National
Health insurance cover big takeaway in Budget: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Bengaluru, Feb 1 (IANS) Terming the Union Budget for 2018-19 as exhaustive and comprehensive, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw saod on Thursday one of the big takeaways was the health insurance scheme for about 50-crore people in the country.
“The Budget talks about covering half the population — about 50-crore beneficiaries in a universal healthcare system. It remains to be seen how the financial mechanism is going to work as it will determine the effectiveness of delivering on such an ambitious universal healthcare system,” -MazumdarShaw told the media here.
Announcing the flagship National Health Protection Scheme, which he termed as the world’s largest government funded healthcare programme, Finance Minister Jaitley said the government proposed to cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to Rs five lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
The universal healthcare system was “long overdue” in the country to enable inclusive economic development, the Biocon chief said, adding, “Without health protection, the poor will remain poor.”
“I’m quite pleased with the budget. The government has tried to do a lot and the measures in the budget will relieve some of the current agricultural stress,” Shaw said on the margins of a Budget viewing session held by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
“I’m also interested in the government’s mission to create 24 medical colleges at district hospitals. If implemented effectively, it can address both clinical practice and research,” asserted Shaw.
It was “encouraging” to see the Budget’s focus on science and technology, with India being amongst the lowest investors in the field compared to other BRICS nations, she said.
“There is a huge outlay of one lakh crore to revitalise our research centres, but I would rather see our centres of excellence playing a mentoring role to the nascent research institutes rather than just giving the nascent institutes money to start their own journey,” she stated.
Hub-and-spoke method is a better approach towards research institutes than just allocating money, added Mazumdar-Shaw.
Jyothi Labs joint Managing Director Ullas Kamath said the Budget was oriented towards rural upliftment, which was important for the country.
“Providing the poor with cooking gas connections is important. The direction which the Budget has given in terms of the rural needs is perfect,” said Kamath at an interactive session on the Union Budget, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), Karnataka Council along with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) here.
Toyota Kirloskar Vice-Chairman Shekar Viswanathan said the government had identified that the air pollution in the country’s northern region was due to crop burning and “in situ” there would be a mechanism in place to monitor and address the issue.
“The government has recognised that crop burning is the real cause and not vehicles or cars,” asserted Viswanathan at the session.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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