MNS:- A high level delegation led by Dr. Alain Berset, Head of the Federal Department of Home affairs, Switzerland called on Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare in New Delhi today.
In his welcome address, Shri Azad said that even though Dr. Alain Berset does not handle matters relating to public health, today’s meeting is a reflection of the keen interest that the two governments attach for a more meaningful engagement in matters related to health of the both countries. Switzerland has amongst the best health indicators in the world.
Talking about India he said that over 13 billion dollars have been invested by the federal government in addition to the spending by the States for building up robust rural health infrastructure under the National Rural Health Mission during the last 7 years. Mother and Child Tracking System is the one of the excellent examples which aims at ensuring quality service delivery, micro birth planning and ensuring universal immunization. More than 25 million pregnant women and more than 18 million children have been registered in MCTS since its inception in 2010.
Shri Azad said that India is the fourth largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world in terms of volume and 13th largest in terms of value. Indian pharmaceutical products are exported to almost all the countries of the world. The total export from India for the year 2011-12 was more than 13 billion US dollars. Indian pharmaceutical products, world-wide are known to be of good quality, safety and efficacy. Indian generic drugs have helped in bringing down the cost of treatment of various diseases world-wide which includes HIV/AIDS. Our traditional system of medicine goes beyond Yoga, which most in the West are familiar with. We have a separate department in the Ministry of Traditional Indian Systems of Medicines.
During hour long meeting, India and Switzerland exchanged views on various health issues such as health system reform – the challenge of Universal Health Converge, Non-communicable diseases (NCD’s), E-Health (including the Indian experience with the “Mother and Child Tracking System”), Pharmaceutical policy, global Health Governance and WHO reform etc.
“Changing Cities: Building Opportunities”- Empowered Cities to Become Engines of Growth- World Habitat Day 2012
The Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Culture Kumari Selja has said that in the last decade, more population has been added to urban areas than rural areas and the need of the hour is to take proactive policy action to manage these changes such that they do not become roadblocks to our economic growth. Speaking on the occasion to commemorate the World Habitat Day 2012, she said that the prime requirement for preparing the cities for change is proper urban planning. The Minister said, current paradigm of urban planning is based on the anachronistic concept of static Master Planning. This planning process has proved to be exclusionary. Even though more than 80 per cent of the population in our cities belong to poor and low-income groups yet these master plans are based on the space requirement norms of the average middle class residents. The Master Plans have failed to provide space for shelter and livelihoods to these poorer urban communities. There is a need for complete overhaul in the system. She highlighted how the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) scheme run by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation work aggressively to tackle such residential vulnerability through a rights-based approach to the assignment of property rights to slum dwellers.
She said, through reform oriented schemes of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and Rajiv Awas Yojna, her Ministry is motivating and prodding the states to modify this planning paradigm to that of transportation-led inclusionary planning In a bid to tackle occupational vulnerability of the urban poor, Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Minister of Culture informed that the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill 2012 had already been introduced in Parliament in a bid to help street vendors who are the poorer sections of the urban population to fight poverty through self-enterprise, to pursue their livelihoods in a hassle-free environment. She also highlighted the plans of her Ministry to launch the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) to empower the poorer urban population through skill training and credit support for securing livelihoods in the changing market environment. She concluded with the view that making cities engines of growth was only meaningful if that growth ensured equitable access to resources for all citizens and the belief that this view would require proactive and concerted efforts from all stakeholders to make this happen.
The Secretary, Ministry of HUPA, Shri A.K. Misra, in his address emphasised the need of integrating the housing debt market with the financial market, foreign direct investment, setting up of joint ventures, availability and affordability of loans to EWS section and to explore potential of rental housing finance and community led housing initiatives. He also mentioned that Government is in the process of forming an apex real estate regulatory body to provide guidelines to facilitate single window services. On this occasion, the Secretary, also reiterated the need for collective responsibility for formulating suitable strategies for the future of the human habitat. He said that appropriate policies, institutions and emerging technologies will have a major impact in managing urban system.
Shri Misra mentioned the efforts are already being made by the government through their Affordable Housing for All and ISHUP schemes. The creation of Mortgaged Risk Guarantee Fund and range of fiscal initiatives would encourage banks to lend for lower income housing in the country. The theme of the World Habitat Day this year is “Changing Cities: Building Opportunities”.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/head-of-the-federal-department-of-home-affairs-switzerland-meets-azad/
