President Obama Announces New Library Initiatives

At a visit to Washington, DC’s Anacostia Neighborhood Library on April 30, President Barack Obama announced two new initiatives that promise to rally America’s libraries, publishers, and nonprofit organizations to strengthen learning opportunities for all children, particularly in low-income communities. The plan, dubbed the ConnectED Library Challenge, will engage civic leaders, libraries, and schools to work together to ensure that all school students receive public library cards. Commitments from 30 library systems are already in place. Read more HERE

“Mission Indradhanush” 

Shri J P Nadda, Health & Family Welfare Minister launched “Mission Indradhanush”, on 25th December 2014. The Mission Indradhanush, depicting seven colours of the rainbow, aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against seven vaccine preventable diseases which include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B. The Minister launched the Mission on Good Governance Day to mark the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Shri Madan Mohan Malaviya and birthday of Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Details available at Press Information Bureau

From The Hitavada-

MCI makes Research Cell a must for all medical colleges

Considering that research is being neglected in higher education including medical education, Medical Council of India (MCI) has decided to emphasise on this particular area. MCI has made it mandatory for all medical colleges in the country to have Research Cell. Vide a circular dated February 11, Secretary of MCI has informed all the Deans of medical colleges in the country to form a Research Cell. The decision has been taken with reference to the discussion on the issue in Executive Committee meeting of MCI held in November 2014. The meeting had approved the recommendations of Academic Council of MCI. Academic Council had observed that there was an ‘imperative need’ for creation of a standing mechanism for the purposes of accelerating research activities in every medical college. To actualise the same, it was proposed that every medical college should have a Research Cell, which would give necessary impetus to stimulate research activities in medical colleges. Dr Vedprakash Mishra, Chairman of MCI Academic Council, said that research was one of the cardinal objectives of medical education. Therefore, it was necessary that research skills needed to be inculcated in true sense at under-graduate level of education in a structured manner. For the purpose, a standing mechanism was warranted. “Research Cell with specified composition, functions and duties attributable to it in each medical college, will definitely give a genuine fillip to strengthening the research potential of every medical institution in the country. The initiative of MCI on the said count is timely, laudable, and in larger academic interests,” he said. There are 381 medical colleges in the country at present, of which 44 are in Maharashtra. Of the total number of medical colleges in Maharashtra, eight are in Vidarbha.

Link is HERE

Phlebotomist: A person who draws blood for diagnostic tests or to remove blood for treatment purposes - from MedicineNet.com

News from Reuters -


Insight - Deserted New Delhi hospitals sour India's healthcare dream


 Two state-of-the-art public hospitals in New Delhi are barely operational years after they officially opened - not for lack of funding but because officials did not spend the millions of dollars allocated to treat heart and kidney patients.
The empty hospitals in the heart of the Indian capital are emblematic of the paralysis gripping a public health system that is responsible for some of the world's worst health indicators. Many of the country's 1.2 billion people have a choice between expensive private care, or no care at all.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces many challenges to his stated goal of providing universal public health coverage, but one of the most daunting is ending the logjams that mean officials consistently fail to use their budgets.
At the 300-bed Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital, gleaming marble-floored corridors disappear into dark wings, thick chains locking the doors to most of the five-storey building. Wards lie empty, without beds. It officially opened in 2008.
In another part of the city of 16 million people, the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital sits in a landscaped 13-acre complex. It started outpatient services in 2003 but more than a decade later only six beds - of the 650 the hospital was built for - receive overnight patients.

Read More HERE

From THT -

Health minister declares Feb 10 as National Deworming Day
The Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda along with state health minister Rajendra Rathore declared February 10 as the National Deworming Day in Jaipur at Panchayati Raj Institution on Monday.
The day will be observed in 11 states and Union Territories including Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Haryana among others in the first phase on February 10 to treat 140 million children initially at risk of parasitic worms infection in schools and Anganwadi centres, Nadda said. Medicines would be given to children aged between 1-19 years.
Nadda further added that around 65% children will be covered under the programme on February 10 and the remaining will be covered between February 11 and 14.

Read more: HERE

From UNESCO Communication and Information Division:

UNESCO launches Open Access Curricula for Researchers and Librarians 

Within the overall framework of UNESCO Strategy on Open Access to scientific information and research and to take forward UNESCO’s leadership role in diffusing knowledge amongst its Member States, UNESCO has developed a set of manuals to facilitate capacity building of library and information professionals and researchers.

The development of the modules has been undertaken very carefully and the development process covered diverse opinion in the subject area, and in consultation with more than 50 experts to include diversity and expertise from the developing south. Read more HERE

 

Health News from Reuters

India slashes health budget, already one of the world's lowest

The government has ordered a cut of nearly 20 percent in its 2014/15 healthcare budget due to fiscal strains, putting at risk key disease control initiatives in a country whose public spending on health is already among the lowest in the world.
Two health ministry officials told Reuters on Tuesday that more than 60 billion rupees, or $948 million, has been slashed from their budget allocation of around $5 billion for the financial year ending on March 31.
Despite rapid economic growth over the past two decades, successive governments have kept a tight rein on healthcare expenditure. India spends about 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on public health, compared to 3 percent in China and 8.3 percent in the United States. Read more HERE

UN to declare June 21 as World Yoga Day: Swaraj 

 

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) The United Nations will soon declare June 21 as World Yoga Day following a proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

"Three months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the world community that India's yoga should be celebrated as World Yoga Day. I am happy to inform you that we have received support of 170 nations and four days from today, the United Nations will declare June 21 as the World Yoga Day," Swaraj said at a function in the presence of yoga guru Ramdev.

Addressing the 'Gita Prerna Mahotsav', organised "to celebrate 5,151 years of religious book Gita" at the Red Fort Maidan here, the senior BJP leader said that yoga is not merely an exercise, but a road to prosperity and good health.

During his visit to the United Nations in September this year, Modi had urged the world community to celebrate Indian yoga at the international level and that June 21 be declared as the World Yoga Day. Read more HERE

Source: PTI

ICLAM 2014 : Conference  Report

The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in collaboration with the Government Information and Official Publications section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)  and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) organizined the second international conference of the series titled International Conference on the Convergence of Libraries, Archives and Museums (ICLAM) in New Delhi from 27th to 29th November, 2014. The conference theme was Innovative Ideas, Technologies and Services. In the 21st century the core issue in memory institutions, i.e., libraries, archives and museums, is innovative applications of digital technologies in all the spheres of activities ranging from management to collaboration. Technological innovation is vital to reinforce the  roles of libraries, archives and museums in promotion of formal and informal learning. However, innovations - whether internal or external, radical or incremental - are not growing with the pace as it should. Critical changes are taking place in paradigms and products in libraries, archives and museums. On the basis of deliberations on various aspects of innovation the conference suggested effective strategies for creating sustainable culture of innovation in institutions in managing scientific and cultural heritage resources.

 
ICLAM 2014 organized the Pre-Conference Workshop on  (i) Open Educational Resources for Libraries on 26 November 2014 by Dr. Sanjaya Mishra, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia, New Delhi. Open Educational Resources (OER) have emerged as a new wave in the field of teaching and learning. While OER emerged during the same time at that of the Open Access (OA) movement, it has made significant strides. New publications models are also emerging due to easy availability of platforms and technologies supporting open dissemination of knowledge resources. However, understanding of open licensing and copyright issues are still challenging for many. This workshop was the primer on OER, and focussed on discussing what, why and how of OER in the context of the roles performed by Library and Information Professionals

(ii) Institutional repository using DSpace by Mr. Manoj Kumar K., Scientist D  INFLIBNET Centre, Infocity, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

ICLAM 2014 covered a wide spectrum of talks ranging from  Open Access Scholarly Information by Leslie Chan, OASIS; LAM in the digital shift by Rolf Källman, Head of Department, Digisam, The National Archives of Sweden, Stockholm Community Engagement through Digital Innovation -- Dr. Ceri Gorton, Cultural Development Manager, Oxford City Council, UK
Disaster Management for GLAM sector from archivist from Artlab, Australia - Heather Brown, Artlab, Australia, Social Media and Social Networks: innovative applications by Osama Manzar, Founder & Director Digital Empowerment Foundation, New Delhi; Let the knowledge go around : reimagining GLAM through the lens of openness by T. Vishnu Vardhan, Programme Director,Access to Knowledge, The Centre for Internet & Society, Bengaluru. There were many more interesting talks by Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director INFLIBNET Centre, Infocity, Gandhinagar, Gujarat,  Dr. RK Chadha, Additional Secretary, Parliament Library, New Delhi, Dr. S.Majumdar, Librarian, IIC, New Delhi, Prof. Laxman Rao, UGC Emeritus Fellow, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Dr. Gayas Mukhudumi, University Librarian, Jamia Milia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, Dr PR Goswami, Director, IGNCA, Dr. R.K Sharma, Librarian, UNIC, New Delhi and Dr. Ramesh C Gaur, Librarian JNU, N. Delhi. In the conference were present several eminent professionals-.. and papers  covered in the conference were engaging too. The new concepts that I learned were Internet of Things (IoT),...... overall the  conference provided a stimulating environment for discussions imbued with eclecticism among theorists and practitioners representing various stakeholders and diverse schools of thought from different parts of the world.

Gates Foundation announces world’s strongest policy on open access research

Read more at : Bill & Melinda Gates foundation

News headlines

 Libraries at a loss as 20 LAKH precious books damaged by J&K floods

 8 women dead, 50 hospitalized after sterilization surgery in Chhattisgarh

 Library ban being reviewed, sorry if remark misunderstood: AMU VC

News headlines

Air to be worst a day after Diwali -TOI

WHO Declares Nigeria Ebola-Free -The Hindu

No need to panic on dengue: Govt -THT

Men too are vulnerable to osteoporosis, warn docs -TOI

Dr Harsh Vardhan assures toning up of blindness control schemes
At World Sight Day event lauds “Vision Ambassadors” concept

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, has decided to review the progress of the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) with a view to toning up its implementation.

The Minister, who was speaking at an event at Bangaloreyesterday to mark World Sight Day, which fell on October 9, remarked that he would ensure that the funds earmarked for NPCB for the 12th Plan period (2012-17) are utilised optimally and that he would raise the matter with the state governments.

NPCB was launched in 1976 as a 100 percent Centrally- funded scheme with a goal to reduce the prevalence of blindness. However, the rate has not shown much appreciable difference even after 28 years, the Minister noted. The Rapid Survey on Avoidable Blindness conducted during 2006-07 showed a reduction in the prevalence of avoidable blindness from 1.1 percent in 2000 to 1 percent in 2006. NPCB has now targeted to bring down the prevalence of blindness to 0.3 percent by 2020 from the present level of 1 percent. 

Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=110764

Country’s first ever Mental Health Policy unveiled                 
Society needs to change perception on mental illness: Dr Harsh Vardhan

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, has said that universal access to mental health care is a specific goal of the government. It would find substantial articulation in the evolving National Health Policy and National Health Assurance Mission (NHAM), he said.

“I visited the famous Institute of Mental Health and Hospital in Agra this week in preparation for the launch of the National Mental Health Policy. I have promised it fresh funds for modernisation and expansion. Similar funds will be given to all hospitals in the country to enable them to open departments for treating patients in need of psychological and psychiatric healthcare,” the Minister said today after launching India’s first Mental Health Policy.

Significantly, the Mental Health Policy was launched on the first ever National Mental Health Day organised by the government.

Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=110417