• Conference Overview: The Climate Conference 2024 in Mumbai focused on the role of the private sector and investors in India's green transition.

• Key Dignitaries: Notable attendees included Ms. Leena Nandan, Mr. Amitabh Kant, and industry leaders, emphasizing diverse participation.

• Leena Nandan's Insights: Ms. Nandan stressed the global impact of climate change, highlighted the Green Credits Programme, and emphasized actions like waste management.

• Amitabh Kant's Key Points: Shri Amitabh Kant highlighted India's challenges, emphasizing renewable energy, and energy efficiency, and proposing a mix of public and private funds for high-risk climate projects.

• India's Net-Zero Commitment: The Conference outlined India's roadmap to achieving net zero by 2070, focusing on green investments for sustainable development.

• Financial Mobilization Call: Stakeholders were urged to innovate by expanding accessibility to finance for climate projects, emphasizing collaboration and scale.

• Sustainable Practices: Discussions included sustainability-linked funds, risk-sharing facilities, and concessional financing to promote sustainable technologies.

• Collaboration Platform: The event served as a collaborative platform for diverse stakeholders to foster sustainable, climate-resilient technologies and practices.

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• RA is an autoimmune disease characterized by painful polyarthritis and articular deformities, along with systemic complications.

• The present study tries to elucidate the role of potassium supplementation in the management of RA.

• This randomized, assessor-blind, active-controlled drug trial of 16 weeks duration was carried out on 172 RA patients at the Center for Rheumatic Diseases, Pune.

• There were three treatment arms:

1. Arm A- potassium-rich vegetarian diet

2. Arm B- arm-A diet plus potassium-enriched food supplement

3. Arm C- routine diet

• The study found a substantial improvement in joint pain and function in patients with chronic RA was observed when a planned vegetarian diet enriched with increased oral potassium intake was added to the ongoing standard of care of management.

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• Jal Jeevan Mission Milestones:

1. Rural tap connections increased from 11 to nearly 14 crore in 2023.

2. Rs 70,000 crore was allocated for the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2023-24.

• Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman 2023:

1. 'Swachh Sujal Shakti Samman' was awarded to 36 women WASH champions.

• Swachh Bharat Mission, Grameen:

1. 90% of villages were declared as ODF Plus by January 2024.

2. ODF Plus villages surged from 1 to over 5 lakh in 2023.

• Swachhata Hi Seva Campaign 2023:

1. Over 109 crore people participated in the 'Swachhata Hi Seva' campaign.

• Water Quality Monitoring:

1. 2,113 labs tested 54 lakh water samples.

2. Over 23.50 lakh women were trained to use field test kits.

• Potable tap water in JE-AES districts:

1. Tap water connections increased from 8 lakh to 2.09 crore in affected districts.

• SBM-G and GOBARdhan Initiatives:

1. 90% of villages were declared ODF Plus, with GOBARdhan focusing on bio-waste.

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• Changes in the Water Amendment (Pollution and Prevention) Act passed on 12th February 2024 include:

1. Decriminalizing certain violations of the Act deemed ‘minor’, replacing most of the penalties of imprisonment with fines ranging from ₹10,000 to 15 lacs.
   In case of an unfair fine, a provision for appeal has been provided in the bill.

2. Empowering the Centre to frame rules to select the chairpersons of State pollution control boards.

3. The text of the Act notes that the amended bill will establish a balance between the severity of the offense and the gravity of the punishment given.

• However, there were a few points of concern with the new amendment.

• These include:

1. Absence of deterrent to violating environmental laws due to decriminalization.

2. Limited role of state government in safeguarding the environment.

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• The major areas of concern in the existing Epidemic Disease Act, of 1897, were:

1. It does not define an 'infectious disease', 'outbreak', 'epidemic', or 'pandemic'.

2. There are no defined responsibilities for the central, state, or local authorities, hindering the effective implementation of measures.

3. There are no proper guidelines on 'isolation' or 'quarantine'.

4. There is a lack of a proper regulatory framework for who can conduct and regulate diagnosis during epidemics.

5. There is no mention of an information dissemination system

• In the report released in Feb 2024, the law commission clarifies the above discrepancies, providing newer definitions and standard operating procedures.

• It also gave the following suggestions:

1. Disease surveillance power is to be given to IDSP.

2. Guidelines for proper disinfection and decontamination under the act.

3. Multi-sectoral measures for emergency relief.

• The report will help strengthen the law and effectively address public health emergencies

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• Volume I covers the policies, programs, and achievements of Government departments. Volume II provides the corresponding datasets. 

• Findings of Economic Review 2023:

1. The number of new cases at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, was 15,324 in 2022-23 with an increase of 36 percent in three years.

2. The review cases reported increased from 1,50,330 in 2020-21 to 2,42,129 in 2022-23, an increase of 61 percent in the three years.

3. Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC), Kannur has reported 7,795 new cases in 2022-23, and Cochin Cancer Research Centre had 1,606 new cases in that year.

4. Cancer mortality is extremely high among males in the state compared to the national average.

• Population-based cancer registry at RCC and MCC reflected that the most prevalent cancers were:

1. Lung cancer among men

2. Breast cancer among women.

• Strategies adopted:

1. Launching preventive oncology clinics.

2. Population-based screening of non-communicable diseases.

3. Advocating lifestyle changes: decreasing alcohol and tobacco consumption, unhealthy eating patterns, sedentary lifestyle, and high levels of stress.

• The ash generated from Waste-to-Energy Plants contains heavy metals and unburnt toxic chemicals which contaminates the underground water table.

• To dispose of the ash produced by the WTEPs in Okhla and Tehkhand, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has constructed an ESL facility in Tehkhand.

• The amount of trash (ash) to be disposed of daily is 100 tonnes, and this ESL has a capacity of 9.23 lakh cubic meters.

• ESL is projected to live for 6.5 years, according to MCD.

• Following the filling of ESL, MCD will begin looking for other land and in Delhi, land is an extremely valuable resource.

• Consequently, bricks and other materials that can be used in construction operations must be made from the ash produced by all of Delhi's current waste-to-energy facilities.

• Oral Rehydration Salts are the first-line, inexpensive, and life-saving treatment for Diarrhoea.

• Wagner Z et al conducted Randomized controlled trials in Karnataka and Bihar to evaluate the three explanations for not receiving ORS in childhood Diarrhoea:

• Provider's perception of the patient's dislike of ORS.

• Financial incentive as a cause for prescribing antibiotics by provider.

• Stock-out of ORS.

• Wagner Z et al standardized participants (trained actors) as fathers of 2-year-olds with diarrhea.

• They were randomized into three groups expressing :

1. Preference for ORS

2. Preference for antibiotics

3. No preference

• The study found that:

• 28% of providers prescribed ORS in case of no preference.

• 55% prescribed ORS on expressing ORS preference. (27 percentage points higher)

• Ensuring no stock-outs led to a 7 percentage points higher provision of ORS.

• Misperception of the healthcare provider about the patient's preference explained 42% of ORS underprescribing.

• The study provides evidence that rectifying the provider's perception can help increase the prescription of this life-saving simple treatment.

• IDSP's function is to detect and respond early to outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases through Rapid Response Teams.

• In the Thane district, 109 out of 250 school students consumed food offered by a family as part of their death anniversary.

• All of them developed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea to some degree, initially, 20 were admitted to the hospital.

• On the other hand, In the Nanded district, following the consumption of food at a religious gathering, 2000 people developed symptoms suggestive of food poisoning.

• 870 of them were admitted to the nearby government Hospital.

• No fatality was reported.

• Most of them have recovered.

• The Media Scanning and Verification Cell reported communicating the incidents to the respective District Surveillance Units and State Surveillance Unit within 24 hours of receipt of the news.

• Rapid Response teams are investigating the cases.

• Public health sectors face limitations in the form of shortage of human resources, inefficient frameworks, and inadequate quality of maternal and child health services.

• Increasing private sector involvement can improve the quality of maternal and child health services.

• Utilization of private providers varies high for children's diarrhea and fever(67%), lower for pregnant women's institutional delivery(38%) and antenatal care(30%).

• Outpatient care is equally accessed by the poor and wealthy, while the wealthy prefer private inpatient care.

• High out-of-pocket expenditure, especially for medicines in public facilities.

• Effective engagement strategies include voluntary or mandatory partnerships at the macro, meso, and micro levels.

• Key strategies involve financing, regulatory approaches like licensing, and policy development.

• Intermediary mechanisms include NGOs enhancing private provider service quality and regulatory compliance

• India holds the distinction of being the pioneer in releasing the National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL).

• In 2019, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) introduced the inaugural NEDL, emphasizing the critical role of diagnostics within the healthcare system.

• The NEDL aims to enhance diagnostic availability across India's healthcare system

• The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for creating and implementing a National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL).

• This list aims to enhance the availability of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) across different levels of the healthcare system, including facilities with or without an on-site laboratory.

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) seeks suggestions for revising the existing National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL), emphasizing the addition or deletion of diagnostic tests.

• Stakeholders, including experts and the public, are invited to propose additional tests based on specific criteria

• According to an order released on 17th November 2022, it has been advised that AIIMS smart card system for patients and attendants should be introduced from April 1 2023 in partnership with SBI bank.

• In follow up to this, a new office order has been issued by the Office of Director at AIIMS which states:

• A 100% integrated digital billing system is important to ensure that no patient is defrauded and the institute's accounting is also auditable on end to end basis

• By 31st March 2024, AIIMS smart cards will be used across AIIMS New Delhi for all types of payments

• Cash payments will not be  accepted at any counter other than the AIIMS smart card recharge counters

• All payments must be accepted at the installed payment endpoints closest to the patient's location

• Patients or their companions should not be required to go to the central registration counter for any payment