Include Homeopathy in National Health Schemes

DMAI wants the govt to give due weightage to homoeopathy in NRHM

Suja Nair Shirodkar, Mumbai Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 08:00 Hrs [IST]

The Disease Management Association of India (DMAI) has recommended the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the central government to increase the role of homoeopathy in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), especially for acute illness.

At present homoeopathy is not being leveraged properly under NRHM in spite of it being the cheapest way of treatment in the country. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, president and director DMAI pointed out that the homoeopathic medicines are cheaper and much more accessible to patients thus it is only natural that its potential should be utilised properly under NRHM.

Though the treatment used in homoeopathy is superficially similar to the medicines prescribed by a conventional doctor it differs in their source, preparation and dosage. He observed that in spite of having enough qualified homoeopathic physicians in the country the government is not giving them enough chance to play any role in the national health program. “Today there are hospitals and colleges that cater to homoeopathy and encourage its use then why isn’t the government utilising these resources to increase the demand for homoeopathic medicines among the rural population.

The government should take step to ensure that the people in the rural India can also benefit from this system,” he pointed out. He said that the demand for homoeopathy has increased over the years as more and more people are adopting homoeopathic treatment due to its effectiveness compared to other available methods. Thus it should be put to use more effectively. He added, “Homoeopathic medicines are very cheap, in almost two rupees a patient can get a weeks worth of medicines which will be a great support to the rural population, it would provide them with cheapest alternative that assures best treatment.”

Homoeopathy is a system for the treatment of illness that is based both on the recognition of patterns within the symptoms of the illness and a wider consideration of how the individual is as a person. Although conventional medical assessment also takes these issues in to account, the homoeopathic approach integrates personality type, previous experiences, emotional state, the influence of the environment and other social factors to a greater degree than is usual with standard medical practice.

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Rajendra Pratap Gupta

DMAI wants the government to extend the NRHM till 2017 with radical operational changes

The Disease Management Association of India (DMAI), a non-profit organisation propagating disease management concept and tools in the country, has urged the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the central government to reconsider its recommendations for scrapping of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) as the NRHM has made an impact on the lives of the rural population in the country.

The DMAI suggestion in this regard was put forth by the DMAI president and director Rajendra Pratap Gupta in a letter addressed to PAC chairman Dr Murli Manohar Joshi recently.

The NRHM was launched in the country on April 12, 2005 for a period of seven years i.e. from 2005 to 2012 for providing integrated comprehensive primary health care services, specially to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. It means that NRHM will get expired by 2012. However, seeing its impact on the rural population, the government is thinking of a possible extension for another five years. In this regard the government had asked PAC to review the NRHM. However, in its reports the PAC has recommended on scrapping the NRHM scheme.

However Gupta suggested, “NRHM is a very useful programme and has been successful in having its presence felt even in the remote parts of the country. However, there are many radical administrative and operational changes needed to be made in the present format of NRHM.”

He suggested that with proper administrative and operational tactic, this programme certainly will have the power to create desired impact in the rural health scene. In his recommendations to the planning commission on the changes needed in NRHM for the 12th five year plan, Gupta suggested that technology must be leveraged in NRHM for accountability, transparency and telehealth and that 12th five year plan must consider opportunities to digitise NRHM in all spheres of its implementation.

He said, “There are many important changes that needs to be undertaken in the NRHM, but of all changes the first and foremost change should be to improve the quality of medicines that is being supplied at the NRHM centres. Secondly, minor surgeries are not allowed in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) as of now. This should be changed and the government must allow minor surgeries in the PHCs as it would help reduce a lot for hassles for the villagers and bring revenue for the government as well.”

Other issue that he had highlighted in the letter was on the inadequate fund flow on time which could lead to corruption among the people working at the lowest level in PHC and sub centres.

“I have met people who were not paid salary for months, and also discovered the fact that the funds that were supposed to be sent for 2010 were received by the centres in mid January 2011. Such delays must be stopped with immediate effect as this clearly will encourage and lead to corruption as people drawing a monthly salary of Rs.5000-8000 won’t be able to sustain their family without salary for months. Either they will resort to bribing, selling the government supplies or starts absconding and working for employers in parallel. Thus I suggest that the fund meant for a sub centre or PHC must be transferred in advance for the quarter if not half yearly,” Gupta points out.

He put special stress on telehealth adoption goals for NRHM and other healthcare projects, as setting up and manning the physical infrastructure with qualified professionals at remote places is nonviable. To stress the importance of telehealth adoption in the country the Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) is organising a three-day conference Telemedicon’ 11 in Mumbai from November 11 to 13. TSI is completely dedicated to the promotion of telehealth in India and is being organised at a time when there is a big push from the government and private players in the field of telehealth in India.

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=61977&sid=1

www.telemedicon11.com

Nuclear deal , FDI , Inflation & Black money – You did not change India , but changed India’s image Dr. Singh !

Dear Dr.Singh,

I read the top story in the current issue of the International Magazine ‘The Economist’ , and felt sad . Whenever , people like us visit outside of India , we are questioned or pointed towards corruption in India , and believe you me , it is painful to accept such criticism for our great country ! You put us to shame !

Nuclear deal & Jaitapur Plant : Recently , Wikileaks have exposed that Nuclear deal was not even acceptable to congress MP’s but money was paid to get votes !! It calls for a review and legal action against people making mockery of the most sacred institution of our country – Parliament ! Dr. Singh , please step down , we cannot bear more international assault due to your misdeeds ! Also, that India must immediately have a rethink on the location of all the nuclear installations from a public safety point of view . Jaitaput plant in Maharashtra is in Seismic risk zone and had 92 quakes in the past 20 years . The earth quake in 1992 was measuring 6.2 on Richter scale !! It calls for a fresh consideration of the approval granted in light of the developments in Japan post the Tsunami

FDI : Last week , I read that the government is considering granting FDI in retail for metros . Please desist from implementing your flawed policies again . Do not create hype and investment around metros , it leads to lopsided development and migration . If at all you want to grant FDI , please allow it in class 3 & 4 towns first , so that the local people get employment and we can see some reverse migration of populations and the burden on metros can reduce . Frame policies where foreign retailers cannot own more than 26 % in Indian companies across board . We do not want to lose our freedom Dr. Singh ! Also , as I have always mentioned change the definition of FDI from Foreign direct investment to Finance from domestic institutions ! Encourage retailer friendly policies for locals. Britishers financially exploited India , and took our wealth . Today MNC’s ( Multinational corporations ) are acquiring flourishing Indian companies and will take the profits away ! Are not getting back to pre-1947 days ? We will be exploited financially again and forever ! We are losing freedom with every investment & acquisition ! What is the use of such independence when the financial exploitation is similar to that under the British rule ? Please come up with rules that, in any sector , investments more than 26 -40 % cannot happen . Significant majority has to be with Indians ( Resident Indians). This is in the interest of national security & maintaining independence

Inflation : I have been watching your statements for the cause of inflation . Earlier , you attributed it to recession in 2008, poor rainfall in 2009 , and now you are attributing it to money from NAREGA !! Please do not blame the poor for every thing !! When you blamed poor rainfall as a cause of inflation , people were skeptical about it . When rainfall was good in 2010 , inflation still did not go down , now you had to find another reason , and quite cleverly , yourself & Pranab have been saying that because people are getting NAREGA money so they are buying more , thereby , leading to inflation . Please do not make lame excuses Mr. Prime Minister ! You & Montek have said that we must start to live with inflation as growth and inflation are intertwined . Sorry Dr. Singh , you need to study Economics again . History has shown that high growth and low inflation is possible and has happened in Germany & China and other parts of the world. So please do not give lame excuses . The real issue with inflation is that , because of your flawed policies for rural India , the migration has become perennial , and there is a tremendous loss in productivity ( multi-dimensional loss ) and that has caused inflation . Raising interest rates would not help ever , and time will tell us this hard fact . It is difficult to find a farmer less than 30 years in age .

NAREGA In its present form is causing irreparable damage to rural India , and I do hope that the educated economists in your team and the planning commission will attend to it as top most priority

I am scared that, if God forbid , India had a famine , how are we prepared ? We know such things can happen & without any notice like the recession ,and are not prepared for any such eventuality . Please let your cricket minister work on the worst case scenario’s as well.

Black Money : Last point is about the black money . We have seen all the estimates so far , and every number is an eye popping trillion dollar amount . Please challenge my number if you can !! India spends close to 30 % of its GDP in running the government and bureaucracy every year . it is a hard fact that, every employee who takes bribe gets almost double his salary in bribes ! Now another reality is, that senior bureaucrats and politicians get disproportionately high money in bribes when it comes to comparing bribes with their salaries . So clearly , the average B-GDP ( Black GDP ) is certainly 1.5 times the 30 % of GDP that the government spends on administrative costs of running the government . So If I average out the last five years GDP at half trillion dollars a year . India would have lost One trillion dollars in black money in just last five years , and trust me , these are the most pessimistic numbers ,and so are on the lower side . Your government & Mr.Khursheed talks about corporate governance ? When political governance of the nation is a sham and people have to take out thousands of cores off the balance sheet as bribes to your cabinet ministers , how can transparency and corporate governance work in this nation ? Take the case of telecom licenses ; every telecom company paid money other than the license fee . Where did the money come from , and where did it get accounted ? Not certainly in the legitimate account books , and so the corporate governance was severely compromised . Dr. Singh , The change should start at the top . if the political governance is good , corporate governance is good , if the political governance is shady , the corporate governance can never be imagined .

Dr.Singh , the nation recalls your letter to appear before the parliamentary accounts committee . I think that is not enough . You must be interrogated by CBI and charge sheeted for leading the most corrupt government in history of India ,and perhaps the world !

Read the article below from the Economist !

A Common Man

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

www.rajendragupta.wordpress.com

Article from the latest issue of The Economist

Corruption in India

A rotten state

Graft is becoming a bigger problem—and the government should tackle it

Mar 10th 2011 | from the print edition

INDIANS’ anger over rising corruption has reached feverish levels. What people are calling a “season of scams” includes the alleged theft of billions by officials behind last year’s Commonwealth games in Delhi; $40 billion in revenues lost from the crooked sale of 2G telecoms licenses; and over $40 billion stolen in Uttar Pradesh alone from schemes subsidising food and fuel for the poor. Foreign businessmen, who have slashed investment over the past year, rank graft as their biggest headache behind appalling infrastructure. Now India’s anti-corruption chief has been forced out over, well, corruption (see article).

Graft is hardly new in India: the Bofors scandal brought down the government in 1989. But there seems to be more of it about than ever, if only because India is getting richer fast, and the faster the economy grows, the more chances arise for mind-boggling theft. The government says that in the next five-year plan period, which starts next year, $1 trillion will be spent on roads, railways, ports and so on, with billions more on re-equipping the armed forces and welfare. Add in an insatiable appetite for scarce land, water and minerals and a monsoon of bribes is forecast.

Some are inclined to shrug their shoulders. After all, corruption does not seem to be stopping India from growing. Yet imagine how much better the country would be doing without it. Corruption raises costs not just to Indians, but also to the foreigners whose capital India needs. Thanks in part to those scandals, India’s stockmarket was the worst-performing outside the Muslim world over the past year.

To its credit, the government has begun to take action against powerful individuals. Maharashtra state’s chief minister was forced out over a property scandal. Police have quizzed Suresh Kalmadi, the politician who ran the Commonwealth games. Most strikingly, Andimuthu Raja, the cabinet minister who oversaw the 2G telecom licences, was arrested.

A 2005 act giving the right to information is welcome, as are auctions for public goods, such as last year’s lucrative sale of the 3G telecom spectrum. Technology is helping. In some states, bids for state contracts are being run online, allowing anti-corruption bodies to monitor them. Gujarat does this for all contracts over 500,000 rupees ($11,000). It also puts land records and death certificates online, cutting down on one form of petty graft. Websites, led by ipaidabribe.com, reveal the cost of graft by publicising the sums demanded for everything from registering a baby to fixing a broken water supply.

The central government should now implement a plan for a universal, computerised ID scheme. It would allow welfare payments to be paid into individuals’ bank accounts, hindering theft by state workers.

The licence Raj lives on Most of all, India must redouble its efforts to liberalise. The state could outsource official tasks, cut red tape and sell wasteful and corrupt state-owned firms (why does the government make watches?). For all that the “licence Raj” was supposedly scrapped two decades ago, it can still take nearly 200 days to get a construction permit and seven years to close a business. Regulations are not, by and large, deterrents to corruption, but a source of it.

Inaugural Speech delivered by Rajendra Pratap Gupta on March 14th 2011, at ‘Spardha’ – A national level event organized by VAMNICOM , Pune, for students of Management & Agricultural institutes across India

Good Morning friends !

I feel honoured to be here and am thankful to my friend, Dr.Yash Patil and the Director, Dr.Reddy, for giving me an opportunity to be a part of your National event, ‘Spardha’ .

Whenever I address students – the young , energetic and vibrant crowd , I am quite convinced that India will change . You are all full of great energy and ideas, but sadly , at present , India does not offer you a readymade & attractive platform due to our inefficient leaders at the helm of affairs and corrupt bureaucracy who are eating away the money and opportunities meant for the common man . But I see that the winds of change are on the horizon , and I believe that each one of you will push India ahead ; to set a new bench mark for the world in all spheres.

Today , India stands at a very critical juncture , and institutes like VAMNICOM hold the key for either India’s meteoric rise or a gradual fall !!

I was going through your chairman, Dr.Chandra Pal Singh Yadav’s message , and I was impressed with his views that we need to support farmers ,workers and weaker sections of the society for the development of this country. I believe that the education imparted via VAMINICOM aims to deliver that goal . This is exactly what India needs today .

It is an ironical fact that IIM’s and IIT’s have lost direction and failed to deliver the mission with which they had started with. Today, IIT’s & IIM’s are about fat packages from MNC’s . In fact , they have become subservient to MNC’s packages and are doing little for this country’s betterment . In these times , we want you all to pass out of VAMNICON and set goals that will re-define the future of this great nation.

Let me put things in a little perspective so that you do not have illusions in future when you move out of the campus. I believe that you will pass out this year or next year, depending if you are in 1st year or the final year. Some of you will get back to their family business , some will seek jobs and some will become entrepreneurs . No matter which path you take , the formula for success would remain the same . So let’s understand the realities of professional life :

Each one of you needs to have two goals in mind – Urgent ( short term ) & Important (Long term )goals . ‘Urgent’ is about the present i.e. your studies, to clear the exams with good marks . ‘Important’ is about future . What are you going to do after passing out from VAMNICON ? Don’t ever commit the mistake that President Obama did ! When President Obama started his election campaign, he talked about healthcare reforms & the Wall Street reforms. By the time he became the President , things had changed, but he still focused all his energies on the ‘Urgent’ & forgot the ‘Important’; that the market conditions had changed and there was a deep recession . People were losing the jobs every hour . President Obama still kept working on his ‘Urgent’ agenda,not realizing that the conditions had changed . He accomplished Healthcare reforms & Wall Street reforms !! Mid-term elections came in for the congress . President Obama had missed out addressing the Important , and so he lost to the Republicans in 2010, and finally , he is fighting to save the essence of the bills that he had passed on healthcare & Wall Street . The point is, never loose sight of the changed circumstances and keep focusing on both the urgent & the important . Else , you will have to compromise to survive . We are living in a very dynamic and an ultra -volatile world .

We live in a material world :. Don’t try to kill your desires. Reality in life is that people worship knowledge, position, influence & money. So you need to have each of them if you want to be successful. You must aim to be debt free by the age of 40 and, have a house , vehicle and savings good enough to last you without working for a year or two. It is extremely important to draw a line as to how much is much ? If you do not have those boundaries, you are bound to get into the mad rush for making money without realizing where to stop ! This is what our current politicians are doing . They lack moral boundaries, and they go for more and more and do not stop before nature pulls the carpet under their feet !!

Getting settled in life : How many of you want to get settled in life soon? Well let me quote you an interaction with one of my dear friends – Shiv Khera . He is the biggest motivational Guru in India . Sometime in 2009, we were coming out of The Grand Hyatt hotel , and he was discussing with me about the new path he had undertaken that required tough decisions . So I asked him ‘Shiv , can you leave your book writing and speeches and join politics full time ? To which , he immediately replied ‘ I am not yet settled’ . Imagine , if a person who is the highest paid speaker and the best motivational writer, is not settled , how will people like you and me be settled ? So it is wrong to assume that we ever get settled in life . Life is about facing constant challenges. Have you ever seen an ECG ? If ECG comes out as a straight line , the patient is dead !

You cannot have a long ride without a puncture : While all of you will do well in life , but you can never drive a vehicle always in the fifth gear . Long rides cannot be without a puncture . Some time , you will feel that you weren’t wrong but still you were punished . Never mind , even Gods were punished without fault ! Lord Ram & Lord Christ were punished for no fault of theirs . But do fight back for what is right !!

Keep reading books and newspapers to update yourself on the global and national scene & across sectors . If five friends came together , you could buy one book each and read five books . Form a habit to read at least two news papers a day . But learn to appreciate the difference between education , knowledge and wisdom . A highly educated person might not necessarily be a wise person .

Stay Fit : As you move up the corporate ladder , you will need to be mentally fit and physically active . Devote 5 % of your daily time for yoga , mediation and gym Working is important but so is networking . How many of you are on facebook , Orkut or twitter ? How many of you are on a professional networking group ? Professional networking groups are a powerful professional tool for career progression . Please do not ignore them .

Always look for new ideas & not become copy cats : I was heading a large retail chain as a COO, and every time in the review meetings , I would solve the operational problems with a new approach . Once , my team member asked me , ‘Sir, every time you come out with something new , but one day you will run out of ideas , then what will you do ? I asked him “Since how many years river Ganges is coming out from Gangotri ? . He replied ‘ Since ages’. I asked him again ‘has it stopped ?’ . He replied ‘never’. He got the answer . That there is no limit to new ideas . While you are working in an organization , ensure that your work & experience profile changes every 2-3 years . Else , you would be like a truck driver with 20 years of experience. Remember that a truck driver faces the same road conditions every year . So his actual experience is just one year !!

You are amongst the five % Indians that are graduates . So you are also responsible for the remaining 95 %……… Let me ask you a question ? I know of a family where 56 % of the income goes in paying loans , 30 % of the income goes in running the household and another 10 % is miscellaneous expenditure , and only 4 % is invested to increase the income or to create assets . How would you rate such a family? Well to do, not good not bad or in a serious financial crisis ? So here are the facts about Indian economy : 55.9 % of the GDP goes into servicing the debt, approximately 30 % is the cost of running the government and bureaucracy, 2.5 % goes to subsidies , 2.6 % goes to defense . One fact is clear that only about 4 % of the GDP is going towards asset creation or wealth creation in this country . This is a very serious issue facing the nation.

How will the country be prosperous which spends about 96 % of its income with no wealth creation strategies & adds 17 million people to its population every year !!

If our country borrows Rs.80 lac a minute how will its citizens be prosperous ? Similarly, If the 99 % of the system is corrupt , you & your family members and even your next generation will certainly be harassed unless the system gets changed ?

Let me ask you another question. If you were earning handsomely after working hard, how many of you would share your monthly income with you neighbours or servants after paying your taxes ? We keep hearing that the fruits of growth has not reached the masses.

Common man will not reap the fruits of India’s prosperity unless he is the one driving it !! Why should someone share the earnings of his hard work with someone who hasn’t ? This is where each one of you can make a real difference . Agriculture continues to employ 65 % of its population and contributes just 17.2 % of the GDP. There is so much to be done but none at the policy maker level knows what to do ?

A few weeks back I was with the policy advisor of Rahul Gandhi , and we were discussing about how we could transform rural India . He informed me that he was advising Rahul to create 600 new districts at a cost of USD 1 billion each to transform India, but he could not convince me as to how 600 new districts transform the population’s standard of living ? After an hour of discussion , he admitted that the future of the villages was doomed ? Should we let this to happen ? We know the problem , lets take the challenge to change the fate of these ‘doomed’ villages . Each one of you can contribute effectively . We know that the government might not have the right answers but we must not just find solutions but also go ahead and implement them.

Rural India can transform if we understand that the basic requirement for such a transformation is having ‘transactions’ in rural India . The good thing about money is that whenever it changes hands , the hand becomes heavier ! I request you to think of creating business models that can utilize the local inputs and create products and services that leads to more transactions for rural India . Co-operatives & SHG’s ( Self Help Groups) are central to rural India’s transformation. Think about the 1.55 lac post offices , 2.38 lac gram panchayats and millions of kirana stores . Can we not create rural millionaires out of 700 million rural Indians ? We need micro-preneurs & agri-preneurs, if we want to change the rural landscape . Due to uncertainty of variable factors and no clear political vision for the prosperity for rural India , people do not want to remain in agriculture any more . If they get a job they keep moving and are selling their land. Because of the haphazard developmental policies , land and employment under agriculture is decreasing . In the western world, people are migrating to rural areas for better quality of life and in India , it is just the opposite, as Indians are migrating to urban areas. God forbid, if India ever faced a famine or severe draught , what will happen to a billion people ? Have we planned for it ? Can we guarantee it will never happen ?? We have not been able to tackle inflation even ??

A day before yesterday , I read that government wants to open the FDI in retail for metros and we have heard in the past that ‘Mumbai is being made Shanghai’ . So if we are creating hype and investing in metros , why should people not migrate ? We must create more ‘Mumbai’s in India rather than trying to create ‘Shanghai’ in Mumbai . Government has always said that opening up the FDI in retail will improve the supply chain. But we know that FDI in supply chain is already permitted . So we know that this is a wrong reason to justify FDI in retail.

Most of our growth is inspired due to the growth in China. India woke up for growth when China started growing at 10 + % per year with a much larger population . The current growth in India is about GDP and sensex . India’s growth is only applicable & benefits people who read The Economic Times . Such a growth has no strong fundamentals .

The government has allocated Rs,500 crore for skills development programme, and Rs. 40000.00 crore in NAREGA . This is, when we are facing acute shortage of trained man power in every sector at every level ! If a few thousand crore was invested in skills development for rural India , it would create a lasting value for the rural people and the economy

Wastage of agriculture produce due to lack of proper infrastructure is to the tune of Rs.30000.00 per year . Can we address this issue ? Some of you go and start a daily transportation service that carries the farm produce to the nearest town for sale . Imagine the value addition it would bring to the farmers ? You charge them a fixed percentage of sale ?? All will make money in the process and Agriculture will be lucrative for farmers – something that is missing today .

Can some of you go and set up low cost rural cold chain facilities for rural India Can some of you set up international technical collaborations for enhancing the quality and quantity of farm produce India has the largest number of cattle but not milk products . Can some of you create more Amul’s & Warna’s in India ?

India is the largest producer of milk in the world but not the top most exporter !! India is endowed with livestock resources of vast genetic diversity and accounts for about 11 percent of the world livestock population. The country boasts of 55 per cent of the world buffalo population, 20 per cent of the goat population and 16 per cent of the cattle population in the world. India has the largest cattle and buffalo population in the world and holds the second rank with respect to goat and sheep world population. Some of you could take food processing techniques to rural India

Kiwi fruit is sold at Rs. 25 a piece and it is given to pigs in Manipur as the road infrastructure is so bad that the fruits are unfit for consumption by the time they reach the markets . Some of you develop technologies to save such a wastage

Healthcare reaches only 24 % of rural India . Some of you could create a viable rural healthcare delivery model .Some of you should go and set up telemedicine centres across rural India

Some of you could maybe set up veterinary care centres ?

Kirana stores in rural India are still lagging behind . Some of you can start a rural Kirana store chain

Can some of you go and set up SHG’s in different states in India and empower them to form a national level marketing channel for rural India Opportunities are countless , just go and execute .

Let me tell you that Indian system is very good but manned by wrong people , and so public has lost trust .

Despite all the odds , everywhere in India, I see so much opportunities to work on , and it is a great boon to be born in India . It is how you take it . I believe that each one of you will have a lot to accomplish in life , and am sure that this institution will equip you with the right tools to handle the opportunities that will come your way

I wish you all the best and hope to see you again

Rajendra

Elections in Tamil Nadu- AIIDMK Vs DMK

Yesterday I was in Chennai and discussed with some people about the scenario in the April elections for the state assembly

I was informed that the 2 G money is already showing up , and last week only DMK distributed sarees and stainless steel jar to all the residents of kovilambakkam. Each vote is likely to cost Rs.2000 to 3000 only !!

When I asked a few people ( professionals who work in different companies that , ‘ Why you all do not oppose such things ? I was told that DMK has hooligans in their cadres, and opposing DMK means inviting the wrath of these cadres and creating problems for our families !! So it is better we take the freebies & cash and vote them back

Further , these people said that DMK needs congress desperately , as if Congress is unhappy , DMK will invite action from congress for its illegal activities and black money. If congress is with DMK , State is already under its control and now centre will be blind to all the wrongs that DMK does – It is a win-win for both DMK –Congress . We know the kind of people congress works with and the thing congress supports !! DMK is widely referred as Daily Making Money for Karunanidhi – DMK

Also, a few weeks ago, I was speaking with a grass root worker from Tamil Nadu , and he informed that DMK has approached a lot of AIIDMK leaders and offered them cash as high as 50 cores and got them to work in AIIDMK and transfer their votes to DMK !! Shrewd & crafty congress allies !!

So , finally , we know what is going to be used in the state elections in Tamil Nadu & what will be the outcome on April 13. Only Almighty can intervene & swing things differently !!

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

www.rajendragupta.wordpress.com

Tax till death ! Repeal tax on healthcare – Now Treatment would be worse than disease !!

Shri Nitin Gadkari

President

Bharatiya Janata Party

Dear Nitin ji,

Namaskaar. Trust this finds you doing good.

I am deeply pained by the latest slap by the congress government on the common man’s face . This government has not taxed the corporate world in this budget – on the contrary , there have been some reductions !! But the poor man has been taxed – “Now Treatment would be worse than disease”, as I call it

This appeal is regarding the tax that the government has recently levied on the poor man’s pocket . If he earlier spent Rs.100 on healthcare , now he will be forced to spend between Rs.105 & 110 . Last week only , I returned from my visit to rural Varanasi . I also visited a CT scan centre , where people are provided CT Scan services at almost 50 % of the market rates , still , people cannot afford to pay and go back without treatment . I have a presentation that I made at the Institute of medical sciences , BHU, You can see that :

“ Any major medical intervention pushes a rural family back by 10 years and a death resulting due to such an illness pushes the family back by 30 years !! ”

39 Million people go below the poverty line every year due to healthcare costs
In 2004 , 30 % of rural Indians did not go for treatment due to financial reasons, up from 15 % in 1995
47 % of hospital admissions in rural & 31 % in urban India was financed by loans and sale of assets
Between 1986 and 2004,avg real expenditure per hospital admission increased 3 times

According to the Economic Survey 2009-10

13 % of rural population have access to PHC
33 % of rural population have access to sub-center
9.6 % of rural population have access to hospitals
28.3 % of rural population have access to a dispensary or clinics
34 % of rural population have access to diagnostic centers (According to CCF)
Only 24 % of rural areas have access to healthcare facilities

What a shameful act of our tax minister , Pranab Mukherjee !! I am putting some of the slides from my Keynote address at India health expansion Summit in 2010. I am also attaching a short version of the presentation ( and the complete one , if you have time to read it ). I am sure that healthcare needs more focus from our policy makers .

Healthcare policy makers have to ensure that the changes are ‘Patient centric’ and not just ‘industry centric’

Industry is organized but Patients are not , and so patients are never heard . This needs to change . Patient Care Collaborative Organization is non-existent . This is one major detriment for worthwhile changes in the Indian Healthcare

– Rajendra Pratap Gupta

“In a country where our current PM had a triple bypass , former PM had a Joint replacement , Agriculture minister has cancer , Chairman- PSC on Health had a Kidney transplant ,Former Defense minister has Alzheimer’s & one of our youngest M.P. has diabetes & Majority of our politician’s are senior citizens by all measures : still our finance minister decides to bring Preventive health checks under service tax !!’

-Rajendra Pratap Gupta

Biggest Challenge in healthcare is not technology, medical errors, compliance , prevention or disease management . They are all just opportunities coming out because of us failing to address the biggest challenge ; to convert ‘suffering populations’ into ‘active patients’

-Rajendra Pratap Gupta

“ 700 million people live below 2 dollars a day , and for them getting two meals in a day is a daily priority . Irony is that, for these people healthcare should be a necessity but it is luxury beyond thoughts”

-Rajendra Pratap Gupta

All the announcements on the taxes on pharmaceuticals and healthcare ( in any form ) must be reversed . This government is already spending meagre amount on healthcare. People are taking loans to spend for treatment and this rapacious government has no right to dissuade people from doing so by taxing the already expensive healthcare services.

I expect BJP to take this up as seriously as the demand for JPC and get this taxes scrapped from the budget

Thanks in advance for safe guarding the Common Man. This mail is marked to national leaders and media

with best regards

Rajendra

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

President & Director

Disease Management Association of India ( www.dmai.org.in )

Unhealthy Promotions- Banning toys with food products meant for Children

February 21, 2011.

Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad

Minister of Health & Family Welfare

Nirmal Bhawan, New Delhi – 110108

Subject: For Immediate action-banning of toys given as free gifts with food products & drinks, & framing guidelines on Child Health & Preventive care

Hon’ble Minister,

I am writing this important petition on behalf of the Disease Management Association of India – DMAI; The Population Health Improvement Alliance. DMAI is founded by global healthcare leaders to help improve the population health in India by focusing on the entire continuum of care.

In November 2010, during my visit to the US , I was with Senator Tom Daschle ( Senator Tom was nominated as Health & Human Services Secretary by President Obama , which he declined, and is often referred to as a senior Advisor & Mentor to President Obama). During the discussion, he asked me; how is India a better bet than China? I told him that, in the next three decades, while India will have majority of working age population, China will have one working person and three retired persons. This should put China in serious productivity issue!! India is the youngest nation today, with an average age of approximately 25.9 years, and this is often referred as a ‘demographic dividend’.

While statistically, India is having a tremendous demographic dividend , if we do not attend to the ‘ Child Health’ as a top priority , our demographic dividend will become a ‘Demographic Disaster’, as our working population would be ‘Unhealthy’ and thus drastically impact the productivity of the nation . This is the biggest hurdle for India to attend, if we need to overtake China in the long-term for being a developed & a vibrant economy

For Immediate action: Media has proliferated & children have dedicated channels on TV.They watch T.V. , which is flooded with animated cartoons & other Sci-fi serials, and children get fancied with such shows. The companies have started giving the characters associated with these shows as free gifts to entice the children to buy their food products and drinks. So children force their parents to buy the foods stuff or drinks just for the sake of these ‘Freebies’ , and they also consume these products, so that the parents do not scold them for spending so much on these food items !! Due to this, our children are fast becoming obese & unhealthy!! Just for the sake of an example , I am quoting my son who buys Mc Donald’s ‘Happy Meal’ just for the sake of getting the toy that comes free with it & I can see that he is least interested in the meal , but then he consumes the ‘Burger’ , and ‘Cold Drinks’ that comes with the ‘Happy Meals’ to ensure that next time he gets a chance to buy the Happy Meal from Mc Donald again and most importantly , get the free toy . He already weighs 40 KG at the age of 7 years. Luckily, he has joined the Gym with me. But imagine, the severely ‘Obese’ children that are a result of such ‘Unhealthy’ Promotions with food products meant for children. I have just quoted Mc Donald for the sake of example, but we have most of the companies selling ‘Unhealthy foods’ with promotions aimed at enticing children, playing for their ignorance and their intense desire for playing with toys!

Through this note, I call upon the policy makers to ban such toys and also the advertisements related to such promotions in national media with immediate effect. I also call upon the ‘responsible’ companies to sell & market their products for ‘nutritional value’ and not on ‘Unhealthy promotions’ or ‘Freebies’.

Also, the MOHFW should come up with “hand book on Preventive Healthcare for Children” below 12 years If we fail to take immediate and strict action now, our future generations will grow up to curse this generation for inaction, and the nation will be burdened by poor productivity and high healthcare costs with no signs of health ! It is a call to action . I do look forward to prompt action on the same from all the concerned.

If the policy makers fail to take action, DMAI will initiate a nation-wide campaign for such ‘unhealthy promotions’.

With best regards

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

CC.

Sonia Gandhi ,Rahul Gandhi , Dr.Manmohan Singh , Dr.Murli Mahohar Joshi , Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad Min, for information & Broad Casting, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Dr.Syeda Hameed, Shri L.K.Advani , Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Shri Dinesh Trivedi , Sitaram Yechury , Members of Parliament , Sam Pitroda , Secy, Health & Family Welfare, GOI , Dr. K. Srinath Reddy , Chief Minister’s of States, Media

Corruption mera Karma aur Coalition mera Dharma

Dear Manmohan ji,

The common man is really frustrated with your ‘blame game’ approach in the recent press conference . When you became the PM, we had hoped that an economics Professor who had been educated in the best of institutions in India and abroad , could impress upon the people in his party and change the governance of the nation without compromise. But , by staying silent on all the unethical activities in the congress , not only you denigrated the national institutions , you lowered the stature of the Prime Minster’s post & eroded the trust of the common man .

In the press conference , you said that, ‘let’s not just focus on scams as that lowers the image of the nation’. I wish to point Dr.Singh that, not just the image but also the financial health of the nation has been affected due to your being a patron of corruption !!

You have clearly conveyed that ‘ Corruption is your Karma & Coalition is your Dharma’. While it is known that you had some good qualities like knowledge , honesty etc , but you did not exercise those qualities , so in a sense , you became a greedy professor wanting to just stick to the Chair of the PM .

I am wondering how come Pranab Mukherjee was not questioned in this scam when he is the finance minister ? Is he just responsible for collecting taxes and not about the financial loss to the nation ? He must also follow Raja in Tihar . No one is above law ! Also, If you have the guts , please question Mukesh Ambani . He is the one who routed international calls as local calls and committed a criminal offence. What has your government done ? The Telecom co’s CEO going to CBI office and having coffee & lunch does not impress the common man. We know that these visits might be a ‘eyewash’ for the common man at the behest of congress party, and the common man is made to believe that your government is acting on corruption . Do not put off the JPC demand quoting these arrests .Suresh Kalmadi is still enjoying the dollars made in CWG !! Why he is he not in Tihar ?

Dr.Singh , every one in India is talking about the black money in Swiss banks , Dr.Singh , India has more black money than all the Swiss banks combined ! Why Pranab Dada does not start taxing expenditure rather than taxing income !! Every government officer is directly or indirectly involved in bribery , every business is into tax evasion , every builder takes a portion of the cost as black money , every minister fights election on black money . Still you think that only Swiss banks have India’s black money ? Swiss banks , I believe would only have 10-15 % of the black money , rest is still in India , and may be, some money might be in middle eastern countries .

Please change your tax system. If you tax one’s income , he might not disclose it , but at the end, the money is used to purchase something , so go and tax expenditure , the government will collect more taxes , and we would be happy paying taxes on expenditure !!

Now back to my question of your moral flexibility to run the government .

Why have you tied up with DMK in a poll bound Tamilnadu ??

Why has the CBI let off Mulayam in the disproportionate assets case ?

Is this a part of Sonia’s five pronged approach to fight corruption ???

Rahul : Where is your clean up of the party going ? Are you cleaning up the honest people by such tie ups ? What about your call to go alone in polls ? While I was at 10 Janpath with you a few months ago , a first generation leader whom you inducted in your party had met up with myself , and he told me that you are just getting educated people in the party . So all new congress leaders have started enrolling in MBA !!. Finally , this call for educated leaders is leading to elite with money bags joining youth congress. You are totally disconnected from the reality on ground !! By the way , Gandhi’s are always disconnected with reality . Nothing new !!

Dr.Singh , by asking Supreme court to directly monitor the probe, you have shown that you have no interest to act on your own or you do not trust that you will do a good job in the case ! We all know why retired supreme court judges get plum posting !! So if nothing comes out of these so called ‘Blame Free investigations’ ( Which we know will happen ) , you will shed off your load saying that you had asked the top most court to direct the probe and that you are like ‘Ceaser’s Wife’ etc etc………………….. and you cannot be blamed for the culprits being acquitted !!

When you constitute the JPC , please also mandate it to come out with an action plan that can

a) Investigate the wealth creation formula of the ex Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan .

b) Bring back the black money and put the people behind the black money in Jail

c) Recover the loot of public money by people like Lalu , Maya & other leaders like Sharad Pawar etc.

d) Take action for CWG loot

e) Investigate on all massive loot cases happening in the nation

f) Frame up laws and set up a system say a CIA ( Central Corruption Investigating agency ), which can take suo moto action against any one ( Even the President of India ) , should the need arise without going through any approval , and this institution must report to the supreme body – Legislature every six months . This body should be adequately equipped with resources ( legal, financial and human resources ) to decisively act against corruption , and all top level appointments must be made by a body consisting of the P.M. , CJI , CVC & Opposition leader .

I also want you to ask CBI to investigate if Apollo Hospitals Group paid money to A.Raja. I was told by none other than the brother-in-law of A.Raja that Apollo had paid Rs.700.00 crore to Raja

I am also quite surprised that you have quoted that you will not quit the post of PM. It is the height of being shameless

Dr.Singh , history will paint you as Mohammaed-Bin-Tuglaq- A knowledgeable and wise king who caused lot of misery and pain to his people

If you do not shape up, wait for 2014, and the common man will throw the congress government and return results like Bihar

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

A Common Man

http://www.rajendragupta.wordpress.com

NRHM & Jan Aushadhi Scheme review by Parliamentary Accounts Committee ( PAC)

February 14th , 2011.

Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi

M.P.( Lok Sabha )

Chairman ,

Public Accounts Committee

Government of India

6, Raisena Road

New Delhi 110001

Reference : National Rural Health Mission ( Ministry of Health & Family Welfare ) & Jan Aushadhi Stores ( Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers )

Dear Dr.Joshi,

Namaskaar,

This has reference to our meeting on 9^th February 2011 at your residence in Delhi , and our discussions regarding NRHM & its review by the PAC . I have gone through the entire NRHM set up and even visited various centres and sub centres operated under NRHM in different parts of the country . I believe that, you must reconsider your views on recommending the scrapping of NRHM, as NRHM has definitely made an impact on the lives of the rural population . Though, NRHM needs some radical operational changes , but as a program , it is impactful. Please find my recommendations to the Planning Commission on the changes needed in NRHM for the 12^th five year plan . Planning commission had asked me for inputs on the same , and I am sure that the MOHFW might be working on the changes as well . Rest we will discuss when you invite me to dispose before the PAC as an healthcare expert for NRHM & other schemes of MOHFW.

Jan Aushadhi Stores ( under ministry of chemicals & fertilizers ) : In fact , this scheme is poorly planned and badly executed . You must recommend scrapping of the Jan Aushadi stores scheme with immediate effect . This is a blatant misuse of public money . Whereas , the idea of generic stores is great , but this scheme has been a failure so far , and I do not foresee this scheme taking off . In the current form , Jan Ausahdi is a scam in the making !!

If you are still to review the Jan Aushadhi stores under the PAC , I would be happy to despose based on my hands on experience with pharmacy chains and the ground reality with Jan Aushadi stores

I am sure that you will certainly consider these inputs and revert in case you need more information . Also , Dr.Joshi , I am travelling to your constituency in March 1^st week to deliver a lecture at the Institute of Medical Sciences , BHU on NRHM , and If you are in Varanasi , would be glad to meet up.

With best regards

Rajendra

Rajendra Pratap Gupta

President & Director

Disease Management Association of India ( www.dmai.org.in )

Worst Prime Minister India has ever had & the worst President Congress ever had

A few days ago , the Prime Minister defended that, during the appointment of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC ), he was not aware of any charge-sheet against him , this is despite the fact that, Sushma Swaraj clearly raised an objection to the appointment of Mr.Thomas as CVC based on the charge-sheet.

Now ISRO says, that it had kept the cabinet in dark on the deal with Devas. This office is with the Prime Minister . I am sure that all of us realize by now that , this Prime Minister is no more than a rubber stamp of Sonia , who has no inclination to go into facts and take action . In fact, this is the worst Prime Minister India has ever had , and Sonia is the worst President Congress had ever had .

Sonia is Queen of Corruption and mother of all scams & Manmohan is a lame duck PM

Both must resign and go

Rajendra Pratap Gupta
www.rajendragupta.wordpress.com

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