Ayush Dr. Perform Sonography; Radiology

AYUSH Council Proposes Govt to allow Ayurveda Practitioners Perform Sonography; Radiologists see RED

Mumbai According to recent media reports, that the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) under the ambit of AYUSH Ministry proposed proposed this amendment to the Preconception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 in order to allow Ayurveda practitioners perform sonography and imaging tests which was sent to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry on September 19 for perusal. Confirmation to this effect was made by Dr Vanitha R, CCIM national president to Hindustan Times

“The 11 executive committee members had a detailed discussion in this regard on August 27 and we have chalked out our proposal.” said Dr Vanitha. “The amendment would be most beneficial to rural patients where there is a dearth of doctors and where Ayurvedic doctors practice in large numbers,” she added Dr Kuldeep Kohli, Director, AYUSH, Maharashtra chapter justified the proposal adding that it would benefit patients in rural areas,, “Given the dearth of radiologists and sonologists in India, more than 50% machines are being shut down in the country due to misuse. It is important that doctors from other branches of medicine forms are given permission to practice radiology and sonology. Allowing Ayush doctors to perform sonography under amended PCPNDT Act would be a revolutionary step,” he said. While the AYUSH practitioners have lent full support to the clause, radiologists are seeing red with the proposal The Maharashtra State Branch of Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (MSBIRIA) have decided to move to the Bombay High Court while condemning the proposal. Dr Sandeep Kawthale, President, MSBIRIA told , “The amendments proposed by the Council are extremely absurd. They are firstly Ayurveda doctors and belong to an altogether different stream of medicine. We fail to understand on what basis they have proposed such amendments.” HT Qualified radiologists are allowed to perform or open a radiology or sonography centre only after securing an MBBS and MD degrees or a two years diploma in radiology, he noted informing that the council has proposed six months training in imaging and radiology after MD in Ayurveda. “How six months training could be adequate?” he wondered. Accepting the amendments could prove extremely dangerous to public health, the MSBIRIA’s President added

act 497

Adultery law case: Supreme Court strikes down Section 497 of IPC; CJI says 'husband is not the master'

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the adultery law, pertaining to Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 198 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), as unconstitutional through a unanimous judgement.

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra read out the judgment on behalf of himself and Justice AM Khanwilkar. "Thinking of adultery as a criminal offence is a retrograde step," the CJI said in court. Mere adultery can't be a crime unless it attracts the scope of Section 306 (abatement to suicide) of the IPC, the CJI held.

"Adultery might not be the cause of an unhappy marriage, it could be the result of an unhappy marriage," Misra said as he read out his judgment that declared Section 497 as arbitrary.

The CJI stated before the apex court that adultery as an act is not criminal in China, Japan and in many other western countries and remarked that it "dents the individuality of a woman". "In case of adultery, the criminal law expects people to be loyal which is a command which gets into the realm of privacy," the CJI stated. Coming to the Indian Constitution and the protection it guarantees, the CJI said, that the beauty of our Constitution is that it includes "I, me and you". Thus, as the adultery law violated Article 14 15(1) and 21 of the Constitution and offends the dignity of a woman, it was declared as manifestly arbitrary by the CJI. "A woman cannot be asked to think how a man or society desires. Her husband is not her master and servitude of one sex is unconstitutional," the CJI noted in his judgment.

File photo of the Supreme Court of India. Reuters

Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman also concurred with the CJI and Khanwilkar's judgment and termed the archaic law as unconstitutional. "Ancient notions of a man being perpetrator and woman being a victim no longer holds good," Nariman said in the top court.

Interestingly, Misra stated that he relied heavily on the triple talaq judgment by Nariman to come to his judgment on the case. The CJI also said that mere adultery cannot be a crime, but if any aggrieved spouse commits suicide because of life partner's adulterous relation, then if the evidence is produced, it could be treated as an abetment to suicide.

"Section 497 is based on a notion that a woman loses her agency upon marriage. Human sexuality is an essential aspect of the identity of an individual. The current law deprives a woman of her agency as it is founded on the notion that a woman, on entering marriage, loses her voice and agency," the CJI noted. He also spoke of how the Constitution enshrines the golden triangle of fundamental rights and judicial sensitivity is needed in this regard. Thus, the court ruled that adultery can be a ground for civil issues including dissolution of marriage, ie divorce, but it cannot be a criminal offence. Justice DY Chandrachud also concurred with the other judges on this and said that "Section 497 deprives a woman of agency and autonomy and dignity... Autonomy is intrinsic in dignified human existence and Section 497 denuded the woman from making choices," he said.

Justice Indu Malhotra also maintained that, "Adultery could be a moral wrong towards spouse and family but the question is whether it should be a criminal offence?", leading to a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court scrapping the adultery law.

A five-judge constitutional bench headed by the Misra on 8 August had reserved its verdict after Additional Solicitor-General Pinky Anand, appearing for the Centre, concluded her arguments.

The hearing in the case by the bench, that also comprised Nariman, Khanwilkar, Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra, went on for six days, having commenced on 1 August.

The Centre had favoured retention of a penal law on adultery, saying that it is a public wrong that causes mental and physical injury to the spouse, children and the family. "It is an action willingly and knowingly done with the knowledge that it would hurt the spouse, the children and the family. Such intentional action which impinges on the sanctity of marriage and sexual fidelity encompassed in marriage, which forms the backbone of the Indian society, has been classified and defined by the Indian State as a criminal offence in an exercise of its constitutional powers," the Centre had said.

Section 497 of the 158-year-old Indian Penal Code (IPC) says: "Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery."

On 5 January, the apex court had referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the plea challenging the validity of the penal law on adultery. The court had taken a prima facie view that though the criminal law proceeded on "gender neutrality", the concept was absent in Section 497.

With inputs from PTI and Bar and Bench

Updated Date: Sep 27, 2018 20:00 PM

Doctor & Diagnosis

Many doctors in India miss tuberculosis signs: Study

Health

Updated Sep 26, 2018 | 18:53 IST | PTI

The most common mistake, according to Tuesday's study, is that doctors simply do not order the tests necessary to make a diagnosis, such as testing lung fluid or a chest x-ray.

Representational Image  |  Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Washington: Many private sector doctors in India miss the signs of tuberculosis and therefore provide patients inadequate treatment, according to a new study involving people hired to act out the symptoms. Tuberculosis or TB, an airborne infection, remains a major public health issue in India, China and Indonesia, among other countries. It killed 1.7 million people in 2017, according to the World Health Organization, and a global health summit will be held at the United Nations on Wednesday to raise funds to eradicate the disease.

But the primary care physicians who see patients when they start coughing are the weak link in the fight against the pandemic - at least in the two cities where the study took place, the metropolis of Mumbai and eastern Patna. The experiment was financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by a team of researchers from McGill University, the World Bank and Johns Hopkins University. The results were published in PLOS Medicine. It took place across 10 months between 2014 and 2015. Twenty-four "simulated patients" went to 1,288 private sector doctors, presenting symptoms ranging from a simple cough to a cough presented as a possible relapse.

In 65 percent of interactions, medical practitioners - which includes both qualified doctors, unqualified ones and those who practice traditional medicine - responded in a manner inconsistent with Indian and international standards of care. In some cases where a doctor suspected a problem linked to air pollution, they prescribed an antibiotic or syrup and asked the patient to return a few weeks later. Doctors with formal medical training, particular in Mumbai, did slightly better, offering the correct course of treatment in roughly half of the cases, according to the results.

Doctors without formal training, who are very common in rural zones, are doing worse, as are those who provide traditional medicine including ayurveda, unani, and Siddha medicine, collectively known as "ayush." Jishnu Das, a World Bank economist, explained that the problem wasn't so much that doctors were following one alternate treatment course as much as just doing "everything you can find." "Some guy is giving antibiotics and fluoroquinolone, somebody else is giving steroids and fluoroquinolone, somebody else is giving cough syrup and antibiotics," Das said, explaining that such haphazard methods can harm patients, not to mention boost antibiotic resistance.

By 2040, 12.4 percent of TB cases in India will be multidrug-resistant strains, said one study published in 2017 in the medical journal The Lancet, especially as medications like antibiotics are easy to buy without a prescription there. The most common mistake, according to Tuesday's study, is that doctors simply do not order the tests necessary to make a diagnosis, such as testing lung fluid or a chest x-ray.

"Doctors are actually doing too little," said Das. "They are not just picking up that the guy might have TB." On the bright side, doctors who make mistakes consistently make the same mistakes. In theory, that "coherence" makes it possible to correct the pattern, if training was upgraded and harmonized. In the near future, according to McGill professor Madhukar Pai, it's vital to refer patients to the right doctors and provide them with subsidized public programs for the most effective anti-TB drugs - instead of sending them home with the wrong pills.

India's overburdened public health system suffers from a lack of doctors and hospitals. Medical treatment is largely free in government-funded hospitals but long queues and poor service force many to seek private care. The private sector provides almost 80 percent of outpatient care, and is the first point of contact for tuberculosis for 50 to 70 percent of patients. 

Farmers earning as much as Rs 3 lakh per acre by cultivating herbs

By Madhvi Sally , ET Bureau| Updated: Sep 14, 2018, 08.19 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Here’s a little-known story of Indian farming — a happy one. Led by strong and rapidly growing industry demand, a small group of farmers are earning as much as Rs 3 lakh per acre, a figure that’s put in true perspective when you consider wheat and rice farming doesn’t pay more than Rs30,000 per acre. 

Herbs and aromatic plants used for ayurvedic medicines and personal care products – sold by companies like as DaburNSE 2.29 %, Himalaya, Natural Remedies, Patanjali – are the mai .. 
Many of the herbs have exotic names and pretty much all the numbers are remarkable. Ateesh, kuth, kutki, karanja, kapikachhu, shankhapushpi… these herbs and aromatic plants mean little to the urban consumer but represent life-changing income opportunities for some farmers. 

Industry estimates put the market for herbal products at Rs 50,000 crore, growing at a fast annual clip of 15%. Acreage devoted to herbs and aromatic plants is still very small — 6.34 lakh hectares out of the total cu .. 

Many of the herbs have exotic names and pretty much all the numbers are remarkable. Ateesh, kuth, kutki, karanja, kapikachhu, shankhapushpi… these herbs and aromatic plants mean little to the urban consumer but represent life-changing income opportunities for some farmers. 

Industry estimates put the market for herbal products at Rs 50,000 crore, growing at a fast annual clip of 15%. Acreage devoted to herbs and aromatic plants is still very small — 6.34 lakh hectares out of the total currently cropped area of 1,058.1 lakh hectares — but growing at 10% annually, according to government data. 

Even more remarkable are farmers’ returns. A farmer growing ateesh herb, largely used in ayurvedic medicine, in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh may easily get Rs2.5-3 lakh per acre. A lavender farmer may get Rs1.2-1.5 lakh returns per acre. 

These returns are why Bharat Bhushan of Khellani village in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir switched from maize to lavender for his 2 acre plot. By this November, he will be adding another 10 acres. 

Govt bans Saridon, 327 other combination drugs

TNN | Updated: Sep 13, 2018, 09:32 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

• The government had banned 344 FDCs on March 10, 2016 and later added five more to this list.
• However, manufacturers of these drugs contested the ban in various high courts and the Supreme Court.

The health ministry has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of 328 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) of drugs with immediate effect and restricted another six. This brings to an end a protracted legal battle between manufacturers of these combination drugs and the ministry, which has been working since 2016 to get these “irrational” and “unsafe” drugs banned.

Among the roughly 6,000 brands estimated to be affected by the ban are popular drugs like the painkiller Saridon, the skin cream Panderm, combination diabetes drug Gluconorm PG, antibiotic Lupidiclox and antibacterial Taxim AZ.

The government had banned 344 FDCs on March 10, 2016 and later added five more to this list. However, manufacturers of these drugs contested the ban in various high courts and the Supreme Court. The SC on December 15, 2017 asked for the matter to be examined by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board. DTAB concluded in its report that there was no therapeutic justification for the ingredients in 328 FDCs and that these could be a risk to people. The board recommended banning them.

In the case of six other FDCs, the board recommended restricted manufacture and sale subject to certain conditions based on their therapeutic justification. The SC ruled that the government could not use the DTAB report to prohibit 15 of the 344 drugs in the original list as these have been manufactured in India since before 1988. This exception covered several popular cough syrups, painkillers and cold medication with sales amounting to over Rs 740 crore annually. However, the court told the ministry that it could still look into the safety of these 15 drugs by initiating a fresh investigation if it wanted to ban them.

TOP COMMENT

Only Modi govt got the stents prizes down, no one talks about that. Many medications (988) of them have reduced price, twice as many in 70 years - google or watch zee news DNA, again we dont talknabo... Read MoreVBS Srinivas

The All India Drug Action Network, a civil society group working on safety and access to medicines which was one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court case, welcomed the ban and sought swiftaction from the government on the 15 excluded FDCs. “The banned FDCs account for about Rs 2,500 crore and represent only the tip of theiceberg. In our estimate, the market for unsafe, problematic FDCs in India is at least one-fourth of the total pharma market which is valued at Rs 1.3 trillion,” said AIDAN in a statement. It also sought a review of all FDCs in the market in the interest of patient safety as recommended by the Kokate Committee, constituted by the health ministry to examine FDCs.

Meanwhile, many large drug companies have claimed that over the last couple of years they have either phased out such drugs or changed the combination. The FDCs in question are less than 2%, they claim.

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A wrong is righted, now for the rights

Section 377 verdict: A wrong is righted, now for the rights
TOI  TNN | Sep 7, 2018, 06.11 AM IST


The Supreme Court on Thursday said decriminalising Section 377 + to recognise sexual rights of LGBTQ community members was just the beginning of the process for full enjoyment of legitimate constitutional rights by them like any other citizen. This could lead to ancillary legal battles as well as legislative reforms for LGBTQ members to enjoy other rights - marrying a person of their choice (as has been held by the SC in the Hadiya-Safin Jahan case), adoption of children, guardianship rights and right to inherit property from partner. This could also make them liable to the flip side of these rights - right to divorce, entitlement to alimony, booking a partner for domestic violence (will it also extend to Section 498A of IPC that punishes a spouse for cruelty in matrimonial, or partner's, home for dowry), custody right of children and allowing one to slap rape charge if the partner goes back on the promise to marry after establishing consensual sexual relations
Of the five judges on the bench,+ CJI Dipak Misra touched on this issue while Justice DY Chandrachud devoted some pages of his judgment to this aspect - enjoyment of all constitutional rights by LGBTQ community members. Justice Chandrachud made
an elaborate reference to the LGBTQ community's future rights. He said, "In seeking an adjudication of the validity of Section 377, these (LGBTQ) citizens urge that the acts which the provision makes culpable should be decriminalised. But this case involves much more than merely decriminalising certain conduct which has been proscribed by a colonial law
The case is about an aspiration to realise constitutional rights. It is about a right which every human being has, to live with dignity. It is about enabling these citizens to realise the worth of equal citizenship. Above all, our decision will speak to the transformative power of the Constitution. For, it is in the transformation of society that the Constitution seeks to assure the values of a just, humane and compassionate existence to all her citizen
Frowning at the discrimination meted out to the community, the CJI said, "Discrimination of any kind strikes at the very core of any democratic society. When guided by transformative constitutionalism, society is dissuaded from indulging in any form of discrimination so that the nation is guided towards a resplendent future... the courts must step in whenever there is a violation of fundamental rights, even if the rights of a single individual are in peril." Further indication of the stage being set to extend all rights to LGBTQ community members came from Justice RF Nariman, when he directed the Centre to take measures+ "to ensure this judgment is given wide publicity through the public media, which includes television, radio, print and online media at regular intervals, and initiate programmes to reduce and finally.

earthquake in Indonesia

Bill to amend Homoeopathy Central Council Act tabled: A bill that provides for supersession of the Central Council of Homeopathy and constituting a Board of Governors was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Bill to amend Homoeopathy Central Council Act tabled

IANS  |  New Delhi Last Updated at July 23, 2018 19:05 IST

A bill that provides for supersession of the Central Council of Homeopathy and constituting a Board of Governors was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was introduced by Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik. It will replace an ordinance brought by the government earlier this year.

The bill seeks to amend the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973, under which the Central Council of Homoeopathy had been set up.

The bill provides that the Central Council will be reconstituted within one year from the date of its supersession and the Central government will, in the interim period, constitute a Board of Governors, which will exercise the powers of the Central Council.

The statement of objects and reasons of the bill states that there have been instances of serious malpractices in the Council due to which there has been compromise in the quality of medical education.

It also states that the Council had been stalling efforts by the Central government to streamline its functioning.

lateral entry as opposition said

Government to start lateral hiring from private sector for joint secretaries in key ministries: All you need to know

FP Staff

FirstpostJune 11, 2018               In a first, the Centre on Sunday opened to the private sector the option to apply for joint secretary-level positions in the Government of India. These vacancies are usually filled by qualified individuals after they clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination.

"The Government of India invites talented and motivated Indian nationals willing to contribute towards nation-building to join the government at the level of joint secretary," the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said in a notice as well as in newspaper advertisements.

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Getty images

Joint secretaries play a crucial role in senior managements in government departments. They lead policy-making decisions as well as the implementation of schemes of the department assigned to them. Joint secretaries report to the secretary or additional secretary of the respective ministries.

What led to the decision?

Bureaucratic positions have traditionally been filled by officers from all-India services, such as officers from the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Railway Service, Indian Police Service and Income Tax Service. "The proposal of lateral entry is aimed at bringing in fresh ideas and new approaches to governance and also to augment manpower," the DoPT said in its notification.

Given the shortage of officers at the joint secretary level, lateral recruitment is a welcome change.

The move appears to have drawn from a recommendation of the Shashi Tharoor-led Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs. In May 2016, it had recommended expanding the pool of applicants for the posts of ambassadors and high commissioners to beyond officers of the Indian Foreign Service and invite "eminent persons who have excelled in the field of community affairs, diaspora issues, foreign policy, area studies, literature, journalism etc".

Earlier, NITI Aayog had also recommended lateral entry of professionals as joint secretaries to tackle the shortage. On Sunday, chairman of the NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant praised the DoPT's decision. "NITI's experience with lateral entry has been extremely good," he tweeted. "They bring in a vast number of fresh and vibrant ideas. This move by the govt was long overdue and I welcome it. Will catalyse UPSC entrants to specialise. Govt must also allow deputation of its officers to private sector, as well."

Niti's experience with lateral entry has been extremely good.They bring in a vast number of fresh & vibrant ideas.This move in Govt was long overdue & I welcome it.Will catalyse UPSC entrants to specialise. Govt must also allow deputation of its officers to private sector as well

€" Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) June 10, 2018

Who can apply?

Specifying the qualifications required to apply for the 10 vacancies, the DoPT has invited applicants with expertise in revenue, financial services, economic affairs, agriculture, road transport, shipping, environment, new and renewable energy, civil aviation and commerce.

Private sector professionals above 40 years of age, with 15 years of work experience and expertise in these fields are eligible to apply. They have till 30 July to apply online. Selected candidates will be hired on three-year contracts and paid between Rs 1.44 lakh and Rs 2.18 lakh per month. Their contracts could also be extended based on their performance, and once hired as a joint secretary, they can enjoy perks such as government accommodation and vehicle.

Applicants from the public sector will be appointed on deputation, but candidates from the private sector will be hired on a contract basis.

Also See: Government opens doors of bureaucracy to private sector professionals, seeks applications for Joint Secy level posts

Govt move to open up posts in bureaucracy an attempt to include 'Sanghis', says Sitaram Yechury

28-year-old UPSC aspirant denied entry in exam hall for being late, commits suicide in Delhi's Rajendra Nagar

AYUSH in Dictionary of hindi and english globally

The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology has decided to adopt the word AYUSH in Hindi and English languages for scientific and technical purposes. AYUSH became popular as the acronym for five traditional and complementary systems of medicine -- Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy -- and successfully adopted and used in all government communications, an official statement said. The decision follows a proposal from the Ministry of AYUSH in this regard.

Hailing this decision, AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik, said it would underline the essential unity of all holistic systems of healing. He added that this decision would add strength to the efforts of the ministry to develop integrated solutions to manage the public health challenges of the country.

As approved by the commission, the word 'AYUSH' will have the meaning "traditional and non-conventional systems of health care and healing which include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Homoeopathy and others. Following the commission's recognition, the word is expected to gain currency in popular usage in a short span of time.

Despite many commonalities, the practice of the AYUSH systems of healthcare have remained fragmented in system-specific silos. Friday's decision would, in the long term, highlight the unifying features of the different systems. It would facilitate projects and activities of larger scope to emerge, and thereby promote faster development of these systems. This decision will also give a boost to India's efforts to find a place for the Indian systems of healthcare in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Indian systems finding a place in ICD will lead to their international acceptance, increased rigor of research in them and their overall development.

UNI RBE SW 2054

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0427-1369556.Xml

Haryana

Posted at: May 13, 2018, 7:47 PM; last updated: May 14, 2018, 2:16 AM (IST)

Sex selection possible through Ayurveda, claims AYUSH varsity VC

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, May 13

Vice Chancellor of the newly established AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) University here, Dr Baldev Kumar Dhiman on Sunday triggered a row while claiming that Ayurveda contains the way of gender selection before conception.

At a function to mark the birth anniversary celebration of Narad Muni, a religious figure, Dhiman claimed the strict following of ayurvedic prescription would give desired results.

When asked for a clarification by this correspondent about his claim on the sex selection, Dhiman further stated that a prescription from traditional alternative technique includes, medication, strict dietary and physical regulations and certain meditation techniques were required to be adopted at the pre-conception stage.

“The ancient scripture clearly mentions that it is possible to select gender before pregnancy. But one has to follow the instructions for two months for results,” he claimed at the function organised to honour the journalists.

Meanwhile, the state health officials have expressed shock over the claim and cited the public statement as a gross violation of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

“In no medical system anywhere in the world, there is any proven method to determine the gender at the pre-conception stage or after pregnancy. As per the law, anyone found claiming about sex selection in any way is liable for prosecution for violation of Section 6 of the PCPNDT Act,” said a senior health functionary, requesting anonymity.

Another official said such a claim by a VC was shocking as it challenged the prime minister’s flagship programme of gender parity.

“Haryana Government is also making sincere efforts to improve sex ratio by strict implementation of PCPNDT Act. Top health expert like the VC should be extra cautious while making any claim on a sensitive issue like gender selection,” he said.

An RSS ideologue, Dhiman was associated with the ABVP and other right-wing Hindu organisations. He is considered close to the Chief Minister ML Khattar and the RSS leaders.

Before joining as the V-C, Dhiman was director in AYUSH department and he was reportedly handpicked by Khattar.