Nearly 40% deaths of Mumbai girls in last 5 years due to poor diet: CAG

April 20, 2015

Mumbai, Apr 20: Nearly 40% of deaths registered among girls (0 to 6 years) in the city between 2010 and 2014 have been due to lack of proper nutrition, revealed a central government report. The corresponding figure for Thane district was 64%.

Mumbai girls

The findings stated that the Maharashtra government spent Rs 4,500 crore on improving child health in the last five years.

In Mumbai and Thane, the percentages of moderately and severely underweight girls were found much higher than the state's average, the report added.

Under the integrated child development services (ICDS) programme, the state government utilized Rs 4,236 crore of the Rs 4,730 crore provided to tackle malnourishment among girls in last five years. Of the total 12,097 deaths of girls reported in Thane, Nandurbar, Mumbai, Buldhana, Gadchiroli, Beed, Nanded and Solapur, around 8,011 were due to malnourishment. A total of 139 deaths were recorded in Mumbai, while Thane district saw 1,291 fatalities.

The Congress-NCP government ruled the state during the five years and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad was the women and child development minister.

The ICDS programme is one of the flagship schemes being implemented by the women and child development department to improve the nutrition and health of children in the 0-6 age group. It also aims at reducing mortality, morbidity, malnutrition, and the school drop-out rate. The welfare scheme's objectives were to be achieved by providing supplementary nutrition, immunization and health check-ups. In March 2014, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that there were 97,155 anganwadi centres in the state that catered to more than 82 lakh children, including 39.10 lakh girls up to six years.

According to the revised norms of the World Health Organisation, underweight children are segregated in two categories, moderately and severely underweight. The CAG findings indicated that between 2010 and 2014, the number of moderate and severely underweight girls in Mumbai and Thane ranged between 20% and 24%, while the state's average was 16.27%. The number of moderately underweight girls in Mumbai stood at 21.66% and that of severely underweight girls was 2.87%.

Policy on child malnutrition uses old data

In the tribal districts of Nandurbar and Gadchiroli, the number of moderate and severely underweight girls was as 33.98% and 27.02% respectively. "In connection with the significant number of moderately and severely underweight girls and their deaths, the ICDS commissioner has said that a special drive has been undertaken to address the problem," the CAG report mentioned.

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Agencies
June 12,2020

Google on Friday announced the launch of a new feature on Google Search, Assistant, and Maps for users in India to help them find information on COVID-19 testing centres near them.

The search giant has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and MyGov to provide the information on authorised testing labs.

The feature is currently available in English and eight Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati, and Marathi.

According to the company, users will now see a new "Testing" tab on the search result page providing a list of nearby testing labs along with key information and guidance needed before using their services.

On Google Maps, when users search for keywords like "COVID testing" or "coronavirus testing" they will see a list of nearby testing labs, with a link to Google Search for the government-mandated requirements.

Google said that the Search, Assistant, and Maps currently feature 700 testing labs across 300 cities and working with authorities to identify and add more testing labs located across the country.

The company reiterates that it is important to follow the recommended guidelines that help determine testing eligibility before visiting.

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News Network
July 26,2020

New Delhi, Jul 26: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday saluted the valour and grit of the Indian soldiers on the occasion of 21st anniversary of the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas'.

Shah took to Twitter and said that 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' is a symbol of India's proud, valour and steadfast leadership.

"Kargil Vijay Diwas is a symbol of India's proud, valor and steadfast leadership. I bow to the soldiers who, with their indomitable courage, drove the enemy from the inaccessible hills of Kargil and waved the tricolor there again. The country is proud of the heroes of India, who are dedicated to protecting the motherland," Shah tweeted (translated from Hindi)
The country is celebrating the anniversary of the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas'.

The Indian armed forces had defeated Pakistan on July 26, 1999. Since then, the day is celebrated as 'Kargil Vijay Diwas' to rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in Operation Vijay.

The day marks the victory of Indian soldiers in recapturing the mountain heights that were occupied by the Pakistani Army on July 26, 1999, known as the Kargil War. 

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News Network
March 11,2020

Jaipur, Mar 11: A 85-year-old man in Jaipur, who had returned from Dubai on February 28, has tested positive for coronavirus, a state government official said on Wednesday.

He was found presumptive positive in the first test on Tuesday and hence, a second test was conducted with fresh samples, the reports of which arrived late Tuesday night, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Rohit Kumar Singh, said.

“The man who travelled to Dubai has been tested positive for coronavirus. It has been confirmed now,” Singh said.

“We have also got the manifest of the Spicejet flight he took from Dubai to Jaipur and are doing due diligence on that,” the official said, adding that intense contact tracing was underway.

The man has been kept in isolation at the SMS Hospital here.

“The man came to the hospital on Monday with symptoms of the virus. After the first test, his wife and son too have been kept in isolation at the hospital. The two, however, do not have coronavirus affliction symptoms,” Singh said.

A total of 235 people who came in contact with the octogenarian and his family have already been traced and are being monitored, he said.

Other contacts are also being traced, Singh added.

An Italian couple, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, are also admitted in the hospital but their condition is improving, he said.

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