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Women in higher education up nationally, but dip in state: Govt survey
Universities of national importance have doubled in the country, and female enrolment has reached the two-crore mark, revealed the government’s All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021 on Sunday. The scenario in Maharashtra, however, is the opposite, with the number of universities of national importance reducing by one and female enrolment also dropping by 23,927 as compared to the preceding year. The survey shows that total enrolment in higher education across the country increased to nearly 4.14 crore in 2020-21 from 3.85 crore in 2019-20. Since 2014-15, there has been an increase of around 72 lakh, or 21 per cent, in total enrolment. Maharashtra has 71 universities, including one central university, seven institutes of national importance and 23 state public universities. The total number went up from 65 in the preceding year. Meanwhile, state-private universities went up from 11 in 2019-20 to 18 in 2020-21, and universities of national importance reduced from eight to seven. Also Read: Think tank to help raise education standard in schools “Even in our survey of 2020, we have pointed out that female enrolment has dropped in the state. We had spoken about the drop in overall enrolment at Mumbai University and other universities in the state. I am yet to go through the entire AISHE report. However, the numbers should act as an eye-opener for the state’s higher education ministry and education officials,” said Madhu Paranjape, general secretary of Bombay University and College Teachers’ Union (BUCTU). A senior official from the state’s higher and technical education department said, “The report of 2020-21 reflects the effect of the pandemic on the system. Enrolments have increased overall. We, too, are looking at the reasons behind the drop in female enrolments.” Overall Enrolment According to AISHE, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Rajasthan are the top six states for student enrolment. They constitute 53.17 per cent of the total student enrolment. Uttar Pradesh has the highest student enrolment (16.07 per cent), followed by Maharashtra (10.98 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (8.06 per cent). With regard to enrolment in state universities, Maharashtra tops at 10,87,805 students, Tamil Nadu follows this at 8,04,384 students and Delhi with 7,95,516 students. Number of colleges Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, and Kerala are the top 10 states in terms of the number of colleges. In Uttar Pradesh, there are 8,114 colleges, and for every one lakh population, there are 32 colleges. Similarly, Maharashtra comes second with 4,532 colleges and 34 colleges per lakh population. Karnataka is in third position with 4,233 colleges and 62 colleges per lakh population. There are 3,780 polytechnics in India listed on the AISHE portal, of which the highest number of polytechnics are in Maharashtra (734). Foreign student enrolment Foreign students enrolled in India come from 163 countries across the globe. The highest share of foreign students comes from neighbouring countries like Nepal (28.25 per cent), followed by Afghanistan (8.4 per cent), Bangladesh (5.7 per cent), and the United States (5.1 per cent). The other top 10 countries from where students come to India include United Arab Emirates (4.8 per cent), Bhutan (3.8 per cent), Sudan (3.3 per cent), Nigeria (2.9 per cent), Tanzania (2.7 per cent), and Yemen (2.3 per cent). States like Karnataka (8,137), followed by Punjab (6,557), Maharashtra (4,912), Uttar Pradesh (4,654), Tamil Nadu (3,685), Delhi (2,809), Gujarat (2,646), Andhra Pradesh (2,385) and Odisha (2,180) have the highest foreign students.
06 February,2023 08:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Dipti Singh
Think tank to help raise education standard in schools
In order to raise the standard of education in the state and improve its Performance Grading Index (PGI) score, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad (MPSP) will form a think tank for the upcoming academic year. The views of ideal teachers, education experts, the State Council of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) and senior officers of the school education department are being sought for this. Even though the state topped the 2020-21 PGI, which ranks states and Union Territories on the basis of their school education system, rural Maharashtra has witnessed a steady decline in children’s reading and arithmetic skills, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 revealed. The think tank is expected to address these issues. In the academic year 2018-2019, 28.1 per cent of Class III students could carry out subtraction while 31.1 per cent of Class V children and 41.4 per cent of Class VIII students could do division. The ASER report revealed that only 18.5 per cent of Class III students could subtract while 20.1 per cent of Class V and 38.1 per cent of Class VIII students could divide. The report also highlighted a considerable drop in the capacity to read a Class II-level textbook among school-going children. Also Read: Mumbai: BMC's Health, education budget have little new to offer city Only 26.6 per cent of the children surveyed from Class III could read these textbooks, while the figure was 44.2 per cent in 2018. Furthermore, 55.5 per cent of Class V students can read Class II-level books, which was 66 per cent in 2018. In the case of Class VIII students, 76.1 per cent can read Class II books, which was 79.4 per cent in 2018. A senior official of the school education department said, “The pandemic has resulted in tremendous academic loss across India. We even conducted bridge-the-learning-gap exercises in all government schools. In 2021-22, we were among six states which scored 928 out of 1000 and topped the 2020–21 PGI. ASER has pointed out many gaps in students’ language and arithmetic skills, with the help of the think tank, we will identify the gaps and improve them.” The principal of a south Mumbai school said, “Our education system faced a major setback during the pandemic. After schools reopened, Maharashtra failed to put as much effort into bridging learning gaps as many other states.” For the past few months, the state education department has been implementing the Nipun Maharashtra programme on the lines of the Nipun Bharat Mission to increase the standard of education in schools. Last week, in a state-wide workshop organised in Mumbai, the department sought opinions from award-winning teachers, educationalists and officials regarding the steps that should be taken to improve the quality of schooling across the state. Kailas Pagare, project director, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, said credited the workshop for bringing forth many significant ideas. “Even before the start of the next academic year, we are planning to increase the quality of education. Many successful experiments done by teachers in zilla parishad and other government-run schools over the year, whether they revolve around smart infrastructure or innovative teaching methods, are being reviewed. We are looking at how these practices can be replicated. This is an effort to advance and improve public school education and help turn all institutions become self-sufficient in their own way,” he said. 18.5Percentage of Class III students who can subtract in 2022
06 February,2023 07:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Dipti Singh
Clear area near Thane station of hawkers, beggars: TMC chief
Thane Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bhangar has asked police and civic authorities to clear 150 metres of area around Thane railway station of hawkers and beggars, officials said on Sunday. The Thane civic body and the city traffic police department will also carry out a joint operation to take strict action against auto-rickshaw drivers violating rules. Around five lakh commuters use the Thane railway station for commuting every day, it was noted in a meeting which Bhangar held on Saturday with senior traffic department and civic officials. They discussed problems faced by commuters and other issues, an official release said. Also Read: Thane: 4 held for killing boar, selling meat in Bhiwandi Bhangar directed that the “area of 150 metres around the Thane station be cleared of hawkers, beggars and other nuisance”, it said. There have been complaints from commuters of auto-rickshaw drivers being arrogant, jumping lanes, crowding near the station’s entrance and refusing fares. It was decided in the meeting that all these issues will be tackled by a special force to be deployed near the Thane railway station, officials said. The authorities will not just impose fines, but also seize auto-rickshaws in case of violation of rules, they said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 February,2023 07:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Agencies
Thane: 4 held for killing boar, selling meat in Bhiwandi
Forest department officials have taken action against four people who had allegedly killed a wild boar inside a forest near Padgha village in Thane district’s Bhiwandi taluka and were selling the meat. Range Forest Officer Shailesh Deore said, “We had got a tip-off from our sources that some people were going to kill animals and sell the bushmeat, following which we created a strategy and approached the forest, which is in our jurisdiction.” At around 5 pm on Wednesday, when a team under the leadership of RFO Deora approached the forest patch near Kudvadpada in Pashchapur circle, they spotted some people carrying out suspicious activities. “When we reached the spot, we saw some people who started fleeing after seeing us. On advancing, we saw a tarpaulin lying at the spot on which there was bushmeat. We managed to catch two people red-handed and we have recovered knives and wild boar meat,” said Deore. Also Read: Let us focus on safeguarding our green spaces The RFO added that meat samples have been sent to Nagpur for forensic analysis. Sources from the forest department told this newspaper that their during interrogation, the accused confessed that they had killed a wild boar in the forest and it was not their first time. The forest department also suspects that the accused may have been involved in other wildlife-related crimes. The accused, Mahendra Bhala and Bhagwan Laxman Sarai, are residents of Mohandul in Bhiwandi. They were arrested under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and were sent to forest custody. On Sunday, the department arrested two others who were also allegedly involved in the incident. 5Day in February when second arrests took place
06 February,2023 07:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
Mumbai: Residents rally to save trees in King’s Circle
Residents of King’s Circle took to the road on Sunday to save the green cover in their area, as the BMC plans to cut 19 trees and transplant 11 more on K A Subramanyam Road. On Monday, a high court Bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne will hear a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the residents. “More than 100 residents participated in a peace walk organised to campaign for the trees on K A Subramanyam Road,” said resident Advocate Grisham Lad. “I had filed the PIL in the first week of January to save the trees. Our demand is that the BMC avoid cutting the full-grown trees. The PIL will be heard on Monday,” Lad said. So far, only 30 trees have been notified, but the number is likely to increase later, Lad claimed. Also Read: Mumbai: State owes BMC Rs 7,000 cr, most in education aid According to the BMC notice stuck on the 30 trees, the current road is 8.22 meters wide, and the BMC is planning to widen it to 13.77 meters. The local residents and environmental activists have also filed an objection with the BMC’s Tree Authority after the notices were issued last week. 8.22mCurrent width of the road 13.77mBMC’s targeted width after expansion
06 February,2023 07:42 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Mumbai: State owes BMC Rs 7,000 cr, most in education aid
The state government owes the BMC more than Rs 7,000 crore, including Rs 5,419.14 crore in education grant, according to BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal who presented the civic budget on Saturday. According to the BMC’s data, the dues rose by Rs 1,949.20 crore in the past two years. As of December 31, 2022, Rs 7,223.42 crore is outstanding with various departments of the state government. Civic officials said dues also include property and water tax. “For the recovery or adjustment of the outstanding dues, vigorous follow-up is being done by the relevant civic department,” Chahal said in his budget speech. “Considering the overall development work underway in Mumbai, huge funds are required and hence we request the government to consider our request for payment of dues owned by various state departments,” he added. Also Read: Lower Parel bridge: First joint bridge project between WR and BMC delayed further In the 2022-23 budget estimate, the BMC had said it would get Rs 1,126.17 crore as grant from the state government until December, but it received only Rs 9.79 crore. In the revised budget, BMC put the figure at Rs 629.68 crore, which was mentioned in the civic chief’s budget speech of 2023-24. Civic activist Anil Galgali said the government should pay the dues as it is a huge amount. “The BMC is building a 360-bed super-speciality hospital in Nahur, known as the Bhandup super-speciality hospital. It will cost around Rs 670 crore. If BMC receives the entire pending amount, it can build at least 10 more such hospitals. The money can also be used to repair roads.” Rs 5,419.14crAmount pending in education grand
06 February,2023 07:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Sameer Surve
BMC budget: Old age home in Goregaon, lit skywalks and more in the offing
The BMC budget 2023, which has a focus on big ticket projects, also has many small initiatives for the different strata of Mumbaikars. These include an old age home in Goregaon, providing financial assistance to women seeking higher education abroad, skill development for the transgender community, training for maids and illuminating city skywalks, among other plans. The budget announced by the civic administration on Saturday has several schemes for senior citizens. A provision of Rs 11.35 crore has been made to fund various equipment and leisure facilities to aid entertainment centres for the elderly. Social schemes Following a long-pending demand for an old age home, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had in December last year issued a work order to set it up near Raheja Ridgewood in Goregaon East. The civic body has set aside Rs 14.23 crore for the construction and the work is expected to be completed in 2024. This is BMC’s first major project for senior citizens. The Borivli skywalk is among the 13 in the city which have been taken up for illumination. File pic The civic body has also set aside Rs 101 crore to provide financial assistance for the empowerment of women. Under this scheme, women from the lower sections of society can apply for funds to get a visa to study abroad as well as to buy sewing machines, flour mills, spice making machines, incense stick machines, etc. It also has provision for assistance to women to buy e-bikes or e-rickshaws for employment purposes. In addition, there is also a fund to give incentives to district-level women sportspersons. The budget has also allocated money to train women in computers, marketing, stock market, stitching and karate. For women house helps, the BMC has decided to provide training in cooking, taking care of elderly people, etc, and R6.44 crore has been allocated for this. Also Read: Lower Parel bridge: First joint bridge project between WR and BMC delayed further Apart from this, it has also made a provision of R2 crore to fund skill development and training of members of the transgender community. Infra initiatives BMC’s 2023 budget estimates also mentioned illumination of the 13 skywalks in the city. The skywalks which connect to railway stations at Sion, Ghatkopar East, Ghatkopar West, Borivli, Wadala, Andheri East, Cotton Green, Bhandup, Santacruz East, Nana Chowk, Santacruz West, Goregaon and Vile Parle have been taken up for beautification. The total cost of the work is estimated at Rs 75 crore which includes 3 years of comprehensive maintenance after a 2-year warranty period. The civic body has also made provisions to set up a solar power plant at Gorai dumping ground, which was closed in 2009. As per plans, the green energy generated at this plant will be used to power electric vehicle charging stations. Apart from this, setting up a world-class convention centre with a panoramic view of Gorai bay is under consideration. Rs 75crEstimated cost to beautify city’s skywalks Rs 101 croreProvision made for women empowerment schemes
06 February,2023 07:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
Lower Parel bridge: First Western Railway-BMC bridge project delayed further
The deadline for the completion of Delisle bridge in Lower Parel has been pushed back once again. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) planned to open it by April, but as per the new deadline, it will open only after the monsoon. Civic officials now say it will be completed by October. This was the first joint project for a bridge between Western Railway and BMC. The bridge was closed overnight in August 2018 for traffic after the IIT - Bombay submitted a structural stability report for it. The audit was done after an FOB at Gokhale bridge at Andheri collapsed on the railway tracks. Just as the chaos caused after the closure of Gokhale bridge three months back, there was chaos five years ago after the decision to demolish Delisle bridge. Motorists and pedestrians have been inconvenienced since then. The assembling work for the first girder of the Delisle Road bridge. File pic/Ashish Raje Civic officials had earlier said the bridge will be completed by April, if the railways handed over the approach road of N M Joshi Marg by October 1, 2022. The WR has done so, however, still the deadline has been pushed to October 2023. The speech of civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal on BMC budget estimated for 2023-24 stated that the work is 60% complete and the scheduled completion date of the bridge is in October 2023. Also Read: BMC budget: Party in power next can do reappropriation, says Civic chief Shared work load The work of Delisle bridge was divided into two parts. The part on the railway line is being constructed by Western Railway while construction of three approaches — north and south parts N M Joshi Marg and one arm of Ganpatrao Kadam Road — will be constructed by the BMC. The WR awarded the contract for rebuilding the railway portion at a cost of Rs 87 crore. The estimated cost of reconstruction of approaches was Rs 138 crore. The BMC, in its internal report of August 2022, mentioned that the reason for delay was the delay in launching of girders by Western Railway and the expected date of completion was March 31, 2023 subject to handing over the approach of NM Joshi Marg by Western railway. The solid ramp of G K Road and north part of N M Joshi Marg have been completed. The Railway demolished and reconstructed part of the bridge on the tracks. The first part of the bridge was completed in June 2022 and the second girder launched in the last week of September 2022. The railway handed over the eastern side of approach of the bridge to the BMC on October 4. It had been retained by Western Railway for launching girders. The BMC completed work on two approaches before October 2022 and the work on the approach started four months ago. The work on other parts joining railway girders and asphalting on the bridge is on. Another bridge The long pending Teli Galli bridge on the east side of Andheri which will connect Gokhale bridge to the highway has also been completed and it will be ready by March to open for traffic. The construction of the bridge started in 2019 to reduce traffic at two narrow junctions – Hotel Regency and Teli Galli. The work was expected to be completed in 24 months. Now the work is 95 per cent completed, as per the civic chief's speech in the budget. “Only the work of the sewer line remains, it will be completed soon,” said a BMC official. AugustMonth in 2018 the bridge was shut for traffic
06 February,2023 07:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
Mumbai: Ambitious plan for footpaths, but hawkers issue festers
The civic body has once again promised to provide better footpaths for pedestrians and allocated Rs 200 crore for this in its budget for 2023-24. However, another major problem faced by pedestrians—the hawker menace—remains unresolved with no plan to tackle the issue in the near future. Civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal in his budget speech said the BMC would map footpath facilities that have a width of 9 metres or more and turn them into cement concrete ones. Chahal said, “New CC [cement concrete] footpath of good quality, to ensure smooth walking, with international surface designs will be constructed in fast-track mode. This is one of the initiatives undertaken following suggestions from citizens. All 9-metre roads will have footpaths on both sides.” The civic chief added that places where exisiting footpath is uneven would also be repaired. A narrow footpath near MHADA office at Kalanagar, Bandra. File pic This is not the first time that the BMC has assured to provide good footpaths. Every year, the corporation spends around Rs 100 crore to Rs 200 crore to strengthen footpaths, but most of the footpaths are uneven and occupied with hawkers. Also Read: BMC proposes property tax hike... again When asked about what the civic administration is doing to rid the footpaths of hawkers, he said, “Hawker’s policy is in the pipeline. There are 11,000 hawkers in the city who have licences. The process of giving licences to others is underway but for that a vending committee, with elected hawker representatives, is required. The labour commissioner will hold the election, following which the committee will be formed with members from every ward. This committee will then decide the issue of further licences.” He, however, has not revealed when the election is likely to take place. The issue of hawker policy, which will ensure only licenced hawkers are allowed to carry out business in designated hawking zones, is a long pending one, but there has not been much changes on the ground. “The BMC has recently taken up beautification of the 4-km footpath from Andheri railway station to Sakinaka Metro station. The entire footpath has been haphazardly designed. In some stretches the footpath is 10-ft wide, while at others it is 15-20 ft. As a result, the actual four-lane road has now been reduced to two lanes—as the footpath has taken up one lane while illegal parking has taken over the other. Further, the widened footpath in some places is being used by hawkers, blocking pedestrian access,” said Godfrey Pimenta from Watchdog Foundation. 9Width (in metres) of roads which will get footpaths on both sides 11,000No. of licensed hawkers in city
06 February,2023 07:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier
Run, baby, run! Parents cheer their kids at a race during the annual sports meet at Poinsur Gymkhana in Kandivali. Feline good this Valentine’s Day For every entry, the café will scoop cat litter, top it with a note about the participant’s ex, and trash it Remember that good-for-nothing ex? Versova’s Cat Café Studio wants to help make them a little useful this Valentine’s Day, to their cats and to you. When they take out their cat litter this week, it’ll have your ex’s name on it. You can trash the past with a donation of R200, of which the proceeds will go to The Feline Foundation to care for injured cats and sterilise stray cats. You can even customise a note and choose to leave it anonymous. These notes, poop and all, will find their way to the café’s Instagram stories for a final celebratory send-off. They’re aiming for 200 scoops, in case you want to trash a poop-y ol’ lover. Lamya Kapadia, brand manager, shared, “We wanted to spin this idea into something more positive like donating to the care of cats so that at least your ex was good for something.” Here’s what the youth want from BMC The city might be divided over the recent BMC budget, but this diarist was pleased to learn the youth of Mumbai are sitting up, taking note of the civic body’s actions, and demanding all the right things. Ahead of the budget, Ministry of Mumbai’s Magic, a community-forward platform, reached out to 18 to 35-year-olds and asked them to share suggestions for BMC’s budget. The group submitted over 90 such suggestions, including some leveraged from their reports. Project lead Vincy Abraham revealed that these comprised dust control management and enclosed construction sites, expenditure on pedestrian-friendly streets, charging infrastructure for EVs, and waste management and air quality. “Suggestions such as the ones on dust control and charging infrastructure for EVs have made it to the Commissioner’s announcements, but we haven’t seen anything major on bio-diversity [except for tree planta-tions] so far, which is a miss as green spaces are crucial to ease pollution,” she said. Kala of crypto Hetal Shukla’s #cryptokalacar makes use of keyboards discarded as e-waste For nearly 12 years, Hetal Shukla’s car installations have been synonymous with the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. The artist returned with his ambassador in a new avatar this year — #cryptokalacar. “NFTs have disrupted the art market. This is the first time an artist has been empowered to communicate with his buyers and sell his art independently. I want to create a conversation around NFTs, which inspired me to create this work,” he told us. Hitting a note Shalaka Pai and Phalguni Desai From pay disparity to lack of representation and rampant mansplaining, women and queer professionals in the music industry experience sexism in multiple ways that rarely find a space for discussion. An initiative by MAP-AMP and the Goethe-Institut Mumbai aims to chronicle these experiences through a series of short animated films titled, Where Are We?: Women and Queer People in Mumbai’s Independent Music Scene. It brings together voices of multiple professionals including Nush Lewis, Parizad D and Mae Mariyam Thomas. Creator Shalaka Pai shared the films which will be out soon are categorised thematically. “One looks at problems in the industry; another looks at how a lot of the decision-makers are men; there’s one episode on representation of women and queer people, among others,” Pai said. Programme co-ordinator Phalguni Desai added, “We’re putting this out in the hope that it makes the discussion accessible and so people realise that these issues still exist.” Cutlets, community and a cause If you were on Khar 12th Road yesterday, near Gayatri Mandir, you are likely to have sniffed some delectable chicken patties, chicken samosa, prawn cutlets and kheema pav. With the city’s Pathare Prabhu community bringing Anand Melava back after two long years, women from the group were particularly excited to showcase their food, handmade artefacts and jewellery. Saya Navalkar, president of the 108-year-old trust, Pathare Prabhu Mahila Samaj, shared with this diarist, “This was our 21st edition. The spirit of this fun fair first kicked off in 2000 and since then, we have tried to create a significant platform to represent a niche. Our focus has been the women of the community.” This year, the platform also opened its doors to the efforts of the specially abled children from Kshitij, an NGO. “We took this opportunity to display their creations such as candles, totes and other knick-knacks. It’s the first time that we demonstrated products made by an NGO, but it’s all for a good cause,” Navalkar said.
06 February,2023 07:19 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Mumbai: New protocol to combat BP
PremiumTo combat the chronic non-communicable disease of hypertension, the BMC will roll out a new treatment protocol called ‘Fixed Drug Combination’ (FDC). The treatment involves a single pill containing multiple drugs. The protocol is meant for BMC’s clinics and hospitals and aims to improve adherence to the course by patients. The BMC will also be roping in community health volunteers and ASHA workers to counsel patients. One out of every four people in Mumbai is suffering from hypertension, and one out of every five people is suffering from diabetes. People suffering from such diseases are always at risk of getting other diseases, and mortality among such groups is also high. According to the BMC, many patients require more than one pill which is not enough to treat BP. Representation pic Mumbai has already witnessed high mortality among those suffering from diabetes and hypertension during the COVID-19 pandemic.Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar said, “As per the earlier protocol, doctors at our clinics and hospitals prescribed a single pill to manage hypertension at the beginning. However, in many cases, a single pill wasn’t enough, and the doctor had to prescribe another. Having to consume more than one pill often led to non-adherence to treatment. When the patient takes the medicines on and off, hypertension becomes uncontrollable. In an effort to improve adherence to the treatment, the BMC has devised the FDC where a single pill will have a combination of multiple drugs. We will be purchasing the drug now and providing it to patients at our clinics. We have included it in our schedule list.” Also Read: Shinde-Fadnavis stamp clear in BMC budget Decision after expert nod The deputy director of BMC’s Health Department and the head for non-communicable diseases (NCD) Dr Daksha Shah said, “Before including the FDC drug in the schedule, we consulted and took the opinion of World Health Organization (WHO), experts from other countries, and experts from the BMC’s major hospitals KEM, Nair, and Sion. We have trained more than 200 doctors at civic dispensaries, HBT clinics, and hospitals. A protocol has been made as to whom the FDC should be prescribed. This will help improve patients’ adherence to the drug.” Dr Rahul Pandit, chair, Critical Care at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, said, “As long as all the characteristics of the drug are taken into care to make the combination, it is a welcome move 200Approx. no. of BMC doctors trained to prescribe FDC
06 February,2023 07:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Suraj Pandey