our strategic policies of vaccine research and manufacturing are in sync with the emerging developments globally”.

    Highlighting the role of technology and research and development, Mandaviya said India is now at par with the global leaders in vaccine research due to its focus on indigenisation.

  • Need to be vigilant even though COVID-19 cases reducing: Health minister Mandaviya to eastern states

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: There is still a need to be vigilant and not lower the guard even though the active cases of COVID-19 in most of the states and the positivity rate have shown a fall in the last two weeks, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in an interaction with five eastern states on Saturday.

    State health ministers, principal secretaries/ additional chief secretaries and information commissioners of Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal participated in the meeting, according to an official release.

    Mandaviya urged them to monitor the case positivity rate on a daily basis and increase the RT-PCR testing rate as most of the states exhibited a lower share of such tests.

    “While the active cases in most of the states and the positivity rate have shown a fall in the last two weeks, we still need to be vigilant and not lower our guard,” he stated.

    The states were also advised to keep a close watch on the number of hospitalisations and deaths.

    “It is important to analyse at the state level the proportion of vaccinated and unvaccinated of the hospitalised cases, the deaths and those on ventilators and oxygen support”, he advised them.

    Mandaviya said that irrespective of the COVID variants, ‘test-track-treat-vaccinate and adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour’ continue to remain the tested strategy for COVID-19 management.

    He reiterated his advice for all states to fully and effectively utilise the ECRP-II funds for strengthening the existing healthcare infrastructure and create new as per requirement.

    As the located funds under ECRP-II shall lapse on March 31, 2022, states were requested to review the progress on a regular basis, as this healthcare infrastructure will not only be utilised during the present pandemic, but will serve the people in the future too.

    He reminded them to complete installation and commissioning of the PSA plants, LMO storage tanks and MGPS expeditiously.

    Noting that vaccination is a critical tool for pandemic management, Mandaviya advised the states to accelerate vaccination of all eligible populations, especially of the 15-17 age group and those whose second dose is due.

    Highlighting the importance of teleconsultation through platforms such as eSanjeevani, he suggested establishing teleconsultation hubs in every district hospital.

    He also mooted ramping up the creation of Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centers (AB-HWCs) at the earliest as it will help the masses and enable healthcare access to the remote areas of the country.

    These can be used not only during the ongoing pandemic but also for non-COVID healthcare, he said.

    There was a comprehensive and detailed discussion on various aspects of COVID management including ramping up of hospital infrastructure; increased testing, stress on COVID-appropriate behaviour and stringent restrictive measures for breaking the chain of transmission.

    The states shared their best practices at the review meeting.

    Jharkhand informed about collecting data of migrant workers for vaccination.

    Chhattisgarh mentioned that a proper analysis of vaccinated and non-vaccinated people who tested positive is being made, while Bihar highlighted their initiative of doorstep delivery of medicines to COVID-19 positive patients in home isolation through Speed Post.

    PTI UZM RT RT 01291915 NNNN

  • Inaugural flight of FlyBig lands at Raipur Airport

    Inaugural flight of FlyBig, India’s newest friendly regional airline, which provides connectivity to destinations that were hitherto not accessible by air, landed on the tarmac of Swami Vivekananda Airport (SVA) at 2.50 pm on Wednesday. The inaugural flight (S9101), ATR 72 aircraft, arrived Raipur from Indore received a grand water cannon salute in the presence of Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials manning the airport. Moreover, the passengers of inaugural flight were personally received by Airport Director Rakesh Ranjan Sahay, FlyBig Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Captain Srinivas Rao and Managing Director Sanjay Mandaviya. In all, according to the AAI sources, the inaugural flight (S9101), ATR 72 aircraft, arrived here with 42 passengers whereas the return flight (S9102) departed from here with 48 passengers. “FlyBig plans to operation Indore-Raipur-Indore sector 5 times a week viz. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, wherein, it will arrive at 7:30 a.m. in the morning from Indore and will depart at 8 am for Indore,” the sources added. MLA Kuldeep Juneja and office bearers of Confederation of India Industries (CII) namely Amit Agrawal, Sandeep Goel and Satish Pandey. In the meantime, sources also affirmed that the focus of FlyBig and AAI is to develop smaller airports by boosting regional air services through such services. “Depending on the response, the private airlines, in conjunction with the UDDAN initiative, may also add more destinations in its operations list,” the maintained. It is pertinent here to recall that the private airline had received Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation, primarily dealing with safety issues, on December 14, 2020. Hereafter, FlyBig Airlines’ CEO Captain Srinivas Rao on January 6 had also visited Raipur and reviewed the set-up at SVA along with APD Rakesh Ranjan Sahay for Raipur-Indore flight services, which finally commenced on Wednesday.