Ø A few hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for
the United States on Tuesday, the Union government approved two major defence
deals between the two countries. The move is
expected to give a boost to bilateral defence ties. The deals, worth over $3
billion for buying two of the world’s most advanced helicopters, have been in
cold storage for several years. According to sources, the Cabinet Committee on
Security cleared the purchase of 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook
heavy-lift choppers from Boeing. The deals have direct commercial contracts
with Boeing as well as a direct government-to-government component between the
two governments. There was no official statement from the government.
Ø Every government hospital serves an estimated
61,000 people in India, with one bed for every 1833 people, new official data
shows. In undivided Andhra Pradesh, every government hospital serves over 3
lakh patients while in Bihar, there is only one bed for every 8800 people.
Union Minister for Health J.P. Nadda released the National Health Profile 2015
prepared by the Central Bureau for Health Intelligence (CBHI) on Tuesday along
with officials of the Ministry, the Directorate General of Health Services and
the CBHI. Every government allopathic doctor serves a population of over
11,000 people, with Bihar and Maharashtra having the worst ratios. The number
of qualified allopathic doctors registered with medical councils fell in 2014
to 16,000, or less than half the previous year’s number; the data was however
provisional, CBHI officials said. India now has cumulatively 9.4 lakh
allopathic doctors, 1.54 lakh dental surgeons, and 7.37 lakh AYUSH doctors of
whom more than half are Ayurvedic doctors. India’s 400 medical colleges admit
an estimated 47,000 students annually. The Centre’s share of total
public expenditure on health has fallen over the last two years, and India
spends less of its GDP on health than some of the world’s poorest countries.
Among all States, undivided Andhra Pradesh had the highest public expenditure
on health in 2012-13. Goa and the north-eastern States spent the most on health
per capita while Bihar and Jharkhand spent the least. Out-of-pocket
private expenditure on health has risen steadily over the years, with the cost
of medicines, followed by that of hospitalisation accounting for the largest
share of the household expenditure. Absolute spending, as well as its share in
total non-food expenditure, rises with income levels. Kerala spends the most
privately on health.
Ø High-resolution images from unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) showing Chinese transgression into Indian territory played an
important role in forcing them to withdraw in the stand-off at Burtse in
northern Ladakh recently. Officials with knowledge of the matter told The
Hindu that
images from Heron UAVs of a watchtower constructed inside Indian territory by
the Chinese played a crucial role in border meetings with the Chinese side and
forcing them to pull back from Indian territory. India operates a large
number of Israeli-made Heron and Searcher UAVs. Heron is a medium-altitude,
long-endurance UAV with endurance of over 24 hours and capable of flying at
35,000 feet. India deployed Herons on the 4,000-km Line of Actual
Control (LAC) in 2013 to monitor frequent Chinese transgressions. The UAVs are
operated by the Air Force.
Ø Prime Minister Narendra Modi left on Tuesday
evening for Ireland, expected to be the first stop in a trip, which will end
with his visit to the Silicon Valley in the West Coast of the United States.
However, the Dublin halt is special as Mr. Modi will be the first Indian Prime
Minister since 1956 to have visited Ireland. In 1956, Jawaharlal Nehru paid his
second visit (first was in 1949) to Ireland in the backdrop of the war that
broke out in the West Asian region over the monopoly of the Suez canal. The dispute
drew the UK, France and Israel into a war with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat. Mr.
Modi’s visit to Ireland, however, is an acknowledgement of the recovery of the
Irish economy from the devastating economic crisis that it survived just three
years ago. Ireland has a significant number of Indian health professionals many
of whom represent pharma majors like Reliance GeneMedix and Ranbaxy Ltd.
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