B.C. ROY AWARD
Dr. Devendra D. Patel gets this year’s Dr. B.C. Roy National Award for Eminence in medical teaching. The award, which has been constituted by the Medical Council of India, comprises a cash prize of Rs. 15,000 and a medal.
Dr. Patel has been actively associated with cancer research in and building awareness against the dreaded disease for over three decades now.
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 30.10.1998.

NEW REHABILITATION COURSE IRKS NGOs
A spate of recent government advertisements announcing the launching of a national trainers programme for care of the disabled has provoked NGOs specialising in disabled rehabilitation. The advertisements were issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on behalf of the Rehabilitation Council of India which is starting what it calls the "developing world’s first-ever RCI bridge course".
The executive director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, Mr. Javed Abidi, expressed deep concern over the move as it mandated that rehabilitation professionals must have "RCI recognition" or they cannot practice.
The RCI Act was passed in 1992 without much debate or discussion with the NGOs. The RCI Act means that we can be sent to jail even if we are helping the disabled," said Mr. Abidi criticising the Act.
Asian Age, Delhi, 15.10.1998.

BILL PASSED TO REGULATE INDIAN MEDICINE SYSTEMS
The Delhi Assembly passed a Bill on 21.9.1998 to regulate and strengthen Indian Systems of Medicine. Named as the "Delhi Bharatiya Chikitsa Parishad Bill 1998", its objective is to establish a Council for Indian Medicine on the lines of the Delhi Medical Council for modern medicine. So far, the Indian Systems of Medicine in Delhi have been guided by the Eastern Punjab Ayurvedic and Unani Practitioners Act. 1949.
Times of India, Delhi, 26.9.1998.

PLAN PANEL FAVOURS NODAL AGENCY FOR MONITORING NGOs
The Planning Commission has called for setting up a nodal agency at the Central level to track the funding pattern, area of expertise and geographical coverage of non-government organisations (NGOs) throughout the country.
According to its working group report on the "Involvement of Voluntary Organisations in the Implementation of Rural Development Programmes and Technology Transfer to Rural Areas,’ this need arose because of the vast number of NGOs engaged in a range of activities that have suddenly cropped up. "Apart from generating their own resources for their activities, they avail themselves of Governmental funding, and also from foreign sources," the report notes.
Currently, NGOs funded by the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment are monitored by CAPART. But there is a vast majority of the NGOs who take funding from other Ministries such as Labour, Health, Human Resources Development, Agriculture and Environment and Forests. Therefore, a nodal agency is required for coordinating the activities of all these NGOs, it says, and added that the information that is collected should also be put on the NIC-NET so that it becomes easily available at district levels.
Business Line, Delhi, 23.10.1998.

VAIDS, HAKIMS CAN PRESCRIBE ALLOPATHIC DRUGS
Right to health is part of the fundamental right to life: the Supreme Court has ruled in several judgments. Recently, it repeated the theme in the case - Mukhtiar Chand vs. State of Punjab. But its judgement has dealt a heavy blow to the health sector.
The judgment, in effect, allows the state governments to let Vaids, Hakims and other practitioners of the Indigenous Medicine to enter the field of allopathy. They can prescribe allopathic drugs in addition to medicines in their own systems. Thus the modern physician will face tough competition in prescribing unwanted medicines. This is a surprising turnaround by the court.
The Supreme Court overruled the judgments of several high courts and one of its own to arrive at the decision. Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and some other states had included Vaids and Hakims in the category of "registered medical practitioners" in the declaration under Rule 2 (ee) (iii) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. Thus they can prescribe medicines falling under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The Supreme Court also overruled its own 1992 judgement in which the Kerala government’s notification allowing those who had homeopathy diplomas from Bihar to practise modern medicine there. Although the High Court had up held the notification the Supreme Court had struck it down. Therefore, the fortunes of diploma holders from Bihar have turned with the latest judgement. Now they can take this judgement to the State government and claim the right to prescribe scheduled drugs. In 1992 the Supreme Court had ruled that only those who had "recognised medical qualification" in allopathy must practise it.
In 1996, the Supreme Court itself had condemned the practice of homeopaths practicing allopathy. In Poonam Verma vs. Ashwin Patel, the Court directed a homeopathy diploma holder to pay Rs.3 lakh to a widow whose husband he had "treated" fatally. The homeopath was also liable to be prosecuted under section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act.
Business Standard, Delhi, 21.10.1998.

KNOW BLOOD SUGAR IN 40 SECONDS
A simple device that could help diabetics to examine their blood sugar level within 40 seconds
has been developed by scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).
The digital blood glucose monitoring system is available in a pack containing the analyser and 20 specially designed strips for accepting blood, said B. D. Malhotra, Head of Biomolecular Electronics, conducting polymer research, at NPL.
The system could help diabetic patients - about five per cent of the country’s population - to self-examine their blood regularly. The technology, sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, was developed jointly by NPL, Centre for Biochemical Technology here, and Indian Association for Cultivation of Science in Calcutta.
The glucose content of blood can be accurately measured by the new device which needs only a drop of blood. The device, which looks like a hand-held calculator without the buttons, has an opening to insert the strip, the tip of which should be coated with blood. After insertion, the in-built system analyses the glucose level of the blood and gives a result in 40 seconds. Though the quality of this equipment is at par with the imported device, it is about 50 per cent cheaper and repairable. The strips have a shelf-life of four months and a pack of 20 strips cost Rs.8 only.
Indian Express, Bangalore, 28.9.1998.

GRANT ASSISTANCE
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has committed a grant assistance worth US$ 14 million (over Rs. 60 crores) for the development of the leather, fibre and handicraft sectors in the country. This assistance will support major initiatives of the Government of India (GOI), with a special focus on artisans and small and micro-entrepreneurs, especially in the unorganised sector.
Two agreements, each committing US$ 7 million to the fibres and handicrafts and leather sectors respectively, were signed in New Delhi between UNDP and the Ministry of Textiles, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Department of Economic Affairs in the Government of India.
The Programmes launched, under the UNDP/GOI Country Cooperation Framework (CCF-I) for the period 1997-2001, will build on the successes and achievements of the earlier UNDP supported Jute and Leather Programmes. They will focus on poverty alleviation, employment generation and sustainable livelihoods. The Jute and Leather Programmes, which commenced in 1992-93, are amongst the largest UNDP interventions anywhere in the world, and have pioneered a new, participative and collaborative programme approach.
UNDP India News, Number 1, September 1998.

[top] [index]