India scraps import duties on AIDS drugs to battle shortage

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MUMBAI, June 11 (Reuters) - India has scrapped customs import duties for drugs and test kits used to treat AIDS in an effort to cut prices across the country, as it struggles to cope with an ongoing shortage in its national program to fight the disease.

More than a third of India's 2.1 million HIV/AIDS patients depend on getting their daily antiretrovirals for free from state-run distribution centres, but many of them have been facing shortages or stock outs for months.

The notice put out by the Central Board of Excise and Customs this week intends to make it cheaper to import raw materials that are used to make antiretrovirals under the national program, BB Rewari of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) told Reuters.

Currently, U.S. firm Mylan Inc and India's Aurobindo Pharma supply AIDS drugs to the government program.

The exemption applies to certain first-line and second-line antiretroviral drugs used to treat adults and children, as well as to certain diagnostic kits and equipment that are used by NACO, Rewari said.

He added the drugs under exemption make up roughly 95 percent of the antiretrovirals used by India's AIDS patients under the national program.

The exemption, which will remain in effect until March 2016, is the national AIDS control department's latest effort to deal with a chronic shortage of HIV/AIDS drugs at home, even though Indian companies are some of the world's major suppliers of AIDS drugs. Local firm Cipla Ltd made headlines in 2001 by making antiretrovirals for Africa for under $1 a day.

The AIDS control program has been in disarray for months after the government changed the way over $1.3 billion in federal funds were distributed, according to data and letters seen by Reuters.

Construction of clinics in rural areas has been delayed and many health workers have quit.

Government officials have previously told Reuters of a lack of participation by local drugmakers in the tenders floated by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to procure drugs.

Industry insiders, meanwhile, cite delayed tender approvals, supply bottlenecks and late payments, as well as poor coordination between the central and state governments.

AIDS drugs sold on the open market are expensive, so in an effort to make those more affordable, the government is likely to add more AIDS drugs under price control by including them in the national list of essential medicines, people involved in the process told Reuters in April.

citation from  zawya : https://goo.gl/72Jh21

HEALTH MINISTRY WARNING OVER PANADOL

UAE Ministry of Health issues warning over wrong dosage instruction on Panadol Baby & Infant suspension packaging

Dubai: The Ministry of Health is warning the public that Panadol Children & Infant suspension product labels on the medicine box do not indicate the proper dosage levels.

Improper dosage levels could lead to children being given too much of the medicine, the ministry warned on Thursday in a public statement.

The Ministry of Health sent out the warning to inform all medical entities, heads of medical centers, managers of public and private hospitals, doctors, pharmacists and assistant pharmacists.

The ministry drew attention to all target audiences that changes will be made to the information printed on the medicine boxes of the manufacturing company Glaxosmithkine.

According to a statement released by the ministry, "dose specification found on the medicine box is wrong and this results in giving the child or the infact a dose that does not suit their age due to an excessive dose of Paracetamol entering the body which could lead to liver poisoning."

Dr. Amin Hussain Al Ameri, Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Practice and License Department in the Ministry of Health, signed the statement.

He could not be reached for comment by press time on Thursday.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health advises doctors to disregard the doses listed on the Panadol Infant and Children medicine boxes.

They are told to determine the necessary dose an infant should receive based on their age and weight until further notice from the Drug Management and Regulation section in the ministry.

The ministry has also provided a form for patients to fill out in case of any side effects provided by the ADR which can be found online on the website (www.cpd-pharma.ae).

 Citation - Taken From ZAWYA - https://goo.gl/CnYIJp

Government Tactics - Divide and Rule

It’s Anna vs Aruna as rift in civil society shows

Even though they are activist, they are Now activist on Government Pay Role ( They are members of Sonia's NIC, whose bills are accepted and not of others.

Unfortunately still after 60 years we do not have system to fight corruption.

We divide religion to rule, then caste's to rule and now civil society to rule, this congress alias British Congress, Divide and Rule. Dhruthrashtra is clean but can not see and can not control Kaurava's unfortunately.


BS REPORTER New Delhi, 20 August


A section of the civil society came out in the open today, criticising Team Anna and its method of enforcing its views on the Lok Pal Bill.
Coming together at the platform of the National Council for Promotion of Right to Information (NCPRI) in support of NGO members Aruna Roy, Harsh Mander, Shekhar Singh and Nikhil De, the section said it supported Anna’s protest but opposed the intention of Hazare’s team to sidestep democratic systems in its hurry to bring forth its version the Bill.
It also criticised the team for being intolerant to other views in the civil society, notably those of NCPRI — of which Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan still are “sleeping members” in the words of Aruna Roy.
There even emerged an appeal to broaden the discussion on Lok Pal, with NCPRI member Aruna Roy crediting Hazare and his movement as the single reason for making the Lok Pal a success today, while maintaning that they were drifting away from the democratic methods.
Harsh Mander, another NCPRI member said: “I am worried about people on the streets, who are dreaming of a better country. How can we reduce it to just one view and one issue? Let us deepen the debate and struggle for a better India.” He said more views should be taken into account and the best possible solution should be provided to these people.
However, Justice A P Shah was harsh in his criticism of the insistence of the Anna team on having only their version of the Bill passed. “Anna is not civil society and civil society is not Anna,” he said. He said that ombudsmen in no country is given power over judiciary and this was very dangerous.
The differences between the NCPRI and its supporters and Anna supporters on the Lok Pal Bill are just a few. But, it is what is seen as the intolerant attitude of the Anna team which has annoyed NCPRI members and supporters like Anhad to organise the press conference.
Roy added that actions of the team were tantamount to hijacking the democratic system. Democracy is for the poor and it is our responsibility to make it work. We can remove rotten parts in a system, but, we cannot throw away the system itself.
“I can sit on the streets and demand that the collector delivers, but I cant go and sit in the collector’s chair. What the Anna team wants is almost that,” she said.
She said the government Lok Pal Bill was not only weak but also dangerous and if it was not changed, then even we will come out in the streets in protest.
The two main differences in Anna’s Bill and Aruna Roy’s Bill are the non-inclusion of the judiciary in the latter’s version and the replacement of a single Lok Pal with a threelevel structure to investigate corruption at different levels of the society.
But, it is not the differences in the Bill that is causing concern to those who differ from Anna Hazare.
Roy said, “If Anna has a right to dissent, he should also acknowledge and admit the right of other people in the country to have differences with him on the Lok Pal”.
She said it was solely because of Anna Hazare and his team that Lok Pal has today become such a big issue.
Arvind Kejriwal, member of the Anna Hazare team said it was a misunderstanding that they were holding the Parliament to ransom on the Bill. He also dismissed the differences with Aruna Roy on the Bill as very minor.
“Multiple agencies to deal with corruption would lead to confusion. When a complaint is filed, we don’t know if a higher official or a lower official is involved. So it cannot work,” said Prashant Bhushan, another memeber of Hazare’s team.

Qatar ranked above India, China in innovation index

Innovation has created wealth in last century. Knowledge is most imprtant part of creating wealth. Creating knowledge is the only way forward for the GCC to creat diversified economy and sustainable economy.
DUBAI: Qatar has been ranked 26th in the Global Innovation Index, securing the highest position in the Middle East ahead of even the world's two largest emerging economies China (29) and India (62).
The report, prepared jointly by business school INSEAD and few other institutions, said that Qatar improved its world ranking by nine places vis-a-vis its 2010 position.
Last year, the Gulf country was placed 35th on the Global Innovation Index. The Global Innovation Index is computed as an average of the scores across input pillars (describing the enabling environment for innovation) and output pillars (measuring actual achievements in innovation).
The UAE, which has the second position in the Middle East, is eight ranks below Qatar at No. 34 in the list. No other Middle East country figured in the top 40 on the Global Innovation Index.
As per the findings of The Global Innovation Index 2011 edition, Switzerland topped this year's GII ranking, with Sweden in second place and Singapore third.
Joining INSEAD as Knowledge Partners for the report were Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Company , the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a specialised agency of the United Nations.
The GII includes 16 economies from the Middle East and North Africa. While Qatar and the UAE are in the top 40, the other GCC economies are ranked in the top 60. Bahrain secured 46th rank, Kuwait was 52nd, Saudi Arabia 54th and Oman 57th.
Three countries from the region are within the bottom 15. They are Syria (115), Yemen (123) and Algeria (125). The five pillars of GII constitute the Innovation Input Sub-Index: 'institutions', 'human capital and research', 'infrastructure', 'market sophistication' and 'business sophistication'.

Oil Economy to Knowledge Economy -
Sustainable Growth - Oil Economy to Diversified Knowledge Economy

Global economic uncertainty make it imperative that GCC countries should develop competitive, diversified economies, concludes a new paper from the Carnegie Middle East Center.
In the report explains that the top priority for the Gulf Council Cooperation (GCC) countries should be improving economic governance
Special Industrial Parks and Their Role in Diversifying Economy
- Bio IT KnowledgeCenter
Objective
· To diversify local economy
· To increase high end employment opportunities for the national
· To develop Knowledge based economy for the future
· To develop education to locals in association with different universities and biotech companies present in the park.
Components
· Biotech
· IT/ITES
· Pharmaceutical
· Pharmaceutical Logistic and Warehousing

Country of Rich God and Poor People

Kerala temple could be the richest in country This is not the only temple which is rich. This lies in India's Varn Vyavastha which has made Temples and Their Priest Rich. They are sole owner of the national wealth. Indian poor remain hungry but riches goes to temple and they remain rich. This has percolated to Mazar and shrines also. The economic status of majority lower caste, and status of upper caste minority is clear indication of exploitation. Today the 4%+10% upper class ( Brahmins+ Shatriya+Vaishave) governs more than than 80% wealth in the country, even after 60 years of independents Burocracy still has 70% domination of upper class and industry is their bastion. The present system and system which is adopted by present government is for making rich more rich and poor .........poorer. This is post independent story. Call it the mother of all treasure hunts. The stock-taking by a panel of experts at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple has catapulted the shrine located here to the country's richest, with reports claiming that the value of recoveries may have touched close to Rs 1 lakh crore, more than Kerala public debt of Rs 70,969 crore.

  To whom this wealth belongs The wealth of all religious shrines and temples must be governed independetly and used for the welfare of people. Even though there is billions of dollars in Waqf properties in India, everything is mis used by government nominated boards and ministers. Peoples are building Mansions on it. Mukesh Ambani billion dollar home is built on Waqf property. These properties really belongs to peoples and must be used for welfare of the peoples of nations. Temples, Mazars and for that matter all such institutions must be controlled and governed in most transparent way and this wealth must be used for welfare. If this is done India will not have poor and hungry anywhere. The best method is using this wealth, including Waqf for creating welfare institutuins and running them. The infrastructure of the Hospitals and Schools and Colleges, Orphanages should be created with this money. After creating these institution should be run Professionally or some other scheme's should be designed so that every one in the society get the benefits. No one has right to hold these properties to ransom when peoples are dying of hunger. The Waqf has billions of dollars assets in Delhi alone, What is the use? Waqf are created for welfare of the people? All these treasure are national wealth and should be used for welfare of people. I do not trust the present corrupt government and their mechanism for this purpose. Nation needs much more transparent and accountable mechanism to use these treasures for welfare of the people. 

 Thiruvananthapuram: Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala could well be the richest in the country as unofficial estimates Saturday, the sixth day of preparing an inventory of treasures in its six chambers, suggested the value of its gold, diamond and other precious metals at close to Rs one lakh crore. The inventory of the temple here, maintained by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore, is being made by a seven-member Supreme Court-appointed panel. The stock-taking process was ordered by the Supreme Court following a petition by advocate TP Sundararajan over mismanagement of the temple affairs. On Monday, ahead of entering the temple chambers for the first time, the committee chairman, retired Kerala High Court judge MN Krishnan, said he hoped to finish the entire process by the end of the week. The temple has a total of six chambers, named A to F by the committee. With chamber B yet to be opened and chamber A's accounting ending on Saturday, and two more chambers left unopened yet, it is expected that the inventory process may continue for a few more days. The inventory of a chamber opened on Friday could only be completed Saturday. The committee, which includes a gemmologist, stumbled upon a nearly four-foot-tall statue of Lord Vishnu in gold and studded with emeralds. Other precious items that were accounted for Saturday included several golden statues, almost all weighing two kg each. Among other things are a gold necklace as long as 15 feet, and crowns studded with emeralds, rubies and diamonds. The chamber is situated around 20 feet under the ground. The committee conducted the examination using artificial lights. As of now, the Balaji temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh is believed to be the richest temple in the country, followed by Shirdi Sai Baba shrine in Maharashtra.

India - Challenges of Growth and Development

Corruption, BlackMoney , Lokpal and Affordibility of life ( Inflation)

Everyone is talking about corruption and one of most loved topic of media is black money, and now lokpal bill. There are many debates on all of this and everyone is talking about how to manage it or reduce the corruption.
I have not seen much talked and discussed about how these money is created, and why it is created and how to put of the hole.
Lokpal bill is one of the most important bill and it will improve the responsibility and bring corrupt cases into to forefront. Like RTI ( right to information act) it will be great achivement. This all will go in long way to become a nation who cares its people. I am not talking of Developed countries who do not care their own people and are arrogat. I am not talking of those who are least concerned about human rights and responsibility of powerful.
No, I am talking of nation India, who is responsible and humble towards world and its own people. Where every hand get work and dignity to sleep peacefully everynight with food and not worried for tomorrow's needs.
The major issues which India is facing to grow, and to grow responsibily. Without snatching or stealling from his own brothers and sisters.

• Sources of Black money - One of the greatest challenge is our taxation system. India needs to deal with it and close the loopholes which creates blackmoney. ( I will write in detail on the issue. Only salaried class is tax payee because it is paid in bank and those who deals in millions of cash never gets tax notice)



• India's Mandi Act ( food grain and agriculture commodities act)- This second source of proliferage.



• Cash Transaction and banking in India. - All retail and wholesale trading happens as cash transaction. This must stop. This is source of black money, all kind of wholesale and retail transaction must be through bank. This will reduce cash and black money. Still more than half of India do not have banking account, let us make banking affordable to them. Give everyone of them account and reduce cash in system.



• Indian Real Estate - Biggest investor or source where black is invested.



• India Judiciary - Presently more than 10 years backlog is there in Supreme Court for constitutional bench. What kind of Governace are we talking off. If our highest court can not deal with matter of constitution for 10 years and many more years. The backlog of all other cases are well known. This is not justice system. India needs change in very first dimension of democracy, the justice. If this system can not deliver justice, what are we then talking off? We need a system which is time bound and accountable to deliver justice.



• Accountability - If everyone is accountable and responsible for his task, why not judiciary? Let there will be system where Judiciary, including Highest Judiciary be held accounatable and required be prosecuted? Everyone here is human being and can make mistake so is judiciary, let there be a system which will held them accountable?



• India Bureucracy - Let there be reform in indian bureucracy, politicians goes and comes back but our bureacracy remains there and needs to be cleaned.



• Indian Criminal System - This is one of the area needs revamp. India needs clean, non corrupt IPC. Law and Order should be separate from investigation. Police and associated system is most corrupt and unaccountable system. They can put any one behind the bar for years under different law and after 5 to 10 years judiciary acquits him of wrong doing. What about lost time and injustice to him? Extra judicial killing is one of the most common phenomenon of Indian Police and Military. They are contract killer for Politician ( Gujarat or Business Mans, Delhi and Mumbai Cases). Do really India want such Police Force. We need a force, which people love to go to help. Present system is the system of British Empire and needs facelift.



• Inflation is India's Foreign Policy Challenge and not Fiscal Policy Challenge.



• Inflation is Indias Development Challenge, and not monetary or Fiscal Management.

Govt favoured RIL in gas contract: CAG

Govt favoured RIL in gas contract: CAG

Is this the first time? If we look at history of reliance and Dhirubhai Ambani, during licence raj. This is history of GOD father, GOD father of reliance, their fooprint in corridores of power. Past and present government has always helped them over others.

Even before they can acquire land for Jamnagar refinery, IPO came, which is approved by government. UTI invested 850 crore(8.5 in it, it is pre IPO subscription. No one really sure and it ws debated during UTI US64 debacle which government rescued.

The famous rivary between Reliance and Bombay Dying and assault on Nusli Wadia was well known. For sure no one really known the 8500 companies which are the persons acting on consent in reliance who are they?

These 8500 private comapnies are source of corruption and used for channelling benefits and money to the their political GOD father.


The c

The great land grab: India's war on farmers - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The great land grab: India's war on farmers - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

Do really India need this kind of development. India is growing and growing very fast but it must understand the cost of development. It can not kill and deprive the people of their livilyhood. It is very important to have development but more important are human values. We do not need development for those few rich people. India is facing Maoist issue is rural and forest areas. The root cause is injustice and exploitation of all kind. Government must understand the emotions of people, before depriving them of their land and homes. It is will incrase crimes and law and order problem.

India: Uttar Pradesh farmers protest spreads

UP farmers win battle; HC cancels land acquisition

Allahabad High Court quashes land acquisition in Noida village

Not even one but three consecutive judgement Allahabad high court quasshed the land acquistion by government.


India need development but must come with human face.

Healthcare - Stillbirth - India's Development Challenge

India Development Challenge Health

The sorry state of maternal care in India has come to the media attention once again. A recent Lancet study noted that India has the highest number of stillbirths in the world, accounting for a little under a quarter of the global total.

Significantly, the study pointed out that around 45 per cent of these can be prevented by timely medical attention. The District Level Household Survey (DLHS) conducted in 2002-04 estimated that stillbirths occurred in 1.7 per cent of all pregnancies for currently married women in the age group of 15 to 44 years in the three years preceding the survey.

In the next round, DLHS-3 for 2007-08 estimated stillbirths at 1.3 per cent of all pregnancies. However, as the survey respondents were in the age group of 15 to 49 years, the estimates of the two rounds are not strictly comparable.

In six states – Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal – the share of stillbirths to total pregnancies exceeded 1.7 per cent. And in Delhi, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Goa the share was 0.5 per cent or less.

Age, education and wealth showed correlation with the incidence of stillbirths — girls less than 20 years of age had the highest share of pregnancies resulting in stillbirths. However, there was a sharp drop in the share of stillbirths when the woman had 10 or more years of schooling, also the highest wealth segment had the lowest incidence of stillbirths. Clearly, access to timely health intervention improves with education and wealth.

With an increase in wealth and educational levels, the incidence of abortions increases, not just induced but also spontaneous abortions. The latter technically refers to miscarriages that naturally occur. At an aggregate level, spontaneous abortions account for 4.7 per cent of all pregnancies while induced abortions account for 1.8 per cent.

Though the DLHS report said, “The observed relatively higher level of spontaneous abortion could be due to reporting of induced abortions as spontaneous abortions.” This ambiguity makes interpreting of the results of the survey difficult. In Goa, Manipur, Delhi and Assam the share of induced abortions exceeds 3.5 per cent while Haryana, Delhi and Tamil Nadu stand out with the share of spontaneous abortions exceeding seven per cent of all pregnancies. If induced and spontaneous abortions are taken into account, Haryana, Delhi, Manipur and Tamil Nadu rank at the top. Haryana, therefore, has the dubious distinction of being the state with the least share of live births to all pregnancies.

It goes without saying that pregnancies that do not culminate in live births take a toll on the physical and psychological health of women. Also the limited access to safe health care from qualified health professionals creates more risks. According to the Family Welfare Statistics 2009 of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, abortions were responsible for eight per cent of maternal deaths between 2001 and 2003, the latest period for which data are available. Timely and reliable health intervention – whether it is for safe contraceptive methods or during pregnancy – is vital for reducing the burden on women’s health in India.

Indian States Development Scorecard is a weekly feature by Indicus Analytics that focuses on the progress in India and the states across various socio-economic parameters India has the world’s highest number of stillbirths, with mothers-to-be lacking timely and reliable medical attention