Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) Sub Zonal office and Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDTL) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh today. He also laid the foundation stone for various facilities in AIIMS Bhopal and inaugurated a slew of other facilities in Madhya Pradesh which includes 190 Pharmaceutical Industries, 55 WHO-GMP Complied Manufacturing Units, 163 Blood Centres, 12 Manufacturing Units having Written Confirmation, 12 Large Volume Parenteral Units, 9 Private Drugs Testing Laboratory, 1 Vaccine Manufacturing Unit and a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Facility in Pithampur. Prior to this, Dr Mandaviya also addressed the 75th Foundation Day ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore.
Shri Rajendra Shukla, Deputy Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh; Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya, State Cabinet Minister, Madhya Pradesh; Shri Tulsiram Silavat, Water Resources Minister, Madhya Pradesh and Shri Shankar Lalwani, Member of Parliament from Indore were present on the occasion.
Expressing his elation at the inauguration of the CDSCO Sub-Zonal office and CDTL, Dr Mandaviya said that “monitoring the quality of medicines through CDSCO Sub-Zonal office will ensure access to high quality medicines to the citizens and provide ease of doing business for the stakeholders of pharmaceutical industries of Madhya Pradesh through the regulatory functions of CDSCO”. He further said that “CDTL and Sub-Zonal Office at CDSCO Bhawan, Indore will be entrusted with various responsibilities of regulation of drugs, cosmetics and medical devices. This will ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Acts and Rules made to ensure the safety and welfare of patients and for better coordination with State Drug Controller Organizations.”
The Central Drug Testing Laboratory has high quality laboratory services available for testing drugs, which will ensure essential and high-quality medicines to improve the health of the citizens of the country and Madhya Pradesh. It consists of 12 HPLCs, 1 GLC, 1 UV Spectrophotometer and other instruments. The medicine samples will be tested and analysed in the laboratory following standard testing procedures.
The Union Health Minister also inaugurated 6 new health facilities at AIIMS Bhopal which include a Drone Station, Dexa Scan Suit, Gym Complex, Trauma & Emergency Operation Theatre Complex, Cobas 5800 System for Viral Load Assay (First Installation in India) and a Private Ward Complex (16 fully Furnished Private Rooms). He highlighted that “it is the dream of Hon’ble Prime Minister that AIIMS should be opened in all states of the country on the lines of AIIMS New Delhi. In the last 10 years, 17 AIIMS have been opened bringing the total number of AIIMS to 23 in the country.” He stated that AIIMS Bhopal will provide health facilities for the entire state and holds a special importance for things like Clinical Protocol, Reference Standard and Bench Marking in health services.”
Addressing the diamond jubilee celebration of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Indore, Dr Mandaviya said, “the name of the institute is associated with respected Mahatma Gandhi. Inspired by the principles given by respected Bapu, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has gifted a new education policy to the country. The government has started work on the principle of One District One Medical College to convert all districts in the country into Ayushman districts.” “With the opening of a medical college, a huge system is created to monitor health and public health in that district. When we claim that we will eradicate TB by the year 2025 and today, Kala-azar and leprosy are also on the verge of extinction, it is meant that it is the responsibility of these medical colleges to free the respective districts in which they are situated from all these diseases”, he further stated.
During the occasion, Dr Mandaviya also inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College alumni network and released postal stamp and diamond jubilee souvenir of the institute. He also released the book “Essential Pediatrics”, written in Hindi by Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.
Dr Mandaviya also applauded the residents of Indore for their cleanliness and participation in setting an example of preventive healthcare for the country. He said, “the most special thing about the Indore model of preventive healthcare is that it is sustainable as well as scalable and affordable.” He further stated that Indore had earlier set an example for the entire country with its cleanliness and now in the matter of preventive healthcare.
In the spirit of “Sarve Santu Niramaya”, “Health of Indore”, the world’s largest preventive healthcare survey was undertaken to promote preventive healthcare and avoid lifestyle diseases. Under this survey, more than 20 lakh tests have been conducted for more than 2 lakh people in Indore. According to this survey which lasted for 2 years, almost half of the population of Indore was found to be a victim of one or more lifestyle related diseases. One or more test reports of about 49 percent of the people surveyed were found to be abnormal.
Underscoring the success of the survey, the Union Health Minister said that “the Health of Indore campaign is now going to become the Health of India campaign of preventive health care, where preventive health care tests of more than 10 lakh people will be conducted in more than 10 cities of the country.” He also launched the “Health of Indore” book and “Health of Indore” bot during the event.
“PRASADAM will connect common citizens in every corner of the country with pure and safe local and traditional food. This endeavour will align common people and tourists to safe and healthy eating habits.” This was stated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare as he inaugurated the country’s 1st Healthy & Hygienic Food Street, 'PRASADAM,' at Neelkanth Van, Mahakal Lok, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh today. He was joined by Dr. Mohan Yadav, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh, Shri Rajendra Shukla ji Deputy Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh State, Shri Narendra Shivaji Patel, Minister of State for Public Health and Family Welfare of Madhya Pradesh State and Shri Anil Firojiya, Member of Lok Sabha.
Reaffirming the vision of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Dr. Mandaviya stated “to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat, it is imperative that the citizens of the nation must be healthy. He further elaborated “Apart from substantive health infrastructure, healthy food that is hygienic forms a necessary component for good health for a citizen. In the coming days, every city will have its own food street ensuring healthy food reaches to all across the nation.” The Union Health Minister launched the official website for the Healthy & Hygienic Food Street initiative. He further unveiled a brochure outlining the Standard Operating Procedure for Healthy & Hygienic Food Streets.
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya and Dr. Mohan Yadav jointly inaugurated 17 civil works encompassing two Public Health Unit blocks, 54 Chief Minister Sanjeevni Health Clinics and three Integrated Public Health Labs, Emergency Covid response package including 30 beds and wards three Community Health Centres and eight Primary Health Care Centres. Additionally, the Union Health Minister and the Chief Minister also jointly launched the Mannhit app which is an initiative facilitating screening for mental health. Under the National Health Mission, Digital Bhoomi Pujan was completed and various projects were inaugurated.
The Union Health Minister commended the development of infrastructure and facility near food streets including training and capacity building of street food vendors on food safety and hygiene. Dr. Mandaviya explored the vibrant stalls at the Eat Right Millets Melas and interacted with trained food handlers as well.
Lauding the vision of the Prime Minster, Dr. Mohan Yadav praised the initiative of Food Street which will serve to ensure that healthy and clean food will be available to all in an engaging manner contributing to a healthy nation.
To empower consumers to tackle adulteration, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released “The DART Book” to check common food adulterations at home with simple tests. Additionally, a mobile food testing van called Food Safety on Wheels (FSW) was launched to reach remote areas and conduct training and awareness activities, traveling from city to village to promote awareness campaigns and adulteration testing.
Spread over an area of 939 square meters with a total number of 17 shops, “Prasadam” offers convenient and culturally rich dining options for the 1-1.5 lakh devotees who visit the Mahakaleshwar Temple daily. The newly launched food street is designed to provide various facilities including a kids' play area, drinking water facility, CCTV surveillance, parking, public conveniences and seating spaces. In addition to enhancing Ujjain's tourism appeal and preserving its culinary traditions, “Prasadam” will also contribute to economic growth and community engagement.
The event was attended by various Members of Parliament, senior government officials as well as eminent dignitaries.
Under directions of Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has started conducting joint inspection of identified Drug Manufacturing Units along with State Drugs Control Administration as per risk based approach.
The Joint Inspections are being conducted all over the country as per the Standard Operating Procedures. A committee of two Joint Drugs Controllers has been constituted at CDSCO (HQ) to monitor the process of inspection, reporting & subsequent action so as to ensure compliance to the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder. This will ensure high standards of quality compliance with respect to drugs manufactured in the country.
An action plan for nationwide inspection of manufacturing units which are identified to be at the risk of manufacturing Not of Standard Quality (NSQ)/adulterated/spurious drugs was made prior to carrying out of inspections.
The objective of drug regulation is to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the drugs available in the country. The drug control administration is required to ensure that manufacturing units comply with Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder especially to the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
“While it is important to be on the alert and follow COVID Appropriate Behaviour including wearing of masks, it is equally important to prevent an infodemic and share only authentic and verified information on COVID19. Union Ministry of Health has been sharing information on various aspects of COVID prevention and management. I urge everyone to access and share only verified information and encourage others to also do so”. This was stated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare today as he virtually interacted with about 100 doctors from across the country and members of Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Dr Mandaviya urged the doctors and members of IMA to continue to spread authentic information about COVID19. “You have been our ambassadors during the country’s fight against COVID19. I value your contribution and salute the selfless dedication and service of the healthcare professionals. I urge you to be our partners and ambassadors to prevent an infodemic by educating the public on various aspects of the COVID19 disease and its prevention and management aspects”. He expressed confidence that doctors would continue to work dedicatedly in this fight, as they have been doing till now.
Dr. Mandaviya urged participants to refrain from making speculations and only share accurate information with the public. He said that “our citizens look up to our COVID warriors for advice and due to recent increase in COVID-19 cases globally, it becomes the responsibility of our experts to share correct information so that rumors, misconceptions and in turn, fears can be prevented.” He emphasized on mitigating even the slightest sense of panic in the citizens by making them aware about current status of COVID19 data, the vaccination program and government efforts. He cautioned against complacency. He urged on adherence to ‘Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate & Adherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour’ and uptake of precaution doses for the vulnerable groups. “Only this way we will be able to preserve the gains made so far through continued collective efforts”, he stressed.
Informing about the mock drill planned tomorrow, Dr. Mandaviya emphasized that “based on our previous experience of managing this pandemic, we are undertaking several exercises, one such being the mock drill that will happen across the country tomorrow. Such exercises would help our operational readiness, help in filling gaps if any and will consequently strengthen our public health response.”
Doctors and experts who have remained at the forefront in our fight against COVID-19 since its occurrence, appreciated the timely meetings being chaired by Hon. Prime Minister and Union Health Minister and agreed to contribute in the collective fight against COVID19. Taking the message of Hon’ble Prime Minister forward, Dr. Mandaviya has chaired multiple meetings in last few days aiming at providing a platform for brainstorming of suggestions and ideas from all stakeholders.
Shri Lav Agarwal, AS, Dr. Atul Goel, DGHS, IMA members, and eminent doctors and experts were present in the meeting.
The National Health Authority (NHA) organized a workshop on Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) for the stakeholders of diagnostic industry on 22nd December, 2022 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The objective of the workshop was to highlight the role of ABDM and the importance of digital health records for the patients, especially the diagnostic reports which are needed repeatedly in case of referrals or while visiting a different health facility.
The workshop saw participation from pathologists and microbiologists, diagnostic lab owners, representatives from Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists (IAPM) and District and State level office bearers of Lab Owners Association. Apart from these representatives from the diagnostic industry, officials from NHA, state health department officials and ABDM partners offering LMIS (Laboratory Management Info Solution) and PHR (Personal Health Records) solutions also participated in the workshop.
The participants were also briefed about the Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) launched recently under the ABDM for the stakeholders. Under DHIS, eligible laboratories and LMIS solution providers can earn financial incentives of up to Rs. 4 crores by helping patients digitize their health records.
The workshop was organised with the support of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) & PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP India. More such workshops and webinars will be organised to reach out to the stakeholders in different regions and to orient them about the benefits and features of ABDM.
The National Health Authority (NHA) has announced a Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) for the stakeholders of the digital health ecosystem. The scheme aims to give a further boost to digital health transactions in the country under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). The incentives under this scheme would be provided to hospitals and diagnostic labs and also to the providers of digital health solutions such as Hospital/ Health Management Information System (HMIS) and Laboratory Management Information System (LMIS).
Under the DHIS, the eligible health facilities and digital solutions companies shall be able to earn financial incentives of up to Rs. 4 crores based on the number of digital health records they create and link to ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account). This incentive can be availed by the health facilities (hospitals and diagnostic labs) registered with ABDM’s Health Facility Registry (HFR) and fulfilling the eligibility criterion specified under the scheme.
Elaborating on the same, Dr. R. S. Sharma, CEO, NHA said – “We believe that this scheme will encourage more and more healthcare facilities and digital software companies to come forward and join ABDM for providing patient-centric healthcare. Through this financial incentive scheme, we’re encouraging the adoption of digital health. Further, we’re also including solution (HMIS/ LMIS) providers in the incentive scheme so that they handhold other health facilities to come on board and facilitate strengthening of the ecosystem. Incentives have played a catalytic role in driving early adoption of other citizen centric programs such as UPI, notification of TB cases, Janani Suraksha Yojana, etc.”
Important points under ABDM’s Digital Health Incentive Scheme are:
Incentives would be provided to the following entities:
Health Facilities having 10 or more beds
Laboratory/radiology diagnostics centres
Digital Solution Companies (entities providing ABDM enabled digital solutions)
The incentives shall be provided on the basis of the number of ABHA-linked transactions i.e. the digital health records created and linked to ABHA.
Digital Solution Companies (DSCs) will be given an incentive of 25% of the incentive amount received by the eligible health facilities using their digital solutions. For the ABHA linked transactions done by facilities not eligible for direct incentives (Clinics/ Small Hospitals/ Health Lockers/ Teleconsultation Platforms etc.), an incentive would be provided to Digital Solution Companies.
For public sector facilities, the incentives shall be added to the funds under Rogi Kalyan Samiti. The estimated initial financial outlay of the incentive scheme is Rs. 50 crores for a period of six months starting from 1st January 2023 onwards.
Further, public webinars would be organised by NHA starting from Dec 23, 2022 to provide detailed overview of the scheme. The schedule and link for the webinars will be available on the website https://abdm.gov.in/dhis. Full text of DHIS is available at: https://abdm.gov.in:8081/uploads/Digital_Health_Incentive_Scheme_550e710e09.pdf
The National Health Authority (NHA) under its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) offers faster OPD registration service for patients via Scan & Share functionality. The service which was piloted from a single hospital in New Delhi in October 2022, has now been adopted in 200+ health facilities across 18 states in India. Within 75 days of its launch, the Scan and Share service has already helped more than 1 lakh patients to save their time and efforts by enabling instant registration for OPD consultations. The states of Karnataka, Delhi, U.P are among the leading states which are using this facility for providing better service delivery to patients.
This service allows patients to simply scan the unique QR Code of the participating hospital/ health facility using any health application of their choice (such as ABHA App, Arogya Setu App, EkaCare, DRiefcase, Bajaj Health, PayTM) and share their ABHA profile. The patient’s demographic details like name, guardian’s name, age, gender, address, mobile number etc. from their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) is directly shared with the Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) resulting in digital registration. The patient can then simply visit the counter to collect their outpatient slip and visit the doctor.
Talking about the service, Dr. R. S. Sharma, CEO, NHA said – “Under ABDM, we’re building inter-operability and promoting ease in healthcare delivery processes. The Scan & Share functionality is one such feature that is helping thousand of patients in India on a daily basis. Our team is working closely with different hospitals across the country to implement this instant registration service. By simple inter-operability between the user’s selected application and the HMIS at participating health facilities, both the hospitals and patients are able to benefit.”
The OPD registration has been made effortless, seamless and accurate by this Scan and Share functionality. The process has also empowered the patient to register oneself, especially in the case of revisits without standing in long queues. This not only provides immediate and real benefit to patients but also encourages them to accept digital solutions to their health needs.
Updates on the OPD token generation via the Scan & Share service are available under the ‘Health Facility Token Generated’ tab in the ABDM public dashboard - https://dashboard.abdm.gov.in/abdm/
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare today chaired a high-level meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in India and preparedness of public health system for surveillance, containment and management of COVID-19 in view of the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 in some countries along with Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, senior officials and public health experts were present.
The Union Health Minister was briefed on the global COVID19 situation and the domestic scenario. Underlining the challenge posed by the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in some countries across the world such as China, Japan, South Korea, France and United States, Union Health Minister noted the importance of being prepared and remaining alert against new and emerging strains of COVID-19, especially in view of the upcoming festive season. Underlying and reiterating that COVID is not over yet, he directed the officials to be fully geared up and strengthen surveillance. He urged people to follow COVID Appropriate Behaviour and get vaccinated against COVID.
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya directed for strengthening the surveillance system for whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network to ensure timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country. This would facilitate undertaking of appropriate public health measures. States/UTs have been requested to send samples of all COVID-19 positive cases to INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) on a daily basis, for sequencing, to track new variants, if any.
In a presentation, the Union Health Minister was briefed that India has been witnessing a steady decline in cases with average daily cases falling to 158 in the week ending 19th Dec, 2022. However, a consistent rise in global daily average cases has been reported since last 6 weeks, with 5.9 lakh daily average cases reported in week ending 19th Dec, 2022. A new and highly transmissible BF.7 strain of the Omicron variant has been found to be behind a wider surge of COVID infections in China.
Union Health Ministry has already issued “Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in context of COVID-19” in June 2022 which calls for early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Union Health Minister directed officials for ensuring effective implementation of the same.
Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Union Health Ministry, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor, Dr. R S Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Shri Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Dr Atul Goel, DGHS, Sh. Lav Agarwal, Additional Secretary, MoHFW and Dr N K Arora, Chairman of the COVID Working Group, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) were present in the meeting.
The Government has launched a “National Tele Mental Health Programme” on 10th October, 2022, to further improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services in the country. As on 04.12.2023, 34 States/ UTs have set up 46 Tele MANAS Cells and have started mental health services and more than 5,00,000 calls have been handled on the helpline.
The Government is also taking steps to strengthen mental healthcare services at primary healthcare level. The Government has upgraded more than 1.6 lakh SHCs, PHCs, UPHCs and UHWCs to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Mental health services have been added in the package of services under Comprehensive Primary Health Care provided at these Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Operational guidelines on Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders (MNS) at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been released under the ambit of Ayushman Bharat.
The Government is also augmenting the availability of manpower to deliver mental healthcare services in the underserved areas of the country by providing online training courses to various categories of general healthcare medical and para medical professionals through the Digital Academies, since 2018, established at the three Central Mental Health Institutes namely National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam, and Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi.
For providing affordable and accessible mental healthcare facilities in the country, the Government is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in the country. The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component of the NMHP has been sanctioned for implementation in 738 districts for which support is provided to States/UTs through the National Health Mission. Facilities made available under DMHP at the Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) levels include outpatient services, assessment, counselling/ psycho-social interventions, continuing care and support to persons with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services etc. In addition to above services there is a provision of 10 bedded in-patient facility at the district level.
Under the tertiary care component of NMHP, 25 Centres of Excellence have been sanctioned to increase the intake of students in PG departments in mental health specialities as well as to provide tertiary level treatment facilities. Further, the Government has also supported 19 Government medical colleges/institutions to strengthen 47 PG Departments in mental health specialties. Mental Health Services are also provisioned for 22 AIIMS. These services are also available under PMJAY.
As per the reports of National Crime Record Bureau, the rate of suicide per lakh population was 12.0 in 2021 and 12.4 in 2022. The Government has released the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in November, 2022. The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention provides a framework for multiple stakeholders to implement activities for prevention of suicides in India. This national strategy aims to reduce suicide mortality by 10% in the country by 2030. The national strategy includes an action framework with proposed actions with key stakeholders, implementation framework and mechanism, thus providing a path forward for preventing suicides.
As per the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) conducted by the Government through National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore in 12 States of the country, the prevalence of mental disorders including common mental disorders, severe mental disorders, and alcohol and substance use disorders (excluding tobacco use disorder) in adults over the age of 18 years is about 10.6%.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prof. S.P. Singh Bhagel stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
National Medical Commission (NMC) has received World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) accreditation in September, 2023 for next 10 years which paves the way for students with Indian Medical Degrees for appearing in eligibility examinations of different countries like United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) etc.
As per Indian Nursing Council (INC), the following steps have been taken in respect of nursing staff:
INC has approved overseas blended model in nursing education to empower nursing students to work abroad. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed in 2022 between a Canadian University and an Indian Nursing Institution through INC for nurses wanting to work in Canada that includes country, hospital, professional and code of ethics which are included in Canadian course.
INC has developed the Bridge Training Programme with the objective of imparting knowledge based on country specification requirement relevant to patient care for nurses migrating to overseas and to enhance the competencies on key areas for adaption in country specific health care delivery system.
An agreement has been signed with Republic of Singapore for facilitating Indian nurses interested to work overseas.
There was need to teach Japanese language in all North Eastern States and INC has signed MoU with National Skill Development Corporation to place Japanese teachers in North East States. Japanese Language for students of North Eastern states has been launched at Regional College of Nursing, Guwahati, Assam w.e.f. June 2023 and this course is offered free of cost to nursing students.
INC has allowed nursing students to take foreign language as optional subject/ course in B.Sc.(N) & GNM program.
INC has taken a resolution to promote foreign candidate to study in nursing in India. 25% reservation under supernumerary has been considered for the institutions having parent hospital of more than or equal to 300 beds. 10% reservation under supernumerary has been considered for the institutions having parent hospital less than 300 beds.
As per NMC and INC, no specific data related to substantial demand for Indian doctors and nursing staff in foreign countries is maintained.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.