Make rabies notified disease to make India zero rabies by 2030

New Delhi: Medical experts, stakeholders from civil societies and industry at the maiden Rabies Awareness Summit, organised by the Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council, have called for a united front to bring rabies under notified diseases to eliminate the dog-mediated disease from India and initiate a far-reaching, long-term programme such as the polio eradication drive.
 
“Rabies is a disease and the health ministry should take it seriously, instead of leaving it to the animal lovers and general people. Eradicating rabies will take a focused, long-term programme like the one we have for polio, so that measures can be monitored and evaluated. Rabies control programme will need to combine vaccination of animals and sterilizing them – animal birth control (ABC) programmes have been effective in cities like Jaipur, but political will is largely missing,” says Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha & Chairperson, People for Animals.
 
“Rabies is a zoonotic viral disease, and is responsible for thousands of preventable deaths in our country. While vaccinating dogs is the most cost-effective strategy for preventing rabies in people, use of a rabies vaccine and the administration of rabies immunoglobulin after a dog bit can save human lives. Healthcare centres, particularly in rural and remote areas, either do not have adequate rabies vaccines or immunoglobulins, or trained  staff to administer the complete courses of these treatments. Education and awareness of communities and targeted populations can decrease incidence of human rabies and the financial burden of treating dog bites.,” says Mr.Sanjiv Navangul, Managing Director & CEO, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Limited.
 
“In some states, rabies is not a priority – availability and affordability are key problems. If the Government of India purchases the biologicals and sends to the states, it can help them prioritize rabies. In our memorandum to the Union health Minister in 2018, we recommended strengthening of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and formulation of new strategy and action plan for National Rabies Control programme (NRCP). Spreading awareness among schoolchildren is also important,” says Dr.Ashwath Narayana, President, Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India (APCRI).
 
“APCRI conducted the first multi-centred national rabies survey in 2003, and the baseline figure of 20,000 found then is not true for today. We need to coordinate and take the One Health approaches that have been successful in controlling rabies in different parts of the world,” says Dr. M K Sudarshan, Founder President and Mentor, APCRI & Rabies in Asia Foundation, and Former Member, WHO Expert Consultations on Rabies.
 
India is home to 36 per cent of global rabies cases of the world and 40 percent of people bitten are aged 15 or less.Availability and awareness about vaccination are crucial for Indiato attain the World Health Organization’s ‘Zero by 30’ target, which aims to end human rabies deaths by 2030.
 
“In India, we have at least 1 case of dog bite in every half-an-hour. Dog bites cause almost all the cases of rabies in India. We have read reports of a rise in the number of dog bites from cities like Indore, Ranchi, and Kochi during the lockdown, but many more remain unreported. The fear of dog bite and the resultant series of injections administered on the person still exists though the vaccination regime has changed. This highlights the need for awareness in people, which is why we are organising this summit. We are happy to have Bharat Serums and Vaccines supporting this effort,” says Mr.Kamal Narayan, CEO, IHW Council.

General (Dr) VK Singh (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, Hon’ble Minister of State for Roads, transport and Highways, Government of India, expressed his honour to be invited as a Chief Guest for 115th Annual Session themed ‘Building Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. He appreciated the theme for the Session and said that it is of complete relevance given these current times.

General (Dr) VK Singh said that Atma Nirbhar Bharat right from independence self-reliant has remained a buzzword. He said that if our country does not look ahead, does not promote innovation, does not emphasize on research and development, then it is going to stay at plateau and will not develop.

He quoted examples of Japan and discussed about country’s achievements in churning out goods that captured the world market. He said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is about self-reliance in not only about what to produce but also focusing on delivering it effectively to the world market.

General (Dr) VK Singh then mentioned that Chinese market supply volumes are high and sold in entire global market yet the quality is not sustainable. This is something he highlighted as an opportunity for India needs to tap. He said that Self-reliance is not isolation but about plugging into the global market and economy and realising and working on our domain of excellence.

He highlighted on the importance of reverse engineering. He said that technology becomes your gain and technology will become our strength. He said that in India the foundation must be excellence and quality and we make focus on procedures for doing businesses simpler. He then highlighted the importance of Chambers to point out to the government that foundation must be of excellence, quality and simplifying procedures to take economy forward and government will accept the noble ideas for self-reliance. Cheaper expertise goods must be such that it reduces the cost of inputs.

Excellence, quality and ease of doing business forms the foundations for Atmanirbhar Bharat, says General (Dr.) V K Singh in PHDCCI’s 115th Annual Session

General (Dr) VK Singh then highlighted that roads and infrastructure can spur growth in economy. He said that workforce is back as pre-covid levels, which is a healthy sign. He said that with good quality road network leads to ease of doing business, goods transportation, becomes faster amount of business increase. We all need to think, walk and sleep on this theme, because as we prosper, the country prospers.

Dr DK Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber, in his presidential address for the 115th Annual Session, said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is about self- reliance, self- sufficiency and self-sustenance. He said that, at this juncture, our country needs to strengthen manufacturing sector, increasing the competitiveness in domestic manufacturing, focus on supply chains, among others. Further, he was of the view that MSMEs are the growth engine of economy and with recent bolstering reforms by the Government MSMEs will be strengthened in times ahead.

Dr Aggarwal said that India is opening gates for world to set up green technologies. For India to become a part of the global supply chain, it needs trusted partners. He said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is not about isolation. He mentioned that land, labour, liquidity and legal are the big bang reforms which now need a concrete implementation.

Dr Aggarwal further expressed encouraging view that India now has to target 25th rank in the global ease of doing business ranking from then current 63rd rank. He opined that innovation, research & development have to be spurred and accelerated along with unleashing of demographic dividend. With these words, he said that India will become a super economic power and become ‘Golden Goose’ again.

Shri Rajeev Talwar, Former President, PHD Chamber, discussed about the significance of Atma-Samman and said that it is equally important as the Atmanirbhar. He emphasized that there is a need to further enhance the self-respect of the country in the global economic system, going ahead.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry honoured with PHD Annual Awards for Excellence 2020 for their outstanding achievements and contributions in select areas and for promoting corporate and individual initiatives in economic, social, educational and cultural areas.

The awardees for PHD Annual Awards for Excellence 2020 in different categories are:

·                   Good Corporate Citizen Award For Social Welfare 2020- Grasim Industries Ltd., Unit- Indo Gulf Fertilisers

·                   Distinguished Entrepreneurship Award 2020- Mr. J C Chaudhry, Chairman & Managing Director, Aakash Educational Services Limited

·                   Distinguished Entrepreneurship Award for MSME 2020- Mr Manu Chopra, Managing Director, PDS International Pvt Ltd.

·                   Outstanding Business Woman Award 2020- Ms G. B. M. Ratna Kumari (Mallika Manoj Grandhi), Chairperson And Managing Director, Manoj Vaibhav Gems N Jewellers Pvt. Ltd

·                   Award for Excellence for Start-ups 2020- Mr Deep Bajaj, Founder, Sirona Hygiene Pvt Ltd

·                   Life Time Achievement Award 2020- Mr Binay Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director, Banaras House Pvt Ltd.

Instituted 24 years back in 1997, PHD Annual Awards for Excellence are the most coveted Awards in Business Circles that are decided after several levels of meticulous screening and assessment.

Shri Sanjay Aggarwal, Senior Vice President, PHD Chamber, appreciated and thanked General (Dr.) V K Singh (Retd.) for putting across his valuable viewpoints and practical suggestions to move towards building Atmanirbhar Bharat. He said that there is need to work with discipline and positive attitude towards significant areas such as manufacturing, supply chains, MSMEs, innovation, research & development, among others, for being self-reliant, going forward.