India, France forge deeper ties in Space sector at Indian Space Conclave (GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Indian Space Association (ISpA) and the French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS) signed a significant MoU aiming to enhance the understanding of space industry capabilities and increase awareness of business opportunities in France and India at the second chapter of Indian Space Conclave 2023 in New Delhi.
Key Highlights:
- The collaboration will help foster sustainable growth, promote innovation and advocate the adoption of new technologies in France and India's space industries.
- The MoU will act as an extension to the already flourishing Indo-French relationship in the space sector and augment the individual and collective membership bases of the organizations through the benefit of greater international linkages for the members.
- As the interest towards the space sector increases among students across the world, the partnership will also help facilitate academic and educational program exchanges between both organizations that encompass training at all levels.
Indo-French space collaboration:
- The Indo-French space collaboration has achieved significant milestones in recent years.
- Both nations have joined forces for India's ambitious human spaceflight initiative named Gaganyaan, with France contributing to areas like space medicine and astronaut health as well as supplying CNES flight systems.
- Also, France's participation in ISRO's upcoming Venus mission in 2025 marks another significant leap, opening new avenues for international cooperation in space exploration.
- Both countries also pledged to enhance collaboration between their startup ecosystems, fostering innovation in the space sector.
Govt sets out to define minimum standards for skin, hair and cosmetology clinics
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Why in news?
- The Union government has set in motion an effort to prescribe minimum standards of services for skin, hair, cosmetology and dental cosmetology clinics across India.
- The initiative comes amid concerns that many such clinics are carrying out procedures without medical supervision, through staff who lack the requisite training.
Background:
- The sub-committees had been set up for each of these specialisations in order to define minimum standards of services and standards for them under the Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010.
- The Act provides for the introduction of rules to govern all public and private therapeutic and diagnostic centres, including single-doctor clinics.
- While a total of 19 states and Union territories have adopted the Act; which seeks to prescribe mandatory minimum standards for infrastructure and equipment, personnel, patient safety and treatment protocols to ensure that patients receive quality healthcare, none of them has notified rules under the law so far.
Delhi High Court directives:
- The panels had been formed following instructions from the Delhi High Court. In May 2022, a petition was filed in the court after a 35-year-old Delhi man died following a botched hair transplantation procedure.
- The directive issued to the ministry said the “government should ensure that such mushrooming salons carrying out hair transplantation procedures under unprofessional hands without requisite qualification and in absence of medical supervision are checked”.
- It also said that requisite safeguards need to be ensured for the safety of persons who undertake these treatments, and that the public at large needs to be made aware that such hair transplantation procedures or aesthetic surgeries can be fatal if performed by unqualified professionals, and require strict medical supervision.
- In case any such medical protocols have not been established for guidance of medical practitioners, the same need to be framed at the national level.
Conclusion:
- According to an estimate by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the ‘Medical Value Travel’ industry in India gets maximum patients for heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care.
- Thе absence of rеgulation allows for thе prolifеration of untеstеd procedures, putting consumеrs at risk of financial еxploitation and bodily harm.
A HELP programme launched in Jharkhand
(GS Paper 2, Health)
Why in news?
- The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India launched the ‘A-HELP’ (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) programme in the State of Jharkhand.
Key Highlights:
- The 'A-HELP' program aims to empower women by engaging them as Accredited Agent who contribute significantly to disease control, animal tagging, and livestock insurance.
- The new scheme would enhance access to veterinary services at the farmer's doorstep and empower Pashu Sakhis.
- This new band of community-based functionaries, named Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production (A-HELP) has been formulated to fill the void between local veterinary institutions and livestock owners and provide primary health services and will serve as Livestock Resource Persons and Primary Service Providers.
About A-HELP:
- The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) is embarking on a novel initiative named as “A-HELP” (Accredited Agent for Health and Extension of Livestock Production) and has already initiated across different States/UTs including Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand.
- It has launched the novel initiative through an MoU signed between DAHD and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
- A-HELP Kits were distributed to Pashu Sakhis, and the event witnessed substantial participation, with more than 500 attendees, including progressive farmers and Pashu Sakhis.
Way Forward:
- This initiative signifies a significant step forward in promoting livestock health, extension services, and women's empowerment in the region, potentially leading to improved livestock productivity and rural development.
