N Welfare Schemes for Older Persons

An Act called "The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007" was enacted by Parliament in December, 2007 to ensure need based maintenance for parents and senior citizens and their welfare. The Act, inter-alia, makes maintenance of parents/ senior citizens by children/ relatives obligatory and justiciable through tribunals; provides for revocation of transfer of property by senior citizens in case of negligence by relatives; penal provision for abandonment of senior citizens; protection of life and property etc.

The National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP) was announced in January 1999. Para 95 of the Policy envisages setting up of a National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) to promote and coordinate the concerns of older persons.

In pursuance of the above provision of the Policy, a National Council for Older Persons (NCOP) was constituted. In order to have a definite structure as well as to provide for representation from various regions, the NCOP has been re-constituted and renamed as the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSrC).

A Resolution dated 17th February, 2012 re-constituting and renaming the NCOP as the NCSrC was published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary on 22nd February, 2012.

The NCSrC will advise the Central and the State Governments on the entire gamut of issues related to the welfare of senior citizens and enhancement of their quality of life, with special reference to policies, programmes and legislative measures; promotion of physical and financial security, health, and independent and productive living; and awareness generation and community mobilization.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is implementing the National Programme for the Health Care for the Elderly (NPHCE) from the year 2010-11. The basic aim of the NPHCE programme is to provide separate and specialized comprehensive health care to the senior citizens at various level of state health care delivery system including outreach services. Preventive & promotive care, management of illness, health manpower development for geriatric services, medical rehabilitation & therapeutic intervention and IEC are some of the strategies envisaged in the NPHCE.

The major components of the NPHCE during 11th Five Year Plan were establishment of 30 bedded Department of Geriatric in 8 identified Regional Medical Institutions (Regional Geriatric Centres) in different regions of the country and to provide dedicated health care facilities in District Hospitals, CHCs, PHCs and Sub Centres level in 100 identified districts of 21 States.

It is proposed to cover the remaining districts under the programme during the 12th Five Year Plan in a phased manner (@ 100 districts per year and develop 12 additional Regional Geriatric Centres in selected Medical Colleges of the country.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri P. Balram Naik in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 26.11.12

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The LARR Bill,2011 will be introduced in the ongoing Parliamentary Session

The LARR Bill, 2011 has been finalised and the Union Cabinet is likely to take it up soon so that it can be brought in Parliament in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Lal Chand Kataria said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on 26th September that the Group of Ministers has already finalized its report in its three meetings held on 27th September, 2012 and 8th and 16th of October, 2012.

Earlier, the LARR Bill, 2011 was approved by the Cabinet on 5th September and it was introduced in Parliament two days later. The Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and the Committee after detailed examination has submitted its 31st Report on the above Bill to the Lok Sabha on 17th May, 2012, which was laid in the Rajya Sabha on the same day. Shri Kataria informed that based on the recommendations or otherwise of the 31st Report, the Bill was considered by the Cabinet on 28th August, 2012 and it was referred to the GoM.

Sources said the bill was finalised in the light of a suggestion of UPA Chairperson Smt Sonia Gandhi who had asked the government to take consent from 80 per cent land owners to purchase land for the purpose of setting up private projects. The GoM had suggested that the consent clause should be kept at 67 per cent for Public-Private Partnership projects and private projects.

Eradication of Untouchability

Article 17 of the Constitution of India has abolished the practice of untouchability; its practice in any form is forbidden and is an offence punishable in accordance with law. An Act of Parliament, namely, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, prescribes punishment for the enforcement of any disability arising from preaching and practice of untouchability. As per the data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, during 2011, 74 cases were registered by the police under the PCR Act.

The said Act is implemented by the concerned State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. With a view to ensure effective implementation of provisions of the Act, Central assistance is provided to States/Union Territories, which includes strengthening of the enforcement machinery, incentive for inter caste marriages and awareness generation. They are requested to implement provisions of the Act in letter and spirit.

The Central Government has been addressing the States/UTs to implement provisions of the PCR Act in letter and spirit.

A Committee under the Chairpersonship of Union Minster for Social Justice & Empowerment which was constituted in the year 2006, also inter-alia reviews implementation of the PCR Act in State/UTs. The Committee has so far held twenty meetings wherein implementation of the said Act in 24 States and 4 Union Territories has been reviewed.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri P. Balram Naik in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha  on 26.11.12

Senseless violence in films should be abjured says veteran film maker M. S. Sathyu

The veteran film maker M.S. Sathyu has said that a lot of films are projecting senseless violence which is avoidable. He said the youth of this generation must know the history in proper perspective and for this, there is a need to restore historical films, not only in Hindi but also in other Indian languages. Sathyu was addressing a press conference in connection with the screening of the restored version of his 1973 made film Garam Hawa at the 43rd International Film Festival of India in Goa, today. He revealed that the film Garam Hawa was shot in mono sound which has now been converted to Dolby digital format and the restoration was done frame by frame. Expressing his disappointment over lack of historical films in India, he said a lot of period films were made after the Second World War denouncing the ill-effect of war, but the trend has been dwindling gradually. Replying to a question he said he felt the urge to restore the film as he wanted the young generation to know the trauma of partition. Asked whether he was tempted to change the colour and sound of the film drastically since that was possible in digital restoration, M.S. Sathyu said it was true that the technology has undergone a sea-change since he had made the film, but kept more or less the same tinge to retain originality.

The film Garam Hawa is a portrayal of the consequences of partition for Indian Muslims, focusing on one particular family, the Mirzas. Set in Agra in 1947, it tells the story of an elderly shoe manufacturer, Salim Mirza and has family who must decide whether to continue the ancestral business or migrate to Pakistan. Forced by a series of adversities to eventually leave, the family comes across a communist rally, proclaiming the unity of all the dispossessed irrespective of caste or religion. Salim’s young son joins the rally, abandoning his plans to migrate, determined to stay on.

New wave film-makers demand special theatres for their films

Young Indian film-makers and directors of ‘offbeat’ or ‘new wave’ films have pitched in for creating special theatres for showing their films. Addressing a joint press conference in the ‘Meet the Directors – Indian Feature and Non-feature films’ section at the 43rd International Film Festival of India in Panaji, Goa today they felt that there are dedicated viewers for their films but in the absence of a proper distribution mechanism the films are not being released in multiplexes.

The Director of ‘Char : The No-Man’s Island’ Sourav Sarangi said that his film is being shown in Japan and other international film festivals, but it has no takers in India. The Director of ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan’ Gurvinder Singh said that there is a crying need to have a chain of theatres which will show only new wave cinema. The Director of ‘Vanishing Point’ Abhijit Mazumdar and the Director of ‘Lessons in Forgetting’ Unni Vijayan also agreed with them.

‘Char : The No-Man’s Island’ is the story of Rubel, a fourteen-year-old boy who smuggles rice by crossing the river Ganga. The same river eroded his entire village when he was just four. Seven years later, a fragile tiny island called Char formed within the large river. The homeless families from both India and Bangladesh shifted to this forbidden zone. Rubel tries to combine school and smuggling together. However, the demands at home build up. Desperate for a job, Rubel jumps on a train bound for Kerala. Sourav Sarangi explained that his film has tried to trace the conflict between the nature and the human beings as also the indomitable spirit of the marginal man to fight back for his livelihood.

NFDC film ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan’ is the story of a dalit family in a village in Punjab which wakes up to the news of the demolition of a house of one of their community members. Father, a silent sympathizer, joins his community in demanding justice for the affected family. The same day, his son Melu, a cycle-rickshaw puller in the city, is participating in a strike by his union. Cycling through the city streets, Melu feels lost and wonders where to go and what to do. Back in the village, his mother feels humiliated at the treatment meted out by the landlords in whose fields she works. A man wonders asking for the traditional alms while Father decides to visit the city with a friend, even as his daughter Dayalo walks through the village streets in the night. ‘Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan’ has won many awards in various festivals.

‘Vanishing Point’ is the story of two friends Aurko and Sachin. They are travelling by a car to look for locations for a small film they are planning to make. Aurko is perpetually high on marijuana. Sachin doesn’t approve of Aurko’s smoking habit. Aurko comes across an old man whom he keeps seeing at different points of their journey. He gets mesmerized and tries to follow him. Sachin loses track of Aurko. Aurko is left alone in the darkness. As he continues to walk towards his destination, robbers attack him. The journey derails into a realm of the unknown.

‘Lessons in Forgetting’ is a gripping and heartwarming story of redemption, forgiveness and second chances. The story is woven around a single father, J.A. Krishnamurthy, or JAK, who relentlessly follows a trail to find out how his teenage daughter, Smriti, ended up on a hospital bed, almost dead. Helping JAK in his chase is a single mother Meera, whose husband has walked out on their marriage, leaving her to bring up their two growing children and care for her aging mother and grandmother, all on her own.

Directors of ‘Samhita’ Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar, also addressed a press conference later today and explained the nuances of the storyline of their film. The story of the film ‘Samhita’ goes like this: an ailing film producer wants his wife to produce a film on his favorite story – a story of passion and surrender between a king and a court singer. The wife hands over the responsibility to Revati who is going through a strained relationship with her husband. She meets the woman writer, Tara, an aristocrat spinster. Hemangi, a well-known actress who is in a live-in-relationship with a painter, is chosen for the role of the court singer.

Free Medicines For All

There is a proposal in the 12th Five Year Plan draft chapter on Health about cost free access to essential medicines in public facilities for reducing out of pocket expenditure on health care. The essential features of any such scheme will include preparation of list of essential medicines, development of standard treatment guidelines, robust procurement systems; IT based supply-chain systems, drug warehousing, quality assurance, prescription audit etc.

There have been requests from many quarters to provide free essential medicines in public health facilities. The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) set up by the Planning Commission on Universal Health Coverage has also recommended provision of free essential medicines though public facilities and public expenditure on drugs to be increased to 0.5 per cent of the GDP.

Under NRHM, the proposals received from the States through their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) for ensuring uninterrupted availability of essential medicines to those using public health facilities have been supported by the Government of India. Further, incentives to states upto 5% of their NRHM outlay have been introduced in 2012-13 for establishing policy frameworks and systems for providing free generic medicines to all those who access public health facilities.

This information was given by Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Shri Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today on 23.11.12

Rural Health Care Course

Rural Health Care Course

The Government, in consultation with Medical Council of India (MCI), has prepared a course namely, Bachelor of Science (Community Health) which was earlier named as Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC) course. The main objective of the proposed course is to create mid-level health professionals who will be primarily be deployed at Sub Centres and would possess the necessary public health and ambulatory care competencies to serve the rural population. The salient features of the proposed course are as under:

1. The duration of the course will be three years with six months of rotational internship,
2. The candidates eligible for the course will be those who have completed 10 +2 with science subjects i.e. Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
3. Admission as well as deployment will be district based as far as possible.
4. Reservations would apply as per norms.
5. After acquiring this degree, the graduates will be employed as Community Health Officers (CHOs) by State Government.

A task force has been constituted to frame norms for requirement of physical infrastructure, facilities required in Rural Health Schools and examine aspects regarding introduction of the course. Further, the matter is also being examined by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare. The proposed course is likely to be introduced in the states willing to adopt it from the academic 2013-2014.

A few medical associations like Indian Medical Association (IMA) have not welcomed the proposal. Nonetheless, in order to address the serious concern of shortage of availability of human resources in health sector in rural areas, the Government is committed to introduce the course, with inbuilt safeguards.

This information was given by the Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today on 23.11.12.

Common Medical Entrance Test

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has notified amendment in its regulations to conduct common entrance test viz. National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) medical courses in the country from 2013-14. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been identified as the agency for conducting NEET for UG and National Board of Examinations (NBE) for PG medical courses.

Majority of States have accepted the proposal but few States have expressed apprehensions about the proposed NEET which pertained to syllabus, medium of test, reservation policy, etc. Most of the apprehensions have been addressed. The MCI’s regulations on NEET clearly indicate that the prevailing reservation policy of States would not be disturbed. Further, the NEET-UG will be conducted in six regional languages viz. Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Assamese in addition to Hindi and English. Few medical colleges and State Governments have filed writ petitions in respective Hon’ble High Courts seeking exemption from NEET. More than 26 such writ petitions have been transferred to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and the matter is sub-judice and any exclusion would depend upon the decision of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the pending transfer petitions.

This information was given by the Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today on 23.11.12

Surgery Treatment of Poors

The criterion for granting financial assistance to poor patients under Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant (HMDG) and Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) i.e. National Illness Assistance Fund (NIAF) are as under:

(i)        Poor patients with family income less than Rs.75,000/- annually and suffering from major illness and requiring one-time treatment in Government hospitals/institutions are eligible for financial assistance under HMDG. Financial assistance limits are -  (a)  Rs.20,000/-  if the estimated cost of treatment is up to Rs. 50,000/- ; (b) Rs. 40,000/- if the estimated cost of treatment is above Rs. 50,000/- & up to Rs. 1,00,000/-; and (c) Rs.50,000/- if the estimated cost of treatment is above Rs.1,00,000/-.

(ii)       Under Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) financial assistance is provided to the patients living Below Poverty Line (BPL), who are suffering from major life threatening disease to receive medical treatment in Government hospitals. The financial assistance to such patients is released in the form of ‘one time grant’ to the Medical Superintendent of the hospital in which the treatment is being received.   The applicant has to submit an application in the prescribed proforma duly filled in by the treating Doctor/HOD and countersigned by the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital (Government Hospital) where the patient is receiving the treatment, alongwith income certificate in original from the BDO/ Tehsildar/Collector /SDM. The details of family members in case of BPL applicants i.e. attested copy of ration card.

(iii)  Under the RAN, the norms for Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF),are as under:

(a)     Financial assistance is provided to patients, below poverty line, suffering from cancer and undergoing treatment in Government hospitals and any of the 27 Regional Cancer Centres.

(b)   The financial assistance to the Cancer Patient up to Rs.1.00 lakh is provided by the concerned Institutes /Hospitals through the revolving fund placed at their disposal.  The cases of financial assistance above this limit are to be referred by the Hospitals for assistance from Central Funds.

(iv)     The Directorate General of Health Services (Dte.GHS) technically appraises the proposal and thereafter, the approval of the Competent Authority is obtained for granting financial assistance to the eligible patient. A cheque of the admissible amount is issued to the hospital, who is required to submit utilization certificate to the Ministry.

ID Proofs Compulsory During Train Journey in All Reserved Classes from 1st December 2012

With effect from 01.12.2012, one of the passengers booked on a ticket for undertaking journey in any reserved class will have to produce any one of the prescribed proofs of identity failing which all the passengers will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.

This provision shall, however, not affect the existing provision of Tatkal scheme where during the journey, the passenger is required to show the original proof of identity indicated on the ticket.

The number of prescribed proofs of identity have been increased from nine to ten by adding following identity card to the list of prescribed proofs identity:-

“Photo identity cards having serial number issued by Public Sector Undertakings of State/Central Government, District Administrations, Municipal bodies and Panchayat Administrations”

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today on 23.11.12

Reservation of Seats in Schools for Poor Students

Section 12(1)(c) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 provides that unaided private schools should admit in class – I (or pre-primary class, as the case may be) to the extent of at least 25% of the strength of the class, children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. Education in government schools is free and admission is open to all children so there is no reservation of seats in government schools.

Implementation of Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act was carried out by 7 States in 2011-12 and in 2012-13, 13 States have admitted children under the provision. The total enrolment of children in class I in 2011-12 was 29,624,145. However, disaggregated data for children admitted under section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act is not maintained separately.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor in Rajya Sabhanon  23.11.12

Moral Eudcation

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks prescribe themes and examples related to moral conduct across the subject areas and across various stages of school education in the syllabi and textbooks for classes I - XII as a follow-up of National Curriculum Framework- 2005. NCERT has also brought out a Value Education Framework titled “Education for values in schools - A framework” which provides guidelines to schools to identify their priorities of values and plan actions accordingly.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has included the constitutional values among students of the schools affiliated to it. CBSE published source books for classes VI-VIII and a Teachers Manual on Life Skills for Classes IX-Xand also on Environmental Education and Adolescence Education which help to foster values in children. CBSE has also introduced value based questions from the prescribed books in the Summative Assessment II in classes IX-XII for the year 2012-13.The CBSE has recently launched a value education kit comprising of a Hand book for Teachers, Value Cards and a CD on songs on the theme of Duty, Solidarity and respect for Nature.

University Grant Commission (UGC) is funding various programmes at Under Graduate and Post Graduate level concerning Human Rights and Value Education in the universities and colleges. The commission has also been implementing the scheme of Human Rights and Value Education and provides financial assistance to the eligible Universities/Colleges under this scheme. The objectives of this scheme, inter-alia, include creation of awareness and commitment to values where the individualistic self-interest is properly reconciled with the collective and common good.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor in Rajya Sabha on 23.11.12

Opening of Central University in Bihar

Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, one Central University by the name of Central University of Bihar was established in Bihar in 2009. The Cabinet has approved a proposal to rename the existing Central University of Bihar as the Central University of South Bihar to be located at Gaya and to establish a new Central University at Motihari by the name of Central University of North Bihar. The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2012 to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009 to facilitate the above is proposed to be introduced in the Parliament during the current session.

The existing Central University of Bihar is functioning from its temporary location at BIT Campus Patna since its establishment on 02.03.2009. Academic activities in the Central University of North Bihar can be started only after the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2012 is passed by both the Houses of the Parliament.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor in Rajya Sabha  on 23.11.12 .