National
Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav in Ahmedabad
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural function of Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav in Ahmedabad on 14 December 2022.
» In the birth centenary year of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, people from across the world celebrated his life and work.
- The yearlong worldwide celebrations culminated in the ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav’.
- The ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav’ was hosted by BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Shahibaug, which is the worldwide headquarters of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
- The ‘Pramukh Swami Maharaj Shatabdi Mahotsav’ was a month-long celebration held in Ahmedabad from 15th December 2022 to 15th January 2023.
- It featured daily events, thematic exhibitions and thought-provoking pavilions.
About His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj:
- His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj was a guide and guru who touched countless lives across India and the world.
- He was widely respected and admired as a great spiritual leader. His life was dedicated to the service of spirituality and humanity.
- As the leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, he inspired countless cultural, social and spiritual initiatives, providing comfort and care to millions.
About BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha (Mandir), Shahibaug:
- BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha was established in 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj.
- Based on the teachings of the Vedas and founded on pillars of practical spirituality, BAPS reaches out far and wide to address the spiritual, moral and social challenges of today.
- BAPS aims to preserve values of faith, unity, and selfless service, and provides for the spiritual, cultural, physical, and emotional needs of people from all walks of life. It performs humanitarian activities through global outreach efforts.
National Maternal Health Workshop
⇒ Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar chaired the National Maternal Health Workshop on 14 December 2022.
Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar said, the country has achieved a momentous milestone in reduction of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) registering a significant decline from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, but it remains our duty to remove all bottlenecks especially at field level to ensure that every mother is cared for and consequently ensure zero preventable maternal mortality.
Theme:
Aligning with the ‘Sustainable Development Goal Agenda 2030’ for maternal mortality reduction, the theme of the workshop was “Striving for zero preventable maternal mortality”.
» During the event, Dr Pawar unveiled the Midwifery-led care units (MLCUs) brochure and Standard Operating Protocol posters for labour rooms to enable quality of care around birth in public health facilities.
- She also introduced the Maternal health guidance booklet for community health officers (CHOs) and SUMAN community linkages brochure.
- Several Audio-Visual films like “An Odyssey of Maternal Health in India”, AV film on “Midwifery Initiative: promotional video”, Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyaan were showcased at the event.
Several states were awarded for their remarkable efforts and achievements in the area of maternal health. These are:
- Intensive efforts in reducing MMR: 1st position: Kerala and 2nd Maharashtra
- Performance as per the NFHS-5: Antenatal Care services & Institutional deliveries
- In 4 ANC services: 1st position- Madhya Pradesh; 2nd position Rajasthan
- Increase in Institutional Delivery in large states: 1st position West Bengal; 2nd position Uttar Pradesh
3. Roll out of SUMAN:
- In bigger state category, highest SUMAN notification: 1st position- Punjab; 2nd position- Tamil Nadu
- In smaller state category, highest SUMAN notification: 1st position – Goa; 2nd position- Tripura
4. Quality certifications under LaQshya:
- In Bigger state category, Karnataka bagged the first position.
- In small state category, Chandigarh was the winner.
- In absolute numbers of certifications, Madhya Pradesh holds 1st position.
- Gujarat won the state with highest number of medical colleges prize.
5. High-risk pregnancy management under PMSMA.
- Tamil Nadu was best performing state.
- Manipur bagged the first prize for rapid rollout of extended PMSMA.
6. Bolstering the teamwork among the frontline workers, the best ANM- ASHA teams went to State of Uttar Pradesh.
- Midwifery initiative: Best performing state was Telangana.
» Ms. Roli Singh, AS & MD (NHM) said that rapid decline in MMR has been due to strong vision of the government, political commitment, well-designed policies, efforts by our stakeholders and significant investment in the National Health Mission.
- Various Initiatives like Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya) in conjunction with the existing schemes like Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan’ (SUMAN) etc., for women are creating a responsive health care system which strives to achieve zero preventable maternal and new born deaths.
International
India Global Forum 2022
⇒ The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar attended the India Global Forum 2022 at Dubai on 13-15 December 2022.
IGF is the agenda-setting forum for international business and global leaders. It offers a selection of platforms that international corporates and policymakers can leverage to interact with stakeholders in their sectors and geographies of strategic importance.
Theme:
At the annual ‘Partners for Global Impact’ themed UAE summit, there was much to celebrate given the signing of the historic Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE.
Key Points:
» Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar has attended the Ministerial Roundtable titled Globalisation of Indian Tech & Innovation Talent.
- This roundtable comprised of over 50 leaders from the tech sectors across India, the UAE, and the UK together with Ministers, CEOs, and other relevant stakeholders from these international ecosystems.
» The Minister and his counterpart from the UAE government, H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama participated in a moderated session titled Partners in Disruption & Innovation.
- The dialogue builds upon the two minister’s engagement in last year’s IGF as well as Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s visit to Dubai earlier this year to explore the levers to make technological collaborations between India and UAE a success.
» The Minister interacted with Industry Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Startups and Innovators.
- The objective of these interactions was to assess avenues of collaborations with entrepreneurs who are aspirational of expanding their footprint in India.