2-Jul-2021: Dr. Harsh Vardhan addresses 17th World Congress for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed an audience of eminent doctors, professors of medical science and stalwarts of medical fraternity specializing in Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy through video-conference yesternight at the inaugural session of the 17th World Congress for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy.
The event organised by Indian Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology was inaugurated by Hon’ble Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan congratulated the Indian Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology for pioneering training in colposcopy and treatment of precancerous lesions of the cervix and for bringing the prestigious World Congress for the first time to Asia. The theme of the World congress “Eliminating Cervical Cancer: Call for Action” is aligned to the WHO call for Elimination of Cervical Cancer by 2030, he stated.
Speaking on the topic of cervical cancer, the Union Health Minister said, “It is the fourth most common cancer in women. It affects over half a million women across the world each year, and kills a quarter of a million. It is tragic that one woman dies of cervical cancer every two minutes, making it one of the greatest threats to women’s health. The sad part is that our women are suffering and dying despite the fact that when diagnosed cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. Cancers diagnosed in late stages can also be controlled with appropriate treatment and palliative care. With a comprehensive approach to prevent, screen and treat, cervical cancer can be eliminated as a public health problem within a generation.”
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also highlighted the crucial role undertaken by India to stop cervical cancer heeding to WHO’s 2030 target: “I can proudly state that India is one of the few developing countries that have formulated the national cancer control program. As a leader in Asia, in 2016, we have launched the operational guidelines for screening of common cancers - cervical, breast, oral and Cervical Cancer. India along with 194 others countries has collectively resolved to work together for elimination of this major killer a goal which is achievable through 90% HPV vaccination coverage, 70% screening coverage and 90% treatment for cervical precancer and cancer including access to palliative care.”
The Union Health Minister explained how Government of India is offering intervention to end Cancer through the two wings of the Ayushman Bharat Programme: “We all know that effective primary HPV vaccination and secondary prevention approaches can prevent most cervical cancer cases. Today, India is strengthening all levels of cancer care. Treatment of cancer and precancerous lesions is being made accessible to the economically vulnerable population through our Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna. Our primary health centres have now been transformed into wellness centers where screening is being undertaken on a massive scale. Each year, we are training doctors and paramedical staff for further improvement of their skills and provision of quality care to underprivileged women of rural areas. In the last 7 years, 29 new A.I.I.M.S and 25 more Regional Cancer Centers have been developed with state-of-the-art facilities. All of our 542 medical colleges and 64 post Graduate institutes are providing comprehensive care for pre-cancer and cancer patients. To add quality to the care, India has introduced a super specialty course in Gynaecology.”
He concluded his speech on a note of elation that the scientific deliberations of this conference will help in formulating strategies for Asia and other developing countries outside the continent. He wished for the success of IFCPC 2021 World Congress.
14-Apr-2021: NCSC Launches “Online Grievance Management Portal” for Persons from Scheduled Castes
Union Minister for Communication & IT and Law & Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the “Online Grievance Management Portal of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)” in the august presence of Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Rattan Lala Kataria, and Chairman NCSC Shri Vijay Sampla at a function organised by NCSC on the occasion of 130th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Baba Saheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar here today. Shri Arun Halder, Vice Chairman, NCSC, Shri Subhash Ramnath Pardhi, Member NCSC, Dr. Anju Bala, Member NCSC and Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary MEITY also graced the occasion.
Addressing on the occasion, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said that this launching of Online Grievance Management Portal of NCSC is especially important as today the nation is observing birth anniversary of one of India’s great luminaries Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was a social reformer and an economist. He worked for the upliftment of the marginalised and downtrodden sections of our society. His immense contribution in drafting India’s Constitution will be long remembered. He wanted social inequality in our country to be demolished. Shri Prasad dwelt upon many new initiatives of the Ministry of Information Technology in the field of Digital India, which has transformed and empowered India. He opined that digital India needs to be a mass movement in our country.
Shri Rattan Lal Kataria in his address said that the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is committed for the empowerment and transformation of weaker and deprived sections of our society. He said that this NCSC Grievance Management portal would make it easier for Scheduled Castes population of our country to register their complaint from any part of the country. The portal shall enable them to file their application and other atrocity and services related grievances online and to get them addressed in a time bound manner. This portal will fulfil the dreams of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Shri Vijay Sampla in his address said that NCSC aims to streamline the grievance redressal specially of the Scheduled Caste population through this portal. The portal launched today would make it easier for them to register complaints from any part of the country. The portal designed in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N), a Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India will facilitate an end-to-end e-filing of complaints and grievances and their tracking. Finally, it is intended to make the hearing process work on similar lines as e-courts. This portal is linked to the Commission’s website and one can file one’s complaint upon registering on it. The facility to upload documents and audio/video files is also available. This would supplement the physical submission of complaints and grievances.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) was set up under the Article 338 of the Constitution of India with the objective to investigate and monitor all issues pertaining to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under any law for the time being in force or under any order of the Government of India. The Commission also enquires into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes. The NCSC renews its commitment to serve the cause of the SC community as mandated in the Constitution and policies of the government.
28-Dec-2018: Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the 26th National Children’s Science Congress
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the 26th National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (deemed to be) University.
The theme of the NCSC this year — Science, Technology and Innovation for a Clean, Green and Healthy Nation — has been aptly chosen as environment and health have emerged as the two major concerns of our times.
The NCSC aimed at inculcating a spirit of scientific research among children and his government had been focussing on the same by organising different science-based programmes at various levels. Odisha is establishing science parks and planetariums in districts to create an interest in various aspects of science and technology among the children.
Bhubaneswar is an emerging knowledge hub of eastern India with world-class educational and research institutions such as IIT, AIIMS, NISER, Institute of Physics and Institute of Life Science.
Nearly 800 children from across India and 10 ASEAN and five Gulf countries, besides 400 scientists, evaluators, mentors and parents, are attending the science congress. They will showcase innovative projects at the congress from Friday.
Around 56 per cent of the participants in the NCSC this year were girls; attempts were being made to bridge the rural-urban gap with 40 per cent of the children coming from rural areas.
The chief minister also released a special postal cover to mark the occasion.
28-Dec-2017: 25th National Children Science Congress held in Gujarat.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani while inaugurating the 25th National Children Science Congress at the Science City in Ahmedabad said that, “the National Children Science Congress – 2017 (NCSC) has laid the foundation for taking India in top-three position in the world in the field of science technology by year 2030".
Rupani further stated that the young scientists with coordination of ‘Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan-Jai Science’ will built a strong India. The NCSC has attracted entry of 900 young scientists representing 30 different states of the country as well as from six Asian countries.
He said that since ancient times to till now Indian scientists and their innovations have led the world to the path of knowledge. In ancient times scientists like ‘Charaka’, ‘Bhattacharya’ and in modern times Jagdish Chandra Bose, Srinivas Ramanujan and others have shine-out the country’s name in the field of knowledge and science.
Citing the example of former Indian President and a Great Scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Rupani urged the young scientists to take an inspiration from his life.
Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated an exhibition showing the innovations of the young scientists and keenly observed them.
31-Mar-2021: National workshop to discuss long standing scientific problems in observational astronomy
Scientists from various institutions throughout the country will discuss some long standing scientific problems in observational astronomy at a national workshop titled ‘Astrophysical jets and observational facilities: National perspective’.
The workshop to be organised between April 5 to April 9, 2021, is expected to bring together 200 scientists and young researchers from over more than 30 institutes all over India to deliberate on jets/jetted outflow from various classes of objects, including stars to big galaxies.
Astrophysical jets are largely known as outflows of ionized matter and are observationally seen as an extended beam of emission among a variety of sources, both Galactic and extra-galactic. Underlying physics behind these enigmatic sources are one of the least understood areas and needs more attention to improve present knowledge about such interesting sources. The workshop organised by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Govt. of India, will brainstorm on how the community could contribute to address these long-standing scientific problems by using existing and upcoming Indian observational facilities. The entire workshop will be hosted through online platforms.
In India, a sizable fraction of astronomers work towards astrophysical sources like Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs), Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs), Supernovae, X-ray binaries and so on and make use of a range of multi-wavelength observational facilities. Also, in the near future, ARIES, along with other leading institutions in the country, plans to develop a new generation of large observational facilities to address frontiers of the subject during the coming decades using both indigenous efforts and through international collaborations.
The proposed national workshop aims to bring all the stakeholders together to discuss the subject matter at length and review the progress made so far and the proposed path ahead to strengthen the Indian community at large. This workshop is being organized as a part of the Golden Jubilee Commemoration Year of the Department of Science and Technology (1971-2021) and also one of the first national events to celebrate the 75 years of Independence--'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
The 5-day workshop is being organised by ARIES along with Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bengaluru, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Mumbai, Raman Research Institute (RRI) Bengaluru, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics Pune, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Kolkata, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCA) Pune, Physics Research Laboratory (PRL) Ahmedabad and ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru.