G20 Trade Ministers reach Consensus against Weaponization of Food through Coercive Trade Actions (See 'Corp Brief') Robotics to become accelerating tool in Every Specialty of Medicine: MoS (See 'Corp Brief') NITI Aayog organises National Workshop on SDG Budgeting in Kolkata (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Fraudulent mobile applications deceptively imitating Plaintiff's branding and falsely projecting themselves as official investment platforms, deserves to be taken down: HC (See 'Legal Desk') First Tigress in Buxa Tiger Reserve released under Tiger Reintroduction Programme (See 'Corp Brief') CBN destroys over 10.84 tonnes of seized narcotic drugs (See 'Corp Brief') CRIT and IIFT organise three-day Orientation Course on Trade Negotiations (See 'Corp Brief') APEDA Facilitates FPO-led Export of Frozen Food Products from Haryana to Canada (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Provisional attachment invalid where material at hand does not show how in absence of provisional attachment, the properties could be so disposed off so as to frustrate confiscation proceedings: SAFEMA Tribunal (See 'Legal Desk') Ministry of Mines virtually launches Auction of Two Offshore Mineral Blocks (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Goodwill of partnership is partnership asset, and only partners have right to property of firm subject to contract: HC (See 'Legal Desk') BHASHINI showcases Multilingual AI Solutions at GatiSheel Jammu & Kashmir 2.0 (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Cable operator's licence did not extend to hotel's commercial use, as definition of subscriber under Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act prohibits further transmission to any other person: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Ministry of Labour & Employment expands 'Shram Samvad' outreach across industrial clusters (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Orders where Courts of Record refrain from exercising contempt jurisdiction are not appealable under Section 19 of CC Act: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Reddy inaugurates E-Waste Collection Stall (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Regulatory fee introduced by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India with effect from Oct 01, 2022, is neither ultra vires IBC nor violative to Art 14 of Constitution: HC (See 'Legal Desk') An unsuccessful 'success fee' litigation (See CORP EINSICHT)

India, ADB sign USD 300 mn loan to improve primary healthcare in India

Published: Nov 24, 2021

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 24, 2021: THE Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed a USD 300 million loan to strengthen and improve access to comprehensive primary health care in urban areas of 13 states that will benefit over 256 million urban dwellers including 51 million from slum areas.

Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, signed for the Government of India the agreement for Strengthening Comprehensive Primary Health Care and pandemic preparedness in Urban Areas Program while Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB's India Resident Mission, signed for ADB.

After signing the loan agreement, Mr Mishra said that the programme supports the Government of India's key health initiatives - Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) and Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY) - which has been renamed as Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) - by expanding availability and access to quality primary health care services particularly for vulnerable populations in urban areas.

Ayushman Bharat programme, launched in 2018, aims to improve access to comprehensive primary health care as a key strategy to achieve universal health coverage in India. With the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that put additional pressure on the country's health system, the government launched PM-ASBY later renamed as PM-ABHIM in October 2021 to adopt a long-term approach to system strengthening to prepare for future pandemics and other emergencies.

"Ensuring equitable access to non-COVID-19 primary health care is critical amid challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic to India's health system," said Konishi. "The programme complements the government's efforts to bridge the health care gaps by strengthening institutional capacity, operation, and management of urban health and wellness centers at the central, state, and municipal levels."

The programme will be implemented in urban areas across 13 states: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal. Beside the pandemic response, interventions through the program promote increased utilization of urban HWCs with provision of comprehensive primary health care packages including non-communicable diseases and community outreach services such as awareness raising activities on health care options, particularly for women. Delivery and health information systems for primary health care will be upgraded through digital tools, quality assurance mechanisms, and engagement and partnership with the private sector.

The programme is supported by a USD 2 million technical assistance grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to provide support for programme implementation and coordination, capacity building, innovation, knowledge sharing and application of scalable best practices across the healthcare system.

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES