Govt looks to streamline slew of social welfare schemes

The government is planning a revamp of some social sector schemes. It has been proposed state-sponsored insurance and pension schemes be merged, the scope of skill development widened and gaps in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme plugged.

According to a draft Cabinet note circulated, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) and the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) were sought to be merged. “This will reduce administrative costs. The revamped scheme will provide improved social security benefits in terms of life cover and health insurance,” said a government official, requesting anonymity. “Some schemes with allocations of less than Rs 100 crore might also be merged for effective delivery.”

The AABY was launched in 2007 for rural households, in case of death or disability of the head of the family or its earning member. In the same year, the government launched IGNOAPS for all citizens aged more than 65 and living below the poverty line. In 2008, it introduced RSBY to provide health insurance to below-poverty-line families and various workers and labourers.

The AABY, the IGNOAPS and the RSBY are administered by the finance ministry, the rural development ministry and labour ministry, respectively, which increases costs.

For 2014-15, the government has estimated an expenditure of Rs 150 crore on the AABY, though no Budget provisions were made for the two other schemes.

Experts say the plan to merge different schemes is easier said than done. “The pension and insurance schemes cannot be merged because pension is given to everyone,” said N C Saxena, former member of the Planning Commission. Changes are also being considered in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, in terms of storage and serving conditions and supervision by teachers. The scheme provides free lunch to all school children.

“It should not be job of teachers to supervise the scheme,” said the official quoted earlier.

The government is also planning to bring about a change to the scheme for skill development of minorities, adding a new component on artisans and traditional craftsman. The scheme is aimed at providing training and employment to youth from minority communities.

It has also been proposed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) be revamped by including agricultural workers.

The government is considering using labourers employed under the job guarantee scheme to construct durable agriculture assets such as bunds, embankments and small irrigation projects in farmlands, during the non-sowing period.

In his Budget 2014-15 speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said under the MGNREGS, the government would provide self-employment opportunities in rural areas through works that were productive, asset-creating and linked to agriculture and allied activities.

Besides revamping social sector schemes, the government is also planning to name schemes after eminent freedom fighters, social reformers and political leaders. Currently, of the 49 schemes and institutes named after eminent personalities, 16 are named after Rajiv Gandhi, five after Indira Gandhi, and two after Jawaharlal Nehru.

IN THE NEW SCHEME OF THINGS

• Govt-sponsored health, life and pension schemes proposed to be merged to cut administrative costs
• Some schemes with allocation of less than Rs 100 crore may also be merged for effective delivery
• Artisans and traditional craftsman could be added to the scheme for skill development of minorities
• Changes considered in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme with regard to storage & supervision by teachers

INSIGHTS CURRENT EVENTS – 16 AND 17 SEPTEMBER 2014 by INSIGHTS HEALTH Fastest decline in child mortality rates witnessed According to the recently released data‐New estimates in levels and trends in child mortality 2014‐ under five mortality rates have dropped by 49% between 1990 and 2013. However it is still way far behind to reach the global target of two-thirds decrease in under five mortality rate by 2015. Important observations made by the report: Neonatal deaths account for 44% of all under-five deaths in children. And hence it is considered to be the most vulnerable period(neonatal period: 0 – 27 days). India has the highest number of neonatal deaths in the world. The report says that many of the neonatal deaths can be prevented by simple, cost effective interventions before, during and immediately after the birth. Of the 2.6 million still births in the world, 600,000 take place in India( still birth occurs when the fetus dies in the uterus). India's performance: India has performed well in reducing the neonatal mortality rate. It was 37 per 1000 live births in 2003 and by 2012 it was dropped to 29. There has been a consistent decline in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) in India. The rate of decline in current decade is higher than in the previous. Six states, namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal are likely to achieve the goal(two thirds decrease in under five mortality rate) by 2015. Measures taken by govt: Promoting institutional deliveries by providing cash transfer incentive, free drug, diagnostic test, diet and free transport facilities. Establishment of New born care corners which provide immediate care for newborns which further enhances the chance of survival. Establishment of special new born care units which care for babies that have very serious conditions. Home visits of newborns by ASHA workers who educate the mothers on breast feeding, the importance of keeping the newborns warm and also identify the sick babies( breastfeeding within an hour of birth can save the 44% of new borns. The first breast milk is COLOSTRUM which is thick and nutritious and provides early nutririon, has VITAMIN A, decreases jaundice and transfers antibodies from mother which prevent infections and help in the development). (about ASHA: http://nrhm.gov.in/communitisation/asha/about-asha.html) More on infant mortality rate and India: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=101932 http://www.who.int/bulletin/archives/78(10)1192.pdf Sources: the hindu, http://www.unicef.org/, wiki. Gilead's deal with Indian generic drug companies  The US pharmaceutical giant Gilead signed agreements with seven Indian generic drug manufacturers licensing them to make its drug sofosbuvir for treatment of the disease Hepatitis C. SOFOSBUVIR: It is a medicine used along with other antiviral medicines to treat chronic hepatitis C disease. It has proved to be effective in 90% of the cases. Hepatitis C: It is a liver disease caused by bloodborne hepatitis C virus. The virus can cause both acute and chronic hepatitis infection. Mode of infection: Through unsafe injection practices, inadequate sterilization of medical equipment and unscreened blood and blood products. It can also be transmitted sexually, and can be passed from an infected mother to her baby. Hepatitis C is not spread through breast milk, food or water or by casual contact such as hugging, kissing and sharing food or drinks with an infected person. Symptoms: The incubation period for hepatitis C is 2 weeks to 6 months. Following initial infection, approximately 80% of people do not exhibit any symptoms. Those who are acutely symptomatic may exhibit fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, grey-coloured faeces, joint pain and jaundice (yellowing of skin and the whites of the eyes). Chronic infection will lead to liver cirrhosis or liver cancer. As of now, Antiviral treatment is shown to be effective in most of the cases but access to diagnosis and treatment is low. There is no vaccine available for hepatitis C. Sources: the hindu, www.sovaldi.com, wiki, http://www.who.int/. SCIENCE ANT TECHNOLOGY HAZE: It is an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles accumulate in relatively dry air obscuring the clarity of the sky due to scattering of light. Sources of particles include from farming, industry, traffic and wildfire. It is an indicator of high level of pollutants in the air. It may extend upto thousands of kilometres. Haze can be defined as an aerial form of Tyndall effect where waves with shorter wavelenghts scatter more and long waves scatter less. Tyndall effect: it is the scattering of light by particles in colloidal solutions or fine solutions. Under the Tyndall effect, the longer-wavelength light is more transmitted while the shorter-wavelength light is more reflected via scattering. Example: a beam of light entering through a small hole in a dark room. ECONOMY ADB to grant Rs.284 cr to Karnataka for municipal projects Asian development bank is providing $270 million for the North Karnataka Urban Sector Investment Programme. The North Karnataka Urban Sector Investment Program will help Govt of Karnataka rehabilitate existing urban infrastructure facilities and construct new ones in ULBs of North Karnataka. The Investment Program will assist GoK in meeting its urban sector investment plan and providing water supply systems, sewerage systems, drainage, and urban road resurfacing and junction improvements. The living environment in slums will be improved with the provision of basic services. About ADB: Asian development bank is a regional development bank established in 1966 and aimed at improving the economic conditions of the countries in Asia and Pacific. It has 67 members currently. The ADB offers "hard" loans from ordinary capital resources (OCR) on commercial terms, and the Asian Development Fund (ADF) affiliated with the ADB extends "soft" loans from special fund resources with concessional conditions. The ADB offers "hard" loans from ordinary capital resources (OCR) on commercial terms, and the Asian Development Fund (ADF) affiliated with the ADB extends "soft" loans from special fund resources with concessional conditions. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT FUND:Funded by ADB's member countries, it offers loans at very low interest rates as well as grants to help reduce poverty in ADB's poorest member countries. Sources: ET, http://www.adb.org Competition Commission of India It is a body established by government of India, responsible for enforcing the competition act 2002 throughout India and to establish a fair competition in market and to regulate the activities that have adverse effects on competition in India. The competition Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations. It consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government. It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India. The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues. Sources: http://www.cci.gov.in/,wiki INTERNATIONAL Global hunger figures decline by more than 200 million United nations agencies— The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) — dealing with nutrition issues, confirmed the positive trends in the decreasing global hunger figures. According to the report, the number of people without enough to eat fell to 805 million in 2012 to 14 from a billion in 1990 to 92. Eradication of extreme hunger and poverty was one of the eight goals under Millennium developmental goals. The MDG hunger goal has already been met in East and South East Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean. What are Millennium developmental goals? It is a global partnership, adopted at the millennium summit in 2000 by the UN members, to reduce poverty and achieve other time bound targets, with a deadline of 2015. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights-the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security. Since the adoption, there has been significant progress in many of the goals. But the progress has not been uniform. The progress differs from country to country and even within the country. Sub Saharan Africa is still lagging behind in many aspects. Asia is the region with fastest growth. The eight MDGs include: Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development.

Fastest decline in child mortality rates witnessed

According to the recently released data‐New estimates in levels and trends in child mortality 2014‐ under five mortality rates have dropped by 49% between 1990 and 2013. However it is still way far behind to reach the global target of two-thirds decrease in under five mortality rate by 2015.

Important observations made by the report:

• Neonatal deaths account for 44% of all under-five deaths in children. And hence it is considered to be the most vulnerable period(neonatal period: 0 – 27 days).
  
• India has the highest number of neonatal deaths in the world.
• The report says that many of the neonatal deaths can be prevented by simple, cost effective interventions before, during and immediately after the birth.
• Of the 2.6 million still births in the world, 600,000 take place in India( still birth occurs when the fetus dies in the uterus).

India's performance:

• India has performed well in reducing the neonatal mortality rate. It was 37 per 1000 live births in 2003 and by 2012 it was dropped to 29.
• There has been a consistent decline in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) in India. The rate of decline in current decade is higher than in the previous.
• Six states, namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal are likely to achieve the goal(two thirds decrease in under five mortality rate) by 2015.

Measures taken by govt:

• Promoting institutional deliveries by providing cash transfer incentive, free drug, diagnostic test, diet and free transport facilities.
• Establishment of New born care corners which provide immediate care for newborns which further enhances the chance of survival.
• Establishment of special new born care units which care for babies that have very serious conditions.
• Home visits of newborns by ASHA workers who educate the mothers on breast feeding, the importance of keeping the newborns warm and also identify the sick babies( breastfeeding within an hour of birth can save the 44% of new borns.
  The first breast milk is COLOSTRUM which is thick and nutritious and provides early nutririon, has VITAMIN A, decreases jaundice and transfers antibodies from mother which prevent infections and help in the development).