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COVID-19 Response: Focus on ICT-based Education Delivery Raises Question of Accessibility

The four phases of the COVID-19-induced lockdown abruptly closed schools to curb the pandemic. Consequently, given the prospect that children will not return to schools anytime soon, many state governments have attempted innovative ways of providing syllabus-based audio visual content for them through the use of radio, television and mobile phones. While making available a range of ICT-enabled learning resources, there are multiple roadblocks in the accessibility and adaptability of tech-facilitated learning, which require the attention of policymakers. 

What are governments doing?

As on 16th April, at least 6 states had begun broadcasting virtual classes via Doordarshan, and cities in 11 states were utilising radio stations to broadcast virtual classes and educational content for a limited number of hours daily [1]. The Prime Minister held a meeting on 1st May to deliberate over education reforms, where he made specific references to the use of technology ranging from online classes to live-broadcast of classes on television channels for school education [2]. Two weeks later, the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister referred to ICT in education as one of the key areas of focus while announcing the fifth tranche of the ₹ 20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat stimulus package [3]. Even though a dedicated budget allocation was not made for this purpose, a ₹ 8,100 crore stimulus amount was provided via viability gap funding for a basket of programmes, including an all-encompassing programme ‘PM e-VIDYA’. 

‘PM e-VIDYA’ platform covers a range of digital and on-air education services for school education. This platform is thus multi-mode and includes separate channels for students in grades 1 to 12 with no access to internet (‘one class, one channel’), DIKSHA Platform (‘one nation, one digital platform’) for e-content, and digital textbooks for all grades available through an e-Paathshaala. It also makes extensive use of Community Radio stations. Care has been taken to offer learning to visually and hearing impaired persons, with e-content being developed on a Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY). A toll-free helpline has been established for their psychosocial support, and a website and interactive chat platform called ‘Manodarpan’ has also been announced [4].

Despite this, burning concerns remain

The provision of e-content and digital education through PM e-VIDYA programme will likely not hit roadblocks with respect to the availability of material. The DIKSHA Platform has been running since 2017, NCERT’s portals like e-Paathshala have an extensive repository of online materials since 2015, and SWAYAM Prabha’s 32 education channels have been online since 2017. Similarly, the national online education platform ‘SWAYAM’ (that facilitates hosting of the courses, taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation) has been active for a few years. However, it is in the balancing of learning through innovative ICT-based practices as opposed to traditional physical classroom interactions, where inequities arise.

These include the unequal access of ICT infrastructure in and among households across different economic strata; the changed role of teachers in the digital medium; the lack of a formal mechanism to guide students on accessing and choosing between a range of such services. For instance, the proportion of households at the bottom of the income pyramid is considerably high in India, and the average number of members of low-income families is relatively higher. For instance, during 2017-18, the average number of members in bottom 20% households in terms of per-capita household expenditure, was 5.2, compared to 3.2 in the top 20%*. As a result, creating a conducive environment at home in terms of dedicated space to sit without noise from other household activities, for children to engage with studies through digital platforms would be difficult. Many low-income families where both parents work as daily wage labourers, might not be able to provide the kind of supervision as provided by teachers in schools.

Another important factor in ensuring quality is the two-way dialogue between students and teachers. Current ICT-based solutions proposed by the government largely make available a pre-recorded repository of online sessions and one-way dissemination of education through radio, podcasts, and television channels. With the absence of daily peer-group interactions, offering interactive sessions is a challenge. The Union Finance Minister did refer to live interactive sessions on Skype, which is even more challenging since poorer households will have issues with affordability of computers, internet connections. Additionally, for teachers to use digital platforms, it is essential that the government trains them on pedagogy for ICT-based teaching, given that online teaching is radically novel. Unfortunately, there have been no guidelines or directives by the Union government or states regarding this. 

Whether it is teacher training, the installation of ICT infrastructure, sensitising parents on their new role, budget allocations as well as a proper roadmap to implement these are vital. As things stand now, a shift to e-education without laying down the necessary support will lead to perpetuate further inequalities in learning outcomes across different socioeconomic groups.

Mridusmita is a Senior Researcher at Accountability Initiative and Tenzin is a Research Associate.  

 

*  Source: National Sample Survey 75th round, ‘Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India’, July 2017 to June 2018, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

[1] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1615204 

[2] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1620208

[3]https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/coronavirus-lockdown-union-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-announces-fifth-and-final-tranche-of-economic-stimulus-package/article31607066.ece

[4] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1624868


To cite this blog, we suggest the following: Bordoloi, M. and Yangki, T. (2020) COVID-19 Response: Focus on ICT-based Education Delivery Raises Question of Accessibility. Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research. Available at: http://accountabilityindia.in/blog/covid-19-response-focus-on-ict-based-education-delivery-raises-question-of-accessibility/.

Number of People Coming to Govt Hospital has Increased: Health Supervisor in Himachal Pradesh

The ‘Inside Districts’ series launched in April was a one-of-its-kind attempt to capture the experiences of district and Block-level officials, panchayat functionaries and frontline workers, on their challenges and best practices. In the fourth phase of the country-wide lockdown, we went back to some interviewees to understand how their situation had changed. Among them was a Health Supervisor in Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

The interview was originally conducted in Hindi on 14 May 2020, and has been translated.

 

Q: To what extent are regular OPD services in government hospitals functional?

Health Supervisor: The OPD in hospitals has started completely now. In fact, the number of people coming to the hospitals has drastically increased. My hospital administration is making efforts to ensure social distancing. Private hospitals have also started opening in the district. 

Q: How has your work changed with the easing of restrictions? Is your primary focus still on COVID-19 or are you back to routine work?

Health Supervisor: Our primary focus is still COVID-19. These days, a lot of people are coming in from other states. We are collecting information about these people with the help of ASHAs and health workers. We are ensuring that they are quarantined for 14 days. They are also being regularly monitored.  

Q: Have you received any kind of training to handle COVID-19 associated tasks?

Health Supervisor: Yes, we received a one-day training. The training was given by the Block Health Officer, and 20-25 people participated in it. 

In the training, we were told about the virus and how the infection spreads. We were also told the procedure of quarantining people, and how to implement this for people who are coming from outside. Apart from this, we were asked to make people aware and tell them the importance of washing hands and social distancing.

Q: Have you got a safety kit for household visits with masks, gloves, sanitisers etc? 

Health Supervisor: Yes, we have received masks, gloves and sanitisers, now. 

Health Supervisors typically supervise a handful of health workers at the Sub-Centre level.

As the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Evolves, Some Challenges Remain Rooted

On 21 May 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the ten millionth beneficiary of Ayushman Bharat. By early June, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Ghebreyesus, called the COVID-19 pandemic an “opportunity” to speed up the scheme’s implementation. But can the world’s largest health insurance scheme live up to its promise of health protection for the poor? An analysis of recent changes juxtaposed with existing concerns reveals some factors that may thwart the scheme from achieving its objectives. 

Launched with much fanfare in 2018, Ayushman Bharat comprises two schemes. First, PMJAY is a health insurance scheme aimed at providing access to quality inpatient secondary and tertiary care to poor and vulnerable families, and reducing out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) arising out of catastrophic health episodes. Second, the transformation of 1.5 lakh Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) – the first point of contact in primary healthcare – to Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) by 2022. 

A few important modifications have been made recently. For one, PMJAY now has a package for testing and treating beneficiaries for COVID-19. While this change has been made when faced with a global emergency, other changes which were already in the works are also being implemented. One such is the rationalisation of Health Benefit Packages (HBP) to create the new HBP 2.0, as dubbed by the National Health Authority, which is in-charge of the implementation of PMJAY. To begin with, the NHA documented feedback it received on HBP 1.0. This included inadequate package rates, duplication of packages within and across specialties, procedures overlapping with ongoing national health programmes, and the absence of some high-end procedures/ investigations/drugs. 

To rectify these issues and rationalise HBP 1.0, the NHA collected cost data on packages, constituted specialist committees, consulted experts and members of State Health Authorities (SHAs), and conducted multiple reviews. This led to packages being rationalised, and an increase in prices of 270 packages, as requested by healthcare providers. As many as 237 new packages were introduced, and 554 packages were discontinued. While the impact of these changes will only be observed in time, they reflect something that isn’t always visible with government schemes: reflexivity. The effort that has gone into HBP 2.0 should be acknowledged, yet some vital concerns remain. 

Are there exclusion errors in PMJAY? 

PMJAY aims to reach the poorest of the poor. To do this, at least 16 states and Union Territories (UTs) prepare the family list of beneficiaries based on Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, whereas 4 states and UTs use data from Census 2011. Various issues with SECC data have been pointed out by experts: such as a non-transparent method of data collection, and several contradictions in the data. An example of this is the number of the poorest of the poor which,  according to SECC 2011, stood at 16.50 lakh compared to the Ministry of Rural Development’s target in 2015 to provide Indira Awas Yojna (IAY) housing for all rural homeless to 2 crore families. Similarly, Census data are outdated, and population numbers have changed over time. Hence, more reliable estimates should be used.

Adding new beneficiaries who may have been excluded from earlier lists is also a must. Several states have increased the coverage of the scheme via state schemes. This entails increased expenditure by states which choose to expand coverage, such as Kerala. However, this may be particularly hard for cash-strapped states like Bihar who depend on Union government funding more than their own resources (as was shown by a report of state finances by the Accountability Initiative). 

Empanelment needs to pick pace

Hospitals have to apply online to be empaneled, and these applications are verified by State Empanelment committees based on set criteria. While the number of empanelled hospitals has been increasing, some states and districts lag behind. For example, Arunachal Pradesh has more than 12 times the number of beneficiaries as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but has the same number of empanelled hospitals – 3. While Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar have more than 10,000 families per empanelled hospital, others such as Goa and Gujarat have less than 2,000. While the portability feature of the scheme is useful for those who live away from home but close to an empanelled hospital, it is hard to imagine sick people being able to travel to other states for treatment if no empanelled hospital is available nearby. 

The Union Budget speech in February mentioned setting up hospitals in aspirational districts which did not have PMJAY empanelled hospitals. This was to be done in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) via viability gap funding. While proceeds from taxes on medical devices would have been used to support this vital health infrastructure, taxes on essential devices for COVID-19 treatment have now been removed which may affect funds available so it is unclear how these facilities will be funded, and how quickly they can be built. Simultaneously, it remains to be seen if recent changes to prices and packages will incentivise more hospitals to apply for empanelment under PMJAY. 

Who pays for healthcare? 

In India, the majority of total health expenditure is borne by patients themselves. In FY 2020-21 Budget Estimates, allocations stood at ₹6,400 crore for PMJAY and ₹1,600 crore for HWCs. However, this pales in comparison to the ₹3,40,916 crore out-of-pocket expenditure on health by households in 2016-17, according to the National Health Accounts. Of course, while recognising that health is a state subject, one must note that Ayushman Bharat may not be sufficient to cover OOPE. 

Now, consider this. By design, PMJAY excludes conditions that require only outpatient care. For cases which require hospitalisation, outpatient care is only available for 15 days after discharge. According to the National Sample Survey (NSS) 75th round (2017-18) on health, the number of hospitalisation cases is far lower than total ailments. This means that those requiring only outpatient care far outnumber those requiring hospitalisation. 

 

While the impact of these changes will only be observed in time, they reflect something that isn’t always visible with government schemes: reflexivity.

 

Follow-up packages have been announced in HBP 2.0, which acknowledges that some procedures require prolonged or multiple follow ups beyond 15 days. However, this still doesn’t account for outpatient care needs. 

Outpatient care has been left to the other arm of Ayushman Bharat – HWCs. While targets in some states have been met, there are substantial gaps and most non-upgraded facilities still function below Indian Public Health Standard norms. Consequently,  the majority of people (66 per cent according to the NSS) rely on private facilities. The cost of outpatient care in government facilities is half that in private clinics, and one-third of costs in private hospitals. Therefore, while progress on the creation of HWCs must be acknowledged, it is evident that the decline in OOPE might not be as widespread or as sharp as desired by the government. 

Informational asymmetry will always be a challenge

Information asymmetry can be defined as a situation wherein one party in a transaction possesses more information and knowledge than the other party. One of the fundamental problems in healthcare systems across the world is the vast information asymmetry that exists between doctors and patients. This information imbalance leads to a power imbalance wherein patients may not be able to question medical experts and may be overcharged by the latter. 

This is not to say that the NHA or other state authorities are inept. Rather, this issue is not unique to a health insurance scheme like PMJAY, and no matter how excellent state capacity may be, information asymmetry will remain a thorny problem to deal with. PMJAY has some systems to deal with the problem. These include setting up of a  grievance redressal mechanism, reserving certain packages for government hospitals, and taking action de-empanelling hospitals if complaints are received. While such reflexivity and acknowledgement of a major challenge is encouraging, not much is known about the actual implementation and impact of these processes and further research is required to identify gaps. 

There are thus  substantial implementation challenges that PMJAY still faces. It is important to recognise that insurance systems take time to be effective. Feedback loops must be maintained among various stakeholders and the NHA, and there is some evidence of transparency and acknowledgement of issues at the policy level. While recent changes to PMJAY are welcome, other concerns such as exclusion, low empanelment, high outpatient care costs, and informational challenges remain. Addressing these, therefore, is the only route that can put India on track to achieving the near mythical goal of universal healthcare.

 

Ritwik is a Research Associate at Accountability Initiative. 

To cite this blog, we suggest the following: Shukla, R. (2020) As the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Evolves, Some Challenges Remain Rooted. Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research. Available at: http://accountabilityindia.in/blog/as-the-pradhan-mantri-jan-arogya-yojana-evolves-some-challenges-remain-rooted/.

COVID-19 Exacerbated Tendency to Centralise: Director, Accountability Initiative

The 10-minute video is part of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s ‘Coronavignette’ series, and was first published here.

In it, Avani describes:

  • How India’s federal stimulus packages is creating tension with state governments
  • Why Prime Minister Narendra Modi soared in popularity after his decisive reaction to COVID-19, but now his leadership is increasingly in question
  • How the lockdown forced India to reckon with its rural-to-urban labour migration.
  • How COVID-19 could erase a decade of progress in public health, education, and poverty reduction
  • At the same time, how COVID-19 could spur technological innovation in health, education, finance, and beyond

 

 

The Dangers of Decentralisation

Sometimes, the struggle to argue against something that one has stood by for a long time, is a painful one. And so has it been for me, ever since a colleague asked me to prepare content for an online course on Decentralised Governance, that she intends to launch. One of the sessions is on the dangers of decentralisation. 

There are many dangers to decentralisation. However, to elaborate on them would be a strategic blunder, where most higher level politicians and bureaucrats are waiting for excuses to pull things back to centralise to higher levels of government. Besides, the dangers to decentralisation usually manifest when the very design of decentralisation is bad.

What therefore, is bad decentralisation? The opposite of good decentralisation; as would be the obvious answer.

Classical – read simplistic – political and public finance theory would assert that decentralisation is good when there is a clear functional separation between the roles and responsibilities of multiple levels of government, when the fiscal package available with each level approximates their expenditure responsibilities, and when the accountability for the failure to perform their respective roles and responsibilities falls squarely upon that level of government, and nobody else.  

However, in reality, these design imperatives of good decentralisation are rarely met. Functions often cannot be separated with precision, and there will always be a constantly changing grey area where functional responsibilities of various levels of government overlap. On the fiscal side, nearly always, the expenditures associated with the delivery of local services cannot be met through local revenue sources alone. That necessitates the structuring and operation of an inter-governmental fiscal transfer system. There has never been, and will never be, a perfect inter-governmental fiscal transfer system that can calibrate to the last detail the expenditure requirements of each level of government – indeed each such government – and ladle out precisely the required amount of finances for delivery of such services.

Any functional allocation of services and matching fiscal transfers is bound to throw up winners and losers. The losers will be sore and will demand that they are not bound to pay more taxes for being transferred to others, and the winners will continue to demand more funds, claiming that what they get is not enough to cover the cost of the services that they deliver. 

The simplest way to solve the problem then is – you guessed it – centralisation. 

This constant seesawing battle between centralisation and decentralisation does not merely exist in the realm of theory. It manifests itself practically every day, and lack of clarity on this issue often underlies most problems that arise in governance. That in turn, underscores that the problem is not really whether decentralisation is worse than centralisation or vice versa, but whether the design of the inter-governmental relationship is logical and aimed at serving the imperatives of good governance. 

One of the topical examples of bad decentralisation design is how India deals with its Union Territories, particularly those with State legislatures. There is no doubt that the letter of the Constitutional design is conservative. A case in point is Delhi, which, with a population of about 30 million is larger in size than 14 other full-fledged States.

Within the compact, but thickly populated National Capital Territory, there are three levels of government; the Union, the Union Territory and the Local Governments (the Municipalities) that jostle for political visibility and legitimacy. The elected government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is hamstrung in exercising the full powers with which counterpart elected legislatures of other States are endowed. Laws made by the State legislature of Delhi are subject to the assent of the President. The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has the power to disagree with the Chief Minister and send his opinion to the President, and if the latter accepts the same, then the elected Delhi government can be overruled. Parliament can pass laws on the same matters as the State legislature of Delhi and if the provisions of State laws are repugnant to those of Parliament-enacted laws – then the former stand eclipsed by the latter. 

When it comes to fiscal decentralisation, the position of the elected government of Delhi worsens. While it has to deal with State-sized problems because of its large population and population density, by not being a State, it is not eligible to receive a share from the divisible pool of the Union government like any other State; at best it can raise its own taxes and receive a share of the GST. 

 

There has never been, and will never be, a perfect inter-governmental fiscal transfer system that can calibrate to the last detail the expenditure requirements of each level of government

 

To compound the problem further, government assets that serve the same purpose as far as citizens are concerned, such as schools and hospitals, are run by all three levels of governments, namely – the Municipalities, the State government and the Union Government. If these institutions run to different rules set by their separate parent governments, then monumental confusion can result. If citizens themselves do not care to notice which level of government does what, then the confusion becomes not only intractable, but even lethal. 

Last week, we saw hospitals that come under the Union government adopt a different standard and rules when it came to treatment of COVID-19 positive patients, as compared to the State government. Such confusion was exploited by political interests to fling allegations of maladministration and callousness against different levels of governments. Worse, it inconvenienced citizens who were ill, a dreadful situation in a pandemic.

Clearly, Delhi is a bad advertisement for the laudable concept of decentralisation. The Constitutional provisions contained in Part XIII of the Constitution need to be thoroughly debated. The restrictive and conservative approach of this chapter seems to be an anachronism in this day and age, particularly when states with much smaller populations are considered as full States and Delhi is not. 

 

T.R. Raghunandan is an Advisor at Accountability Initiative. 

Also Read from the Author: Whither, Local Governments, in the Pandemic?

 

Calling a Doctor Only During Emergency Deliveries: ANM in Bihar

The ‘Inside Districts’ series launched in April was a one-of-its-kind attempt to capture the experiences of district and Block-level officials, panchayat functionaries and frontline workers, on their challenges and best practices. As the fourth phase of a country-wide lockdown ends, we went back to some interviewees to understand how their situation has changed. Among them is an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) in Supaul, Bihar.

The interview was originally conducted in Hindi on 12 May 2020, and has been translated.

 

Q: You mentioned not being provided transport earlier. Have you received it now? What about gloves, hand sanitisers? 

ANM: No transport facility has been provided by the department. We received masks, gloves and sanitisers on 25th of March.

Q: What is the support you need to do your job better now?

ANM: I work in a referral hospital, where a doctor should have also been available. My tasks are not related to COVID-19 but on labour and deliveries. However, we call the doctor only in case of an emergency; otherwise, I along with the two other sisters do the delivery of pregnant women. We do not get any encouragement. 

Q: Do you see any changes that have taken place in the last two months? 

ANM: There are a lot of changes. People have started following social distancing norms. They take care of cleanliness, and are also using masks.

The people in my area are not letting us vaccinate their kids if the colour of the vaccine is red. They think that a red vaccine will kill their child, and that green vaccine is better. It is important to give BCG vaccination to kids. We have to convince their mothers a lot to allow us to give the vaccination. [Note: Accountability Initiative has not independently verified the medical basis for colored vaccines or bottles]

Auxiliary Nurse Midwife is a village-level female health worker working in the village Health Sub-centre, and is the first contact person between the community and the health services. ANMs are expected to be multi-purpose health workers playing a critical role in maternal and child health including immunisations, family planning services, and treatment of minor injuries and first aid in emergencies and disasters. As per the Rural Health Statistics 2019, there are a total of 2,34,220 ANMs across Sub-centres and Public Health Centres in the country.

Learning Public Policy Design in the Times of Coronavirus

On 30th April and 1st May, we conducted a 2-day workshop with the National Academy of Audit and Accounts (NAAA). This was a first for us, in the sense that we adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a virtually accessible learning workshop.

Originally slated to be held in Shimla, the event was held digitally for probationers at the NAAA on ‘Understanding Policy Design and Policy Evaluation’. NAAA is the apex training institute of the Indian Audit & Accounts Department (IA& AD), and imparts induction training to Indian Audit & Accounts Service (IA&AS) officers recruited through the Civil Services Examination.

The first objective was to introduce the participants to public policy design, and give them an overview of the policy cycle. Through the case study of education policy in India, the participants were encouraged to further deep dive into policy design and also reflect upon accountability mechanisms within public policy.

The second objective was to build a deep understanding on the significance of evaluating public policies, not just by engaging with theory but by also relating them with on ground experiences. Using case studies and real examples from Accountability Initiative’s own research, participants were enabled to undertake a critical analysis of policy design and evaluation.

Learning outcomes included:
1. Engaging with the theory on public policy- acquainting with the basics of the policy cycle from agenda setting to evaluation.
2. Exploring public policy trends in India.
3. Deep Diving into policy making in India- learning through the case of ‘Decentralisation in education governance’ with education policy.
4. Critically analysing the design and implementation of citizen accountability in public policy.
5. Exploring the significance of policy evaluation.
6. Engaging with types and approaches of policy evaluation and methods of evaluation.
7. Reflecting on the complications in policy evaluation in the country today.

Even within the constraints of being online, the workshop’s design created spaces for interaction with the participants and engaging them in activities, open discussions, and group work.

The feedback received from the Academy was positive, and we look forward to more such trainings with them. If you or your organisation is also interested in similar workshops kindly reach out at: [email protected].

Rajika is the Lead-Learning and Development at Accountability Initiative.

Received a Day’s Training on Coronavirus: Panchayat Secretary in Maharashtra

The ‘Inside Districts’ series launched in April was a one-of-its-kind attempt to capture the experiences of district and Block-level officials, panchayat functionaries and frontline workers, on their challenges and best practices. As the fourth phase of a country-wide lockdown ends, we went back to some interviewees to understand how their situation has changed. Among them is a Panchayat Secretary in Satara, Maharashtra.

The Panchayat Secretary or Village Development Officer (VDO) is the appointed administrative functionary at the Gram Panchayat level. 

The interview was originally conducted in Hindi on 14 May 2020, and has been translated.

 

Q: Migrants who have arrived back home, are they being home quarantined? 

Panchayat Sachiv: People are still coming to our village but no one has tested COVID-19 positive as of now. The number of positive patients in the district has increased though. 

The people who have come from other places are home quarantined. They are not meeting other people and are following all the instructions properly, which was not the case earlier. 

Q: Has the work under NREGA started? For the last two months when there was no work, were the labourers provided with any money? 

Panchayat Sachiv: Yes, the work has started now, but there are only some labourers. The government has started with some construction work such as irrigation, water conservation, digging wells and under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. 

No money has been given to the beneficiaries for the last two months in the absence of work.

Q: Maharashtra has seen a spurt in the number of COVID-19 positive people. Have you seen any instances of more testing in Satara (considering Satara still has fewer cases as compared to bigger cities)?

Panchayat Sachiv: Yes, the cases in Maharashtra have increased drastically. There is a new case every day. Earlier, there were only a few cases in Satara but now there are many. Simultaneously, the number of Coronavirus tests being conducted here has also increased. 

Q: Do you have enough masks, gloves, sanitisers for frontline workers? Were you trained on COVID-19?

 Panchayat Sachiv: Yes, we have had sufficient equipment, and we received a day’s training related to Coronavirus, its symptoms and what to do in case somebody is exhibiting symptoms.   

 

Also Download Illustration: A Massive Bureaucratic Exercise 

पॉलिसी बझः कोरोना व्हायरस-फोकस सहावी आवृत्ती

कल्याणकारी धोरणात जे घडत आहे त्या प्रत्येक पंधरवड्यात प्रकाशित झालेल्या बातम्यांच्या निवडीसह अद्ययावत रहा. सध्याची आवृत्ती भारतातील कोरोनाव्हायरस (साथीचा रोग) सर्व देशभर (किंवा खंडभर) असलेला यावर लक्ष केंद्रित करते आणि सरकार वाढ थांबविण्यासाठी करत असलेले प्रयत्न.

 

धोरण बातमी

  • भारत सरकारने नवीन मार्गदर्शक तत्त्वे (लॉकडाउन 5.0) जारी केली आहेत, त्याअंतर्गत नियंत्रण क्षेत्र पुन्हा सुरू करण्याचे काम मोठ्या प्रमाणात सुरू केले जाईल.
  • सरकारने सामान्य वित्तीय नियम (जी.एफ.आर) मधील दुरुस्तीसंदर्भात अधिसूचित केले आहे आणि स्थानिक कंपनीकडून 200 कोटी रुपयांपेक्षा कमी किंमतीची वस्तू व सेवांची खरेदी केली जाईल याची खात्री केली जात आहे. एम.एस.एम.ई साठी फायदेशीर ठरेल.
  • राष्ट्रीय कृषी व ग्रामीण विकास बँक (नाबार्ड) ने शेतकर्यांना कर्ज देण्यासाठी सहकारी बँका आणि प्रादेशिक ग्रामीण बँकांना (आर.आर.बी. एस ) 20,500 कोटी वितरित केले आहेत. मान्सूनपूर्व आणि खरीप 2020 च्या कामकाजासाठी शेतक-यांना वित्तपुरवठा करण्यासाठी पुरेशी तरलता सुनिश्चित करता यावी यासाठी हा निधी सहकारी बँका आणि आर.आर.बी ची संसाधन सहकार्य म्हणून दिले जात आहे.
  • 22 मे रोजी आंतरराष्ट्रीय जैवविविधतेचा दिवस, केंद्रीय पर्यावरण, वन आणि हवामान बदल मंत्री प्रकाश जावडेकर यांनी शुक्रवारी जैवविविधतेच्या संवर्धनासाठी पाच महत्त्वाचे उपक्रम सुरू केले. वापर मर्यादित ठेवणे आणि टिकाऊ जीवनशैलीला प्रोत्साहन देण्यावर देखील त्यांनी भर दिला.
  • भारत सरकारने शिक्षण आणि आरोग्यासह त्यांच्या मुख्य कार्यक्रम आणि सेवेच्या सहाय्यासाठी संयुक्त राष्ट्रांच्या मदत व निर्माण संस्था (UNRWA) ला 2 मिलियन अमेरिकन डॉलरची तरतूद केली.

 

इतर

  • सुप्रीम कोर्टाने 26 मे रोजी देशाच्या विविध भागात अडकलेल्या स्थलांतरित कामगारांच्या समस्यांची स्वत: दखल घेतली. सर्वोच्च न्यायालयाने सरकारला नोटीस बजावली आणि “स्थलांतरित मजुरांच्या त्रासाची पूर्तता” करण्याच्या उपायांवर उत्तर मागितले.
  • संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघाने कोविड -19 विरुद्ध लढा देण्यासाठी मणिपूरच्या KHUDOL उपक्रमाची नोंद केली आहे. युवा संघटनेचे दूत श्रीलंकेचे जयथमा विक्रमनायक यांनी सांगितले की, “100 स्वयंसेवकांचे जाळे जोडून त्यांनी सुमारे 2000 कुटुंबे आणि व्यक्तींना 1000 हून अधिक आरोग्य उपकरणे, 6,500 सॅनिटरी पॅड आणि 1,500 कंडोम उपलब्ध करुन दिले आहेत.
  • चीननंतर भारत आता कोविड -19 (साथीचा रोग) महामारी दरम्यान पीपीई कवच उत्पादनात दुसर्‍या क्रमांकाचा देश आहे.
  • केंद्रीय आरोग्यमंत्री डॉ. हर्ष वर्धन हे 147 व्या अधिवेशनात WHO कार्यकारी मंडळाचे अध्यक्ष म्हणून काम पाहणार आहेत. वर्धन हे जपानचे डॉ. हिरोकी नकतानी यांच्या जागी कार्यरत आहेत. ते सध्या WHO च्या कार्यकारी मंडळाचे 34 अध्यक्ष आहेत.

Policy Buzz: Coronavirus-focus Sixth Edition

Keep up-to-date with all that is happening in welfare policy with this curated selection of news, published every fortnight. The current edition focusses on the Coronavirus pandemic in India, and the government’s efforts to stem its increase.  

 

Policy News

  • The Government of India has issued fresh guidelines (Lockdown 5.0), as part of which activities will largely be reopened outside designated containment zones.
  • The government has notified amendments to General Financial Rules (GFR) to ensure that goods and services valued less than Rs 200 crore are being procured from domestic firms, a move which will benefit MSMEs.
  • National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) disbursed Rs 20,500 crore to cooperative banks and regional rural banks (RRBs) for on-lending to farmers. The fund is given as a means of front loading the resources of cooperative banks and RRBs so as to ensure adequate liquidity with them for financing farmers for taking up pre-monsoon and kharif 2020 operations.
  • On May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity, Union Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday launched five key initiatives towards conservation of biodiversity. He also laid emphasis on the need to limit our consumption and promote a sustainable lifestyle.
  • The Government of India provided USD 2 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in support of its core programmes and services, including education and health.

Others 

  • The Supreme Court on May 26 took suo moto cognizance of the problems of migrant workers who are stranded in different parts of the country. The apex court issued notice to the government seeking replies on steps taken “redeem the miseries of migrant labourers”. 
  • The United Nations listed the KHUDOL initiative of Manipur as one of the top 10 global initiatives to fight against COVID-19. “Mobilising a network of 100 volunteers, they have provided around 2,000 families and individuals with over 1,000 health kits, 6,500 sanitary pads and 1,500 condoms,” said Jayathma Wickramanayake of Sri Lanka, the UN Envoy on Youth.
  • After China, India is now the second largest producer of PPE coveralls during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as chairman of the WHO Executive Board at its 147th session. Vardhan would succeed Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, currently the Chairman of the 34-member WHO Executive Board.