An up-to-date compilation of official information released monthwise by the Government of India and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the year 2
An up-to-date compilation of more than 1,800 official statements by the Government of India from January 17, 2020. Links to articles published by The
Of late, Indian Railways (IR) has been in the news for a spurt in accidents. Catastrophes that claimed lives turn the public spotlight on the safety o
Of late, Indian Railways (IR) has been in the news for a spurt in accidents. Catastrophes that claimed lives turn the public spotlight on the safety of IR as a transport provider. Between April and November 2024, a total of 29 consequential accidents (those that result in loss of lives or damage to railway property or cause disruptions and delays) resulted in the deaths of 17 people and injured 81. Although the public mind considers train accidents as results of human or/and technical failures, skewed policy-making and financial allocations also have a direct bearing on rail safety. The forthcoming Union Budget session provides parliamentarians and the Government of India an opportunity to address these chronic issues and chart out a roadmap to enhance rail safety. In this Policy Watch, A. Madhukumar Reddy, an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, who retired as a Principal Executive Director, Railway Board, in charge of Coaching, the railways’ terminology for passenger operations, analyses the linkages that have deleterious consequences for rail safety. One underlying cause, he points out, is the changing priorities of IR, reflected by a move towards high-visibility projects and those that do not add much to its basic functions, at the cost of investments in safety. Others include issues relating to finances, upkeep of infrastructure, and workforce planning and training.Among the ways forward, Mr. Reddy suggests de-bottlenecking and removing capacity constraints; avoiding high-cost, low-return projects such as the Vande Bharat services and re-channelising such investments into asset maintenance and safety funds; and filling up the large number of “safety category vacancies on a war-footing”. In addition to these “immediate requirements”, at a broader level, he calls for greater transparency and accountability; and flags the importance of presenting to Parliament an annual “Indian Railways Report” by the Minister of Railways (along the lines of the annual Economic Survey), a suggestion made by a former member of the Railway Board, to enable wider parliamentary and public discussion in the absence of a separate Railway Budget.Related Resources and Links from The Hindu Centre and The Hindu Group PublicationsHTML VersionDownload PDF (888 KB)]
Related External Resources1. Ministry of Railways, Government of India. 2024. Lok Sabha, Unstarred Question No. 1596, to be Answered on 04.12.2024: Number of People Died and Injured in Train Accidents in the Country. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/68976362-Resources_2024_Train-Accidents-LS-Answer.pdf].2. Ministry of Railways, Government of India. 2024. Lok Sabha, Unstarred Question No. 838, to be Answered on 07.02.2024: Vacant Posts in Safety Categories. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/68976313-2024_Parliament-Answer-on-Recruitment-for-Safety.pdf].3. Directorate of Statistics and Economics, Ministry of Railways (Railway Board), Government of India. n.d. Indian Railways Year Book 2022-23. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/68976376-Resources_Year-Book.pdf].4. National Rail Plan (NRP) – India. 2020. Draft Final Report Volume 1: Report and Volume 2: Annexure, Ministry of Railways, Government of India, December. https://static.investindia.gov.in/s3fs-public/2024-08/national_rail_plan_2030.pdf [http://indianrailways.gov.in/NRP-%20Draft%20Final%20Report%20with%20annexures.pdf].5. Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 2022. Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, For the year ended March 2021: Derailment in Indian Railways, Performance Audit, Union Government (Railways), Report No. 22 of 2022.6. Safety Directorate, Ministry of Railways, Government of India. 2021. Indian Railways Accident Protocol, April. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/68976357-Resources_2021__Indian-Railway-Accident-Protocol.pdf].7. Ministry of Railways, Government of India. 2015. White Paper on Railways – 2015, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, February 26. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/white-paper-on-railways-2015/article64936399.ece].8. Research and Information Division, Lok Sabha Secretariat. 2014. Information Bulletin: Railway Safety, July. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/publications/policy-watch/68976269-2014_Railway_Safety_2014_Lok-Sabha-Research-Publication.pdf]. 9. Lok Sabha Secretariat. 1975. Railway Convention Committee (2013): Ninth Report:- Social Burdens on Indian Railways, October. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/68976327-Resources_1975_RCC-1973-9th-report_-Social-Burdens.pdf]. Related articles from The Hindu Centre:1. Sudhir Chandra, B. S. 2016. Railway Budget 2016-17: Indian Railways’ Joint Venture Model with States, a Welcome Step, S. Rajendran, March 01. Indian Railways – Budget Documents [https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,1289] Related articles from The Hindu Group:The Hindu:1. Kumar, S. V. 2024. Kanchanjunga train accident: Large number of signalling failures cause for concern, says Commissioner of Railway Safety, November 13.2. Mukunth, V. 2024. What are the stress factors for Indian Railways?, October 20.3. Porecha, M. 2024. 200 major railway accidents in past five years, 351 people killed | Data, October 12.4. The Hindu. 2024. Video: What is burdening the Indian Railways?. Frontline:1. Das, A and Thakurta, P. G. 2024. Indian Railways flip-flops between luxury facilities and mass travel needs, July 27.2. Radhakrishnan, R.K. 2024. Indian Railways: On the wrong track, July 06.3. Team Frontline. 2023. Indian Railways: Past, present, and future, June 05. The Hindu BusinessLine: 1. Law, A. 2024. Indian railways ups safety, modernisation attempts in 2024; high operational ratio still a concern, December 23.2. Subba Rao, U. 2024. Vande Bharat Express a fine example of ‘atmanirbharta’, T.E Raja Simhan, December 23.3. Ghosh, A. 2024.. Kernex wins ₹2,041 crore KAVACH railway safety contract, December 09.4. BL New Delhi Bureau. 2024.. Railways embraces high-tech track-monitoring system to ensure passenger safety, December 05.5. Pankaj, J. 2024. India’s train derailments surge: 19 incidents in 7 months amid declining track renewal spending, August 01.Railway Budget articles from The Hindu Centre:1. Minister for Railways. 2016. Railway Budget Speech 2016-17, March 01. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/railway-budget-speech-201617/article64936346.ece].2. Minister for Railways. 2016. Railway Budget Speech 2016-17, February 25. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/railway-budget-speech-201617/article64936346.ece]. Minister for Railways. 2015. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s Speech Introducing the Railway Budget for 2015-16, February 26. [https://www.thehinducentre.com/resources/article6936872.ece].
Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav released the ‘India State of Forest Report 2023 (ISFR 2023) on Dec. 21, 2024
India is a pharmaceutical paradox. It has earned for itself the name, “pharmacy of the world” as the third largest producer by volume, after China of
India is a pharmaceutical paradox. It has earned for itself the name, “pharmacy of the world” as the third largest producer by volume, after China of generic formulations, and a leading manufacturer of vaccines. In the international market, the low price and high quality of Indian generic formulations make them a good choice worldwide. Yet, at home, millions are pushed into poverty every year owing to expenses on healthcare, of which payment for medicines is a major component. In this article, Dr. Anant Phadke, a member of the All India Drug Action Network, which campaigns for affordable medicines, discusses the dynamics that direct these high prices such as marketing strategies by large pharmaceutical manufacturers, an incorrect price-regulatory framework, the plethora of irrational Fixed Dose Drug Combinations, and improper prescription practices by doctors. He draws attention to the fundamentally flawed Drug Price Control Order-2013, based on Market Based Pricing and argues for a policy of Cost Based Pricing of medicines. Dr. Phadke proposes generalisation of the well-established model of Tamil Nadu for procurement and supply of free medicines to patients in Public Health Facilities and its adoption in Kerala and Rajasthan, and argues for its replication in other States with suitable adaptations.Related Articles and ResourcesHTML VersionDownload PDF (484 KB)]
Related articles from The Hindu Centre
1. Harsha, S and Sushmita. 2023. Policy Watch No. 17: Fending for Themselves – Adivasis, Forest Dwelling Communities and the Devastating Second Wave of COVID-19, March 24.2. Tripathi, T. 2022. Policy Watch No. 15: Policy Shortfalls Leave India’s Elderly to Fend for Themselves, March 7.3. Sujatha Rao, K. 2019. Is Ayushman Bharat going to enlarge the role of the private sector in healthcare?, February 2. Related Event by The Hindu Centre
1. Healers or Predators? Healthcare Corruption in India: Video: Healers or Predators? Healthcare Corruption in India, October 4, 2018.
Related Articles from The Hindu Group
The Hindu:1. Perappadan, B. S. 2024. Why did the Centre sanction a 50% hike in prices of commonly-used drugs? , October 25.2. Rao, C., et. al. 2024. Imports weaken Indian pharma, August 22.
Frontline:1. Dutta, S. 2014. Bitter medicine, October 29.2. Narrain, S. 2004. A life-saving order, July 30.
The Hindu BusinessLine: 1. BL Bureau. 2024. NPPA allows a price increase on eight scheduled drugs, October 14.2. BL Chennai Bureau. 2024. Pongal gift: Tamil Nadu to implement low cost drugs supply scheme, August 15.
Related External Resources
1. Department of Pharmaceuticals. 2024. Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. *161: Drugs under DPCO, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India. [https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/1712/AS161.pdf?source=pqals]. 2. Department of Health and Family Welfare. 2023. Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2622: Promotion of Generic Medicines, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India [https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/16/AU2622.pdf?source=pqals]. 3. National Statistical Office. 2019. Key Indicators of Social Consumption in India: Health- NSS 75th Round, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, November. [https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/KI_Health_75th_Final.pdf].4. National Institute of Biologicals. n.d. National Drug Survey 2014-16:- Chapter 11: Summary & Recommendations on Possible Strategies and Implementation Plan to Address The Problems Identified, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. [https://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/Chapter11Sumarry.pdf]. 5. Ministry of Petroleum & Chemicals. 1975. Report of The Committee on Drugs and Pharmaceutical Industry (Hathi Committee Report), Government of India. [https://pharmaceuticals.gov.in/sites/default/files/Hathi_Committee_report_1975_0.pdf].