Compulsory Testing of Packaged Food Products

Compulsory Testing of Packaged Food Products

As per the conditions of license prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011, all food business operators have to ensure testing of relevant chemical and/or microbiological contaminants in food products in accordance with these regulations as frequently as required on the basis of historical data and risk assessment to ensure production and delivery of safe food through own or NABL accredited /Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified labs at least once in six months. Every food business operator in the country has to follow and comply with Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, Rules and Regulations made there under.



Besides, safety standards of food items have been notified in respect of around 365 categories of food products. These standards are enforced by the Food Safety Departments of the States/UTs.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Health Ministry to provide similar facilities of AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir regions: Shri J P Nadda

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda stated that the Health Ministry is setting up an AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir and will provide similar facilities of AIIMS in both Jammu and Kashmir regions.

The Union Health Minister, Shri J P Nadda stated this after meeting a delegation from Jammu and Kashmir comprising State BJP President and Lok Sabha MP, Sh. Jugal Kishore Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister of the State, Sh. Nirmal Singh, State Health Minister, Sh. Lal Singh and State BJP General Secretary, Sh. Narendra Singh, who met the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, here today.

“The NDA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi ji is committed to provide healthcare facilities for all regions. And we are committed to balanced regional growth when it comes to healthcare facilities,” said Sh. Nadda.

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Standardisation of Fees Charged by Private Hospitals and Laboratories

As public health is a state subject, the primary responsibility to provide affordable healthcare to the citizens lies with the State/Union Territory (UT) Governments. However, under the National Health Mission, financial support is provided to the States/UTs to strengthen the public health system, including support for infrastructure, human resource, drugs, equipment, etc. based on the requirement proposed by the States/UTs in their Programme Implementation Plans. To reduce ‘Out of Pocket Expenditure’ in public health facilities, several initiatives such as Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), expansion of Universal Immunisation Programme, free emergency referral services and the NHM-Free Drugs Service Initiative and the NHM-Free Diagnostic Service Initiative have been rolled out. Further, under Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, health Insurance coverage is provided to BPL families up to Rs. 30,000/- per family per year.

As health is a State subject, such proposals have to be formulated at the State level especially as Clinical Establishments (Regulation and Registration) Act, 2010 has not been adopted by many States.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Medical Care for Cancer Patients in Government Hospitals

As per the data provided by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), men are more prone to mouth cancer and women are more prone to breast cancer. According to data provided by ICMR, deaths due to lung cancer account for 14.7% of all cancer deaths in males and are the top cause of cancer deaths for men in the country. The deaths due to cervical cancer account for 24.1% and breast cancer account for 16.3% of all female cancer deaths. Hence, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women.

The estimated number of deaths due to stomach cancer (in both men and women combined) for the year 2014 and accounts for 4.3% of deaths due to all anatomical sites of cancer. Stomach cancer is the sixth leading cause of death in both men and women.

The estimated new (fresh) mouth cancer cases in India for the year 1990 are 45191 and for 2013 are 108076. Mouth cancer has high Age Adjusted Rate (AAR) in Indian cancer registries for both males and females and was among the highest in the world.

The Central Government supplements the efforts of the state government for improving healthcare including prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. At present, the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) being implemented under National Health Mission (NHM) for interventions up to the district level includes awareness generation for Cancer prevention, screening, early detection and referral to an appropriate level institution for treatment. The focus is on three areas namely breast, cervical and oral Cancer. Screening guidelines have been provided to State Governments for implementation. Suspected cases are to be referred for confirmatory diagnosis by various tests including histo-pathological biopsy.

The Government of India has approved “Tertiary Care for Cancer” Scheme under National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in the year 2013-14. Under the said scheme, Government of India will assist to establish/set up 20 State Cancer Institutes (SCI) and 50 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC) in different parts of the country. The maximum assistance inclusive of State share for SCI is up to Rs.120 crore and for TCCC is up to Rs.45 crore subject to eligibility as per scheme guidelines and availability of funds.

The treatment for cancer in government hospitals is either free or subsidized. In addition to cancer diagnosis and treatment by the State Governments Health Institutes, the Central Government Institutions such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Safdurjung Hospital, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata, etc. provide facilities for diagnosis and treatment of Cancer.

Oncology in its various aspects has focus in case of new AIIMS and many upgraded institutions under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). Setting up of National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar (Haryana) and 2nd campus of Chittranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata has also been approved.

Financial assistance to Below Poverty Line (BPL) patients is available under the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN). Besides this, the Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) within the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi has been set up in 2009 wherein 27 erstwhile Regional Cancer Centres (RCCs) are provided with revolving funds to provide immediate financial assistance up to Rs.2.00 lakh to BPL cancer patients.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Mechanism to Check Pesticides in Food Items



The standards for pesticides in food products, potable water and fruits have been prescribed under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.  The States/UTs which are responsible for enforcement of the Act draw samples and take action as per laid down procedures to ensure conformance with the standards.

The details of laboratories approved/authorized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India are indicated below:-

State – wise list of Food Testing Laboratories

Sr. No.	State/UT	Number of State/ Public Food Laboratories	Number of Referral Food Labs*	Number of NABL Accredited Private Labs notified by FSSAI
1.	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	1	-	-
2.	Andhra Pradesh	1	1	-
3.	Assam	1	-	-
4.	Bihar	1	-	-
5.	Chhattisgarh	1	-	-
6.	Daman and Diu	-	-	1
7.	NCT of Delhi	1	-	11
8.	Goa	1	-	-
9.	Gujarat	6	1	3
10.	Haryana	2	-	8
11.	Himachal Pradesh	1	-	-
12.	Jammu and Kashmir	2	-	-
13.	Jharkhand	1	-	-
14.	Karnataka	4	2	7
15.	Kerala	3	1	5
16.	Madhya Pradesh	3	-	3
17.	Maharashtra	11	2	18
18.	Meghalaya	1	-	-
19.	Nagaland	1	-	-
20.	Odisha	1	-	-
21.	Puducherry	1	-	-
22.	Punjab	3	-	2
23.	Rajasthan	8	-	3
24.	Tamil Nadu	7	1	7
25.	Telangana	1	1	5
26.	Tripura	1	-	-
27.	Uttar Pradesh	3	2	3
28.	Uttarakhand	-	-	1
29.	West Bengal	5	1	5
	Total	72	12	82

*The Referral Food Laboratories work as appellate laboratories for the purpose of analysis of appeal samples of food lifted by the Food Safety Officers of the State/UTs and local bodies and the imported food samples.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Medical facilities provided by government for Treatment of various diseases


According to the World Health Organization, the estimated number of tuberculosis patients in the country is 26 lakh whereas the estimated mortality attributable to tuberculosis is 2.4 lakh. As of May 2015, a total of 8, 69,576 HIV/AIDS patient are receiving free Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). Numbers of patients reported died at ART centres during the last three financial years are as below:

·        2011-12: 35,265
·        2012-13: 29,466
·        2013-14: 41,956


Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducts studies on incidence and prevalence of different diseases. Among the major Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), as per disease burden study on non-communicable diseases by ICMR, the number of estimated cases and deaths for Diabetes Mellitus and Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) in 2004 are as under:

Disease	Number of cases (in lakhs)	No. of deaths (in lakhs)
Diabetes	378	1.0
IHD	224	5.5

While health is a state subject, the Central Government supplements the efforts of the state governments to provide health care.

The Government of India, along with state governments, has been implementing the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) in the country which since 2005 is under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM). Under the programme, more than 13000 designated microscopy centres have been established for quality diagnosis of TB. Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant TB (PMDT) Services under RNTCP were initiated in India from year 2007 and the entire country was covered by 2013. Diagnosis of Drug Resistant TB is conducted through quality assured drug susceptibility testing at 62 Culture and Drug Susceptibility Testing laboratories, in addition to availability of rapid molecular tests like Line Probe Assay (LPA) and Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT). Under RNTCP, drugs are provided under direct observation and the patients are monitored to facilitate adherence to and completion of treatment. Most government hospitals, Community Health Centres (CHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHC), sub-Centres function as DOT centres. Diagnosis and treatment under RNTCP is provided free of cost. In the year 2014, 1445284 persons were registered under RNTCP.


As of May 2015, there are 510 Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres and 1068 Link Antiretroviral Therapy (LAC) in the country and through them a total of 8, 69,576 HIV/AIDS patients are receiving free of cost Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). The PLHIV are provided free basic diagnostic services, free CD4 count and free ARV drugs.  Medicines for NCD’s are made available to patients both in Central and State Governments Health facilities free of cost or at subsidized rates. However, the number of persons getting such benefits is not maintained centrally.

The Government of India launched a National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardio-vascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) in July, 2010 in 100 Districts in 21 States.  From 2013-14, the programme has been brought under the umbrella of National Health Mission (NHM) and expanded to cover more districts in all states and UTs.  During 12th Plan, the activities under NPCDCS include strengthening of health infrastructure by setting up of NCD clinics, providing necessary manpower for programme activities, health promotion activities, screening, early diagnosis, treatment and referral of patients suffering from these diseases through public health delivery system.

The trend of support under RNTCP is on the rise. During the last 3 years, Rs.1621 crores (aggregate) was released to the States under RNTCP.

The amount spent on procurement of (Antiretroviral) ARV Drugs by National Aids Control Organization (NACO) during the last two years is as under:-

Drugs	Contracts awarded including sales and other taxes (INR in crore)
	2013-14	2014-15
ARV Drugs	467.32	513.60

During the last 3 years, Rs.310.38 crore was released to the State Government under the NPCDCS. The details of average expenditure incurred by individuals for treatment of RNTCP, AIDS, Diabetes and heart-related diseases from private or with government health facilities in the country are not centrally maintained.

There has been a marginal increase in cost of First Line anti-TB drugs over the last few years. Details regarding medicines during the last three years are given below:-

As far as ARV Drugs are concerned, the variance in percentage increase of cost for first and second line drugs and pediatric drugs during the last two years is placed below:-


Cost comparison of ARV Drugs procured during last two years

S. No	Drug	Last Purchase Price (including taxes & duties)	NOA Award date	Last Purchase Price (including taxes & duties)	NOA Award date	Recently awarded unit price (including taxes & duties)	NOA Award date	Variance in percentage between recently awarded and last awarded Contract	Remarks
First Line ARV Drugs
1	TLE- Tenofivir 300mg+ Lamivudine 300mg + Efavirenz 600mg			21.105	23.09.2014	21.105	8.05.2015	N/A	NACO procured first time this drug in 2 installments of 50% quantity of the same tender
2	ZLN- Zidovudine 300mg+ Lamivudine 150 mg + Nevirapine 200 mg	8.4105	10.09.2013	8.6625	23.09.2014	8.652	8.05.2015	-0.12%	NACO procured 50% qty from the same tender in 2 installments with different cost
3	ZL (Adult)- Zidovudine 300mg+ Lamivudine 150 mg			6.589	30.08.2012	6.6084	10.09.2013	0.29%
4	TL (Adult)- Tenofivir 300mg+ Lamivudine 300mg			11.55	10.09.2013	11.928	23.09.2014	3.17%	Additional 25% qty was procured from the same tender on 26.06.2014
5	EFV (Adult)- Efavirenz 600mg			5.985	30.08.2012	6.6296	10.09.2013	9.72%
6	NVP (Adult)- Nevirapine 200mg			2.2575	1.11.2013	2.24174	23.09.2014	-0.70%
7	SLN- Stavudine 30 mg + Lamivudine 150 mg +Nevirapine 200 mg			3.748	01.09.2011	4.8294	10.09.2013	22.39%
8	SL (Adult)- Stavudine 30 mg + Lamivudine 150 mg			2.437	30.08.2012	2.7218	10.09.2013	10.46%
Second Line ARV Drugs
1	Lopinavir/Ritonavir (Adult)- Lopinavir 200mg + Ritonavir 50 mg			11.55	10.10.2013	11.8502	24.10.2014	2.53%
2	Atazanavir (Adult)- Atazanavir 300mg			23.247	30.03.2012	30.45	14.03.2014	23.66%
3	Ritonavir (RTV)- Ritonavir 100mg			11.54	30.03.2012	14.6475	14.03.2014	21.22%
4	AL (Adult)- Abacavir 600 mg + Lamivudine 300 mg					31.5	23.09.2014		NACO procured first time
5	FDC ATV/RTV- Atazanavir 300 mg +  Ritonavir 100 mg					36.75	23.06.2015		NACO procured first time
Paediatric ARV Drugs
1	ZLN - Zidovudine 60 mg+ Lamivudine 30 mg + Nevirapine 50 mg			3.654	01.10.2013	3.705	30.10.2014	1.38%
2	AL (ABC+3TC)-Abacavir 60 mg + Lamivudine 30 mg			3.9165	3.04.2014	3.7705	30.10.2014	-3.87%
3	NVP 50 -Nevirapine 50mg			2.415	1.10.2013	1.836	30.10.2014	-31.54%
4	Lopinavir/Ritonavir - Lopinavir 100mg+ Ritonavir 25mg			10.5	01.10.2013	10.773	30.10.2014	2.53%
5	Lopinavir/Ritonavir Syrup -Lopinavir 80mg + Ritonavir 20 mg Syrup, 160 ml					1890.00	9.10.2014	N/A	NACO procured first time
6	ZL- Zidovudine 60 mg + Lamivudine 30 mg			2.0016	1.10.2013	2.02	18.06.2015	0.91%
7	SLN- Stavudine 6 mg + Lamivudine 30 mg +Nevirapine 50 mg					2.7896	30.10.2014	N/A	NACO procured first time
8	SL- Stavudine 6 mg + Lamivudine 30 mg							N/A	This drug is not procured by NACO
9	EFV- Efavirenz 200mg			3.4335	3.04.2014	3.489	30.10.2014	1.59%

In respect Diabetes and heart related Diseases, procurement of drugs is not maintained centrally.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Decline in Infant Mortality Rate


As per the Sample Registration System (SRS) Reports published by the Registrar General of India, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the country has declined steadily from  47/1000 live births in 2010 to  40/1000 live births  in 2013.


The details of Infant Mortality Rate, State and UT wise as per the SRS Reports 2010-2013 are  given below:-

State-wise IMR in India as per SRS Reports (2010-2013)

State/UTs	2010	2011	2012	2013
India	47	44	42	40
Bihar	48	44	43	42
Chhattisgarh	51	48	47	46
Himachal Pradesh	40	38	36	35
Jammu and Kashmir	43	41	39	37
Jharkhand	42	39	38	37
Madhya Pradesh	62	59	56	54
Odisha	61	57	53	51
Rajasthan	55	52	49	47
Uttar Pradesh	61	57	53	50
Uttarakhand	38	36	34	32
Arunachal Pradesh	31	32	33	32
Assam	58	55	55	54
Manipur	14	11	10	10
Meghalaya	55	52	49	47
Mizoram	37	34	35	35
Nagaland	23	21	18	18
Sikkim	30	26	24	22
Tripura	27	29	28	26
Andhra Pradesh	46	43	41	39
Goa	10	11	10	9
Gujarat	44	41	38	36
Haryana	48	44	42	41
Karnataka	38	35	32	31
Kerala	13	12	12	12
Maharashtra	28	25	25	24
Punjab	34	30	28	26
Tamil Nadu	24	22	21	21
West Bengal	31	32	32	31
A and N Islands	25	23	24	24
Chandigarh	22	20	20	21
D and Nagar Haveli	38	35	33	31
Daman and Diu	23	22	22	20
Delhi	30	28	25	24
Lakshadweep	25	24	24	24
Pondicherry	22	19	17	17

The Government of India under National Health Mission has taken several steps in all the states and UTs to further reduce infant mortality rate. Some of the key steps are as under:

1.     Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK): entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery including Caesarean section.  The initiative stipulates free drugs, diagnostics, blood and diet, besides free transport from home to institution, between facilities in case of a referral and drop back home. Similar entitlements have been put in place for all sick infants accessing public health institutions for treatment till one year of age.

2.     Emphasis on facility based newborn care at different levels to reduce child morbidity and mortality: Setting up of facilities for care of sick newborn such as Special New Born Care Units (SNCUs), Newborn Stabilization Units (NBSUs) and Newborn Care Corners (NBCCs) at different levels is a thrust area under NHM.

3.     Capacity building of health care providers: Various trainings are being conducted under NHM to train doctors, nurses and ANMs for essential newborn care, early diagnosis and case management of common ailments of children. These trainings are on Navjaat Shishu, Suraksha Karyakram (NSSK), Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI), Facility Based Newborn Care (FBNC), Infant and Young Child Feeding practices (IYCF) etc.

4.     India Newborn Action Plan (INAP) has been launched with an aim to reduce neonatal mortality and stillbirths.

5.     Newer interventions to reduce newborn mortality- Vitamin K injection at birth, Antenatal corticosteroids for preterm labour, kangaroo mother care and injection gentamicin to young infants in cases of suspected sepsis.

6.     Home Based New Born Care (HBNC): Home based newborn care through ASHAs has been initiated to improve new born practices at the community level and early detection and referral of sick new born babies.

7.     Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) to be observed in July-August 2015 focusing on ORS and Zinc distribution for management of diarrhoea and feeding practices.

8.     Integrated Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (IAPPD) launched in four states with highest infant mortality (UP, MP, Bihar and Rajasthan).

9.     Management of Malnutrition: Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) have been established for management of severe acute malnutrition in children.

10. Appropriate Infant and Young Child Feeding practices are being promoted in convergence with Ministry of Woman and Child Development.

11. Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs) are organized for imparting nutritional counselling to mothers and to improve child care practices.

12. Universal Immunization Programme (UIP): Vaccination protects children against many life threatening diseases such as Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Measles. Infants are thus immunized against seven vaccine preventable diseases every year. The Government of India supports the vaccine programme by supply of vaccines and syringes, cold chain equipment and provision of operational costs.

13. Mission Indradhanush has been launched in 201 high focus districts to fully immunise more than 43 lakh children who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated; those that have not been covered during the rounds of routine immunisation for various reasons. They will be fully immunised against seven life-threatening but vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis.

14. In addition, vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenza type B will be provided in selected districts/states of the country. Pregnant women will also be immunised against tetanus.

15. Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS): A name based Mother and Child Tracking System has been put in place which is web based to ensure registration and tracking of all pregnant women and new born babies so that provision of regular and complete services to them can be ensured.

16. Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) for health screening and early intervention services has been launched to provide comprehensive care to all the children in the age group of 0-18 years in the community. The purpose of these services is to improve the overall quality of life of children through early detection of birth defects, diseases, deficiencies, development delays including disability.

17. Under National Iron Plus Initiative (NIPI), through life cycle approach, age and dose specific IFA supplementation programme is being implemented for the prevention of anaemia among the vulnerable age groups like under-5 children, children of 6 – 10 years of age group, adolescents, pregnant & lactating women and women in reproductive age along with treatment of anaemic children and pregnant mothers at health facilities.


The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Non-Defining of Junk Food Under Food Safety Act

“Junk Food” has not been defined under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.

At present, there is no proposal under consideration of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to define junk food under the FSS Act. However, guidelines for making available Wholesome, Nutritious, Safe and Hygienic Food to School children in the country have been framed by the Central Advisory Committee, FSSAI.

The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), ICMR has not conducted a study on junk food. A study had, however, been conducted by NIN to assess ill-effects of consumption of Carbonated Water beverages (CWBs) on the health of adolescents and young Adults, which showed higher increments of body fat in young consumers.

The consumers are educated/made aware of the food safety through consumer awareness programmes launched jointly by the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). These include advertisements in different media, campaigns launched by the FSSAI on social media such as Face-book, documentary films on YouTube, educational booklets, information on FSSAI website, stalls at Fairs/Melas/Events and mass awareness campaigns.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Awareness Programme on Ill-Effects of Fast Food

The Government is aware of the reports appearing in the media about adverse effects of junk food, and also aware of the findings of the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad about ill-effects of consumption of Carbonated Water beverages (CWBs) on health of adolescents and young adults, which showed higher increments of body fat in young consumers.

The consumers are educated/made aware of the food safety through consumer awareness programmes launched jointly by the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). These include advertisements in different media, campaigns launched by the FSSAI on social media such as Face-book, documentary films on YouTube, educational booklets, information on FSSAI website, stalls at Fairs/Melas/Events and mass awareness campaigns.

Guidelines for making available Wholesome, Nutritious, Safe and Hygienic Food to School children in India have been framed by the Central Advisory Committee, FSSAI.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.

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Universal Health Coverage

The Central Government is committed to assisting the States/UTs in the direction of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This is however to be carried out in a phased manner given the need for requisite infrastructure and adequate capacity in the states. Under the National Health Mission (NHM), support is being provided to States/UTs to strengthen their healthcare delivery system including for provision of free/affordable healthcare, free drugs and diagnostics to all those who access public health facilities. The primary healthcare needs of urban population particularly poor and vulnerable population have also been brought under the ambit of NHM with the launch of the National Urban Health Mission as its Sub Mission.

In addition, under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) this has recently been transferred to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, cashless benefit uptoRs. 30,000 per annum per family of five for specified hospitalization procedures are available to all BPL population and eleven other categories of vulnerable population groups. As regards tertiary care, apart from 6 AIIMS which have been made operational, 9 AIIMS have been announced. Apart from this, 70 Medical Colleges/Institutions have been taken up for upgradation.

Further, approval has been given to set up 17 new Medical Colleges and upgradation of 22 District Hospitals into Medical Colleges in the last one year towards universalization of tertiary care. At present, there is no proposal to make UHC tax-funded and cashless at delivery.

Public health being a state subject, primary responsibility to provide healthcare services lies with the State Governments. However, under National Health Mission (NHM) financial and technical support is provided to the State/UT Governments for health system strengthening, including provision for medicine and diagnostics at all public health facilities and referral linkages, patient transport system, etc, based on the proposals made by them in their Programme Implementation Plans.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today. 

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Measures to Contain Deaths from Antibiotic Resistance

Based on the information received from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Government is not aware about WHO’s report that anti-biotic resistance may cause rise in death of Indians to 20 lakhs per year by 2050. Data on deaths due to antibiotic resistance is not being collected at present by the Government.

In order to strengthen the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the country, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has set up a National Anti-Microbial Resistance Research and Surveillance Network (AMRRSN) to enable compilation of National Data of AMR at different levels of Health Care.

The Drugs and Cosmetic Rule, 1945 were amended in 2013 to incorporate a new Schedule H1 under the said rules containing 46 drugs which include III and IV generation antibiotics, anti TB drugs and certain habit forming drugs for  having  strict  control  over the   sale of   these drugs. The drugs falling under Schedule H1 are required to be sold in the country with the following conditions:

(1)   The supply of a drug specified in Schedule H1 shall be recorded in a separate register at the time of the supply giving the name and address of the prescriber, the name of the patient, the name of the drug and the quantity supplied and such records shall be maintained for three years and be open for inspection.

(2)   The drug specified in Schedule H1 shall be labeled with the symbol Rx which shall be in red and conspicuously displayed on the left top corner of the label, and shall also be labeled with the following words in a box with a red border:

“Schedule H1 Drug-Warning: -It is dangerous to take this preparation except in accordance with the medical advice. -Not to be sold by retail without the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner.”

Further, Government of India has formulated a National policy for containment of antimicrobial resistance in 2011. A National Programme for Containment of AMR has also been initiated in 12th Five Year Plan with the following objectives.

§      To establish a laboratory based surveillance system by strengthening laboratories for AMR in the country and to generate quality data on antimicrobial resistance for pathogens of public health importance.

§      To generate awareness among healthcare providers and in the community regarding rational use of antibiotics.

§         To strengthen infection control guidelines and practices and promote rational use of antibiotics.

The MoS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.