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Dr. VG Somani, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), claimed that India is on track to become a “global hub for medicines,” claiming that there has been a fourfold increase in applications for investigational new drugs in the country. “We are getting the applications of the investigational new drugs. Earlier, there used to be hardly 5-10 applications. At present, there are 23 applications in the pipeline for the investigational new drug and this is a great achievement of our country,” Somani said, speaking at the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) Annual Conclave. He believes that “Made in India” drugs will make a difference and spread throughout the world in the coming years. The DCGI official also explained how drug controllers work while making vaccine and drug decisions. “We have been in regular contact with the WHO and all global regulators via the ICMR, ICH platform, and so on. There are various platforms for vaccine and drug approval, including trials. That is exactly what we did with remdesivir.  There is no single decision-making platform,” he added. He went on to say that India has been designated as a “world pharmacy,” and that “we want to become the well-managed pharmacy of the entire world so that our potential can be recognised.” Source: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised people’s determination in the fight against Covid on Tuesday, saying that whether it’s the world’s largest free vaccination campaign or medical infrastructure development, India is setting new health benchmarks. Modi posted a graphic on Twitter highlighting the accomplishments of India’s Covid vaccination campaign, which has resulted in over 185 crore cumulative doses administered in the country. “The resolve shown by 130 crore people in the country in the fight against coronavirus signifies the strength of New India,” Modi said in a tweet in Hindi. “Whether it is the world’s largest free vaccination campaign with indigenous vaccines or the development of medical infrastructure, the country is setting new benchmarks in the field of health,” PM said. Source: PTI

The Healthy Indian Project’s information media division, THIP Media, has announced the launch of a WhatsApp health information and fact-checking chatbot. Ask RAKSHA is the name of the chatbot. RAKSHA stands for Readily Accessible Knowledge and Support for Health Action. The user-friendly chatbot will assist Indian citizens in finding answers to their health-related concerns as well as fact-checking any health-related information for free. Users can also subscribe to daily health tips or take a quiz to test their knowledge of health. The chatbot is now only available in English, but the company has assured that a version in Hindi and Bengali will be released soon. “We’re pleased to support the launch of ‘Ask RAKSHA,’ The Healthy Indian Project’s chatbot built on the WhatsApp Business platform that will help users access credible health-related information from the independent third-party fact-checker, certified by International Fact-Checking Network,” said Shivnath Thukral, WhatsApp India’s Public Policy Director. The safety of our users is at the heart of everything we do at WhatsApp, and we’ve spent a lot of time and effort equipping users with resources and tools that help them fact-check and receive reliable information. “We are thankful to WhatsApp for the cooperation in establishing this chatbot,” stated Sudipta Sengupta, CEO of The Healthy Indian Project (THIP). It helps us achieve THIP Media’s goal of providing all Indians with credible health information while simultaneously protecting them from health misinformation. It is great to be able to debut this on the eve of International FactChecking Day and World Health Day.” THIP Media, a member of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), collaborates with recognised medical professionals to debunk false health, medicine, diet, and treatment claims. Source: PTI

Siemens Healthineers has announced that its manufacturing facility in India will be expanded. The company has launched a new production line (plant) for computed tomography scanners at its Bengaluru facility in order to accelerate the growth of the medical devices industry in the country. Medical devices have been chosen by the Indian government as a priority area for the flagship ‘Make in India’ programme. The Department of Pharmaceuticals launched a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme with the goal of boosting domestic manufacturing and attracting major investment in the Medical Device sector. Siemens Healthineers’ new production line in Bengaluru has been approved under the PLI scheme’s Radiology and Imaging Medical Devices segment. Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, with a committed investment of 91.9 crore for the manufacture of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, is one of the approved applicants for the PLI scheme. “We strongly believe in India’s growth story. The investor-friendly initiatives of the Government of India will give a fillip to the Indian Medical Device industry and the healthcare sector at large. Commencing operations of the new CT scanners production line is our first step in culminating the vision into a reality. It will go a long way in our quest of improving access to high-quality healthcare for all,” said, Vivek Kanade, Managing Director, Siemens Healthcare Private Limited. The PLI scheme, which has been bolstered by the Government of India’s (GoI) investor-friendly efforts, has provided the necessary momentum to India’s ambition of becoming a worldwide manufacturing hub for medical devices. Source: Economic Times  

Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 medicines and instruments have been sold at a GST rate of 5%, while other medicines have been sold at a GST rate of between 5% and 12%, according to Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, who spoke in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The central government, according to Chaudhary, manages 66% of the country’s government-sponsored health insurance plans. “When the COVID-19 pandemic started, it was decided to sell all drugs at a GST rate between 5 and 12 percent, and the GST rate for COVID-19-related medicines and instruments was reduced to 5%,” he stated during Question Hour. According to the minister, the GST rate for health insurance is 18 percent, which is in line with international standards and comparable to the pre-GST period in the country. Senior citizens can get a tax rebate of up to Rs 1 lakh on health insurance premiums, according to him. According to Chaudhary, the GST Council, which is a constitutional body comprised of the Union Finance Minister and ministers nominated by respective state and union territory governments, prescribes GST rates and exemptions on all services (including GST on health insurance premiums). “At present, Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance services is levied at standard rate, i.e., 18 per cent. Specific health insurance schemes catering to the needs of economically weaker sections of the society and differently abled, such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Universal Health Insurance Scheme, Jan Argoya Bima Policy and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are fully exempt from GST,” he said. Healthcare services, he added, are also excluded from the GST. The GST Council received representations to lower the GST on health insurance in its 31st meeting on December 22, 2018 and its 37th meeting on September 20, 2019. According to him, the GST Council did not offer a recommendation for a reduction in GST. Source: PTI

After a sharp drop in the number of active cases and deaths from COVID-19 in recent days, Maharashtra, India’s richest state and home to the country’s financial capital Mumbai, will make wearing masks optional starting April 2. Masks had previously been required in all public locations in the state to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. On Thursday, Maharashtra’s health minister Rajesh Tope stated, “Wearing masks (will) not be compulsory, but people can wear one if they want.” By April 2, all restrictions on public venues, such as hotels, weddings, gyms, and buses, as well as the requirement to be twice vaccinated to enter public places, would be eliminated, according to Tope. So far, India has given out at least 1.84 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine. According to the Reuters COVID-19 tracker, assuming that each individual requires two doses, that would be enough to vaccinate 67.3 percent of the country’s population. Tope stated, “This will help people in celebrating upcoming festivals.” Source: Reuters

Mansukh Mandaviya, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, said on Tuesday that other nations around the world regard India as a leader in the health sector since “we managed the Covid-19 outbreak so well under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.” In response to a query about the country’s healthcare development, the Health Minister stated that the federal and state governments must collaborate in the health sector. In response to a question on states being given more ability to deal with disease outbreaks, the Health Minister told the House that, while health is a state topic, there is no divide between the Centre and the states when it comes to dealing with health-related issues. In response to a question from Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien about retired servicemen’s medical bills, Mandaviya stated that the government is dedicated to their welfare and is always ready to give services to those holding Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) cards. He further stated that the CGHS facility was previously available in 75 places across the country, but has now expanded to 81 cities. In response to a question by Samajwadi Party member Rewati Raman Singh, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pawar stated that the country will have 22 All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Six of the ten proposed in the first phase have begun to operate with all departments. “Over 15,000 patients are being examined at these six AIIMS, over seven thousand major and minor surgeries have been doing in these AIIMS while the OPD facility in another 10 AIIMS will start soon”, Pawar said. She told the House that the site for the new AIIMS proposed in Tamil Nadu had been selected in Madurai, in response to a query from DMK MP T Siva. “This AIIMS is being built with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and a Project Management Consultant has been appointed as well.” The state government has finalised the location for AIIMS in Darbhanga, she said, and construction on the structure would begin soon. Source: IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged health-care start-ups, particularly those in the Ayush sector, to make their content available online in all UN-recognized languages, rather than simply English. In today’s broadcast of ‘Mann ki Baat,’ the Prime Minister stated that the Ayush manufacturing business is worth over Rs 1.40 lakh crore rupees and expressed confidence that Ayush Start-Ups from India will rule the world with superior quality products. “I have a request for the start-ups of the health sector and especially the Ayush start-ups. Whatever portal you design online; whatever content you create, try to make it in all the languages recognised by the United Nations,” he stated. “There are many such countries in the world where English is neither spoken nor understood much. Promote your information keeping such countries in mind as well. I am sure that soon, Ayush start-ups from India with better quality products will reign all over the world,” he added. The Prime Minister noted that the Ayush business is always growing, stating that the market for Ayurvedic medicines was about Rs 22,000 crore six years ago and has now grown to Rs 1.40 lakh crore. “This means that the possibilities in the sector are always rising,” PM Modi remarked, adding that “Ayush is becoming a subject of attention” in the world of start-ups. PM Modi spoke on the 87th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat,’ his monthly radio address that airs on the last Sunday of each month. Source: ANI

The national telemedicine initiative eSanjeevani, administered by the Union Ministry of Health, has crossed three crore teleconsultations and set a new record by passing 1.7 lakh consultations in a single day. The eSanjeevani AB-HWC portal, which is a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine service under the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) scheme that provides general and specialised health services in rural areas and isolated communities, has served 2,26,72,187 people out of the three crore beneficiaries. It’s based on the Hub-and-Spoke model. Over 1,00,000 doctors and specialists have signed up to serve the National Telemedicine Service’s beneficiaries (NTS). Over 75 lakh patients have accessed the ‘eSanjeevaniOPD,’ a patient-to-doctor telemedicine programme that allows people to receive outpatient care from the comfort of their own homes. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Assam are among the top ten states in terms of eSanjeevani adoption, according to the Union Health Ministry. The Health Informatics Group (HIG) of the Mohali division of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) has upgraded the telemedicine service eSanjeevani, a contactless and risk-free mode of healthcare service delivery. AI-led interventions are being developed to improve the service’s convenience and efficacy. Services to support more than 10 lakhs consultations per day in the very near future are in the offing, the ministry’s statement added.  

The first dose COVID-19 vaccination coverage of those aged 15 and up is currently 95.5 percent, while the second dose coverage is 80.6 percent, indicating that the vaccination pace has slowed because the majority of the target beneficiaries have already been vaccinated, the Centre told Parliament on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha about whether hospitals across the country have stocks of Covid vaccines that are about to expire in the near future, that the Centre closely monitors vaccine stocks and consumption in the states and union territories to ensure optimal use and minimal wastage. She said that vaccine supplies to the states are based on demand, and that sufficient vaccine doses are made available to the states to inoculate the remaining eligible beneficiaries with the first, second, and precaution doses. “The COVID-19 vaccine stock, which has not been utilised and nearing expiry, are usually taken up for redistribution by respective state government for their timely utilisation. States and UTs have also been advised to review programme coverage and vaccine wastage on a daily basis and redistribute the vaccine stock, if required, for their optimal utilisation even from private hospitals,” Pawar said. On whether lowering the 60-year-old cut-off for receiving booster doses is on the government’s plan, she noted that on March 16, the Centre expanded the precaution dose to all beneficiaries aged 60 and more, regardless of whether they had comorbidities or not. In response to a question about whether there has been a slowdown in vaccination across the country as the infection rate and number of cases have decreased, the minister stated that first-dose coverage of those aged 15 and above is 95.5 percent, and second-dose coverage is 80.6 percent, and “hence, the pace of vaccination has slowed down relatively as most of the target beneficiaries are already covered.” Source: PTI