The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), is one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It seeks to address issues regarding ‘Sustainable Agriculture’ in the context of risks associated with climate change by devising appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies for ensuring food security, enhancing livelihood opportunities and contributing to economical stability at the national level.
The Programme of Action (POA) proposed under the Mission Document would be operationalized by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation strategies in ongoing research and development programmes and in flagship schemes including; RashtriyaKrishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), National Food security Mission (NFSM) etc. through a process of selective up scaling and course correction measures. The mission document on NMSA has been approved for implementation of various interventions to address the issues of climate change in agriculture sector.
| PPP Mode should find cost Effective Solutions to Healthcare: Ghulam Nabi Azad |
The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Sh. Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that we need to look at Public Private Partnership as a synergetic arrangement which ensures that the private sector also contributes to public health goals. Sh. Azad said that a fine balance has to be worked out between profitability and corporate responsibility. Sh. Azad acknowledged that the Public Private Partnership in the context of health sector can be a vital instrument for improving the health of the population but partnership is not meant to be substitution for lesser provisioning of Govt. resources nor abdication of Govt. responsibility but as a tool for augmenting the public health system. The Minister was inaugurating the 7th India Health Summit 2010 at New Delhi today.
Sh. Ghulam Nabi Azad informed that over the last five years Govt. of India has invested nearly Rs. 45,000 crore to meet the healthcare infrastructure right from sub-centre to district hospitals. He said a larger effort will be required in the 12th Plan period to achieve the goal of taking the total allocation for the health sector to 2-3% of our GDP. “For the Govt. in the context of the health sector, profit would mean efficient, affordable and accountable services to the people”. Sh. Azad also stressed upon the fact that healthcare, to be sustainable, has to be affordable. Sh. Azad also informed that the Ministry of H&FW has tied up with the Ministry of Railways for providing land owned by them. He said that private sector participation and investment in establishing diagnostic facilities, hospitals, specialized and super specialty care centres is being invited. He said the strategy under the proposed National Urban Health Mission is to arrange for the secondary and tertiary care medical needs of urban people through a system of health insurance. “The common theme in all the projects has to be quality and affordability” he emphasized. The Minister mentioned that the Govt. is reviewing the existing regulatory system for clinical establishment and medical education. He also said that a Bill for setting up a National Council for Human Resources in Health is ready to be introduced soon in Parliament so that the issue of quality, quantity and equitable distribution of medical education resources can be addressed. Sh. Azad said that the adversarial positioning between public and private sector has to be removed so that both these sectors can contribute hugely and in synergy to the task of healthcare for all Indians.
| India’s Commitment to Kyoto Protocol |
India is fully committed to the Kyoto Protocol. The talks for further emission reduction commitments of Annex-I Parties in the Second Commitment Period (Post 2012) are undergoing since 2005. India, along with South Africa and 35 other like minded countries had earlier submitted a proposal calling for Annex-I Parties to agree to at least 40% emission reduction commitment by 2020 as compared to their 1990 levels. India has been one of the major beneficiaries of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a flexible mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol and would like that this mechanism to continue and be further strengthened. There has been no agreement till date and the negotiations on the targets of Annex-I Parties for the second commitment period and other relevant issues are ongoing for a possible decision at the sixteenth Conference of Parties (COP-16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and sixth Meeting of Parties (MOP-6) to the Kyoto Protocol presently being held at Cancun, Mexico.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply to a question by Shri K.R.G. Reddy in Lok Sabha today.
| Review and Strengthening of PRIs |
Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Dr. C.P. Joshi today informed the Rajya Sabha that Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) implements the schemes of Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) – Capacity Building (CB) component and Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Yojana (RGSY) for supporting and strengthening the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
BRGF (CB) component is under implementation in all States except Goa whereas the RGSY scheme is under implementation in all States that are covered under Part IX of the Constitution.
All eligible States have availed grants under the BRGF (CB) component. RGSY is demand driven scheme and grants under the scheme have been availed by all eligible States. State Governments have evolved different mechanisms to review the working of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). MoPR carries out a review of the working of PRIs on annual basis and publishes the findings as State of Panchayat Report.
The Minister was replying to a written question on the programmes and schemes to support and strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs); the States which have implemented these programmes and whether Government has developed any mechanism to periodically review the working of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). |
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