COMMON PEOPLE PAYING THE PRICE FOR ELECTING MODI GOVERNMENT
From “Bahut Hui Petrol Ki Maar” to “Abki baar petrol 80 ke paar” BJP has left no stone unturned to bother the public..
The petroleum products in India is facing all time rise and are affecting the pockets of people severely. From last nine days the constant rise in price of petrol and diesel have proved that the Modi government is working against the public and has prepared a good strategy to rob people through taxes. The AAP National Spokesperson Dilip Pandey said in a press conference that BJP was just waiting for the Karnataka Elections to get over. There was not a rise of a single penny during the tewnty days election process and immediately after election 2 rupees hike was seen and from that day the rise in petroleum products started facing daily hikes in the price all over the country. The interesting fact is that PM Modi is always trying to gain appreciations and sympathy from public by mentioning himself as the lucky charm for the Indian politics but now when the whole country is feeling cheated and unfortunate to have a leader who promised to remove poverty and make the country inflation free is the same person responsible for the increased poverty in the country and the suffering public, now has nothing to speak on the issue.
AAP Leader Dilip Pandey also questioned the centre to provide an answer that why despite the fall in the price of crude oil in the International market the price of petroleums products has not come down? Why is PM Modi now not taking the credit for the extreme rise in the price of fuel? We all know that since when the modi government came into power in the year2014-2016 the price of crude oil in the International market has been facing continuous fall. Talking about bringing good luck with him PM modi has really spoilt the luck of the public and made them poor. The central excise duty on the petroleum products have been increased 9 times from the year 2014 when BJP government was formed. There was actually no need for BJP to rob people’s hard earned money and fill their own pockets. In the year 2014 the central excise duty on petroleum products was Rs9.20 per liter but the BJP government initiated a 212% increase in the duty and taking the price to Rs19.48 per liter in 2 years. If we talk about diesel the situation is even worst because the price of diesel was Rs 3.46 per liter in the international market in the year 2014 but it has been raised by 450% and the price has been brought to Rs 15.33 per liter.
We all are aware of the cost cutting process which we have to face seeing the increasing price of goods and commodities in the market. The budget of every house is disturbed and the transportation cost on every goods and items increase simultaneously with the rise in petrol price. The party that criticized all its opponents and shouted slogans on top of their voice has nothing to speak now when they are responsible for all the inconvenience caused to the public. From shouting “Bahut hui mehengai ki maar, abki baar modi sarkar” to the frustrated people shouting “bahut hui mehengai ki maar, abki baar 80 ke paar” BJP has proved its corrupt governance.
Speaking to the media leader Dilip Pandey put the following questions to the BJP government on the fuel price rise:
1. Who has benefited from this price hike?
2. Why did Modi government not reduce petrol/diesel prices when these were falling in the international market?
3. How will Modi government now control the situation when it has no control over the international market price?
First Citizens’ Report on the Bharatiya Janta Party
(BJP) led National Development Alliance (NDA) government in May 2015, India has witnessed an unprecedented
political change whose sheer continuity has surprised many. Simply put, this is about the impressive electoral
journey of the BJP which has, by now, expanded its footprint and formed governments in every region of the
country, Karnataka being the most recent. Ideally, this tectonic political shift should have resulted in a much better
synchronisation between the Centre and the states where NDA is in power. This exactly has also been the BJP’s
argument during the various state election campaigns. The ideological commonality of the Central and state
political leaderships — besides the fact that Prime Minister Modi is now seen as the undisputed, universal leader of
the ruling side — should have transformed the country’s development contours. The moot question, therefore, is:
Has this political change actually helped end poverty, social exclusion and discrimination in India? This
penultimate Citizen’s Report, being released as the NDA government enters its last year in office, is a humble and
dispassionate attempt to evaluate its working through the watchful eyes of civil society observers.
The current Citizen’s Report, takes a comprehensive look at the four years of the government, makes an objective
assessment of the direction that society and economy have taken and makes its statement. For instance, it is
evident that the flagship ‘UjjwalaYojana’ has helped reduce the distress of rural women in millions of poor
households. They have moved away from the traditional smoking chulha (oven) as the scheme has provided them
with free LPG connections. It has made life easy for women while also reducing their health hazards. But this is only
half the story as a good number of beneficiary families have actually reverted to the smoking and polluting oven
after their first free LPG cylinder got over. The reason for this was as basic as it could get: The families did not have
the money to buy the second cylinder! The history of independent India is replete with instances of too many wellmeaning
development schemes going bad due to similar pitfalls which result from careless planning. It is desirable
that a cautious government should anticipate possible loopholes in any particular scheme before launching it.
The report reviews various electoral promises for al-round development, employment generation, improved
health and education, strong economy, enabling environment and equal opportunities for marginalised
communities, social justice and social harmony, protection of human rights, land rights and environment et al. The
report reviews these very issues from the lens of the vulnerable populations and constitutional mandates. While
much has been promised and popularised, the report finds many gaps and much more needs to be done. There
are many disturbing trends of continued exploitation and marginalisation of these communities.
Besides the sector-wise assessment, this Citizen’s Report has unequivocally noted the marking of a very definite
and degenerate direction that the government has taken. This new push has turned out to be a debilitating cause
of concern for the country and its people. For ease of understanding, the sum total of this overpowering trend,
which has the potential of assuming disastrous proportions in today’s times of social media and instant
technology, can perhaps be called ‘Intrusive Mind Management’ by a government influenced by its ideological
mentor. From time immemorial, governments, ruling establishments, monarchs and even dictators across the
world have relied upon and resorted to high-decibel propaganda to win popular support. But democracies are
always expected to take any such self-serving attempt with a pinch of salt. The mass media is believed to be the first
line of interrogation against all such misadventures resorted to by the government of the day. In the Indian case,
the media has had an overall glorious record of living up to its duties. This Report, however, notes the disturbing
disappearance of Doubting Thomases from some of the most visible sections of mass media. This isn’t a good
signal at all for preserving the plurality that has always been the hallmark of Indian society and also the reason why
this civilisation has a never-ending sustainability. The co-option of the minds in the media, particularly in the
electronic variant of it, doesn’t augur well for a democratic India. The Report has made an attempt to discover the
factors that have led to this well-calibrated tendency, which has the danger of erasing all hues of existence and
converting the vibrant Indian society into a monochromatic inanity.
Another significant marker in the Report is the identification of a clear trend to undermine the citizens’ inalienable
rights to privacy, dignified living and free speech. While the government, for instance, has moved ahead with its
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Citizens’ Report on four years of the NDA Government 2014-2018 1
continuous shift to an Aadhaar-based identity system, the basic concerns of privacy and data leak have not been
addressed with the same gusto. Quite a few instances of Aadhaar database being compromised have come to
light, but it has not set the alarm bells ringing. The vulnerability of similar database being misused through the
social media route is no secret now. Here too, the government is yet to take stringent corrective actions to protect
the privacy concerns of the citizens. On the free speech front too, the government seems to have fallen short of the
high degree of tolerance it is expected to display. Wishing away all its critics may prove to be a convenient recourse
for any government to take, for then only the good words would remain. In the long run though, this would prove
to be counter-productive for society at large and self-defeating for the government of the day. Unfortunately, the
BJP-led government has failed to generate enough confidence on this crucial count.
Yet another trend that became evident in the fourth year of the NDA government is the fast shrinking space within
which the voluntary sector is now expected to operate. Any wrongdoings, especially of the financial nature,
committed by the voluntary organisations and NGOs cannot be defended. Over the decades, these groups have
made remarkable contribution to India’s development story, and their work has been acknowledged by the
government and international organisations. The new branding of the entire sector, therefore, as unproductive
and, in some cases, as unpatriotic has come as a shocker to thousands of women and men involved in such work.
This could well be a part of the larger effort to silence the critics because voluntary groups — since a good number
of them work at the grassroot level — have a relatively fair idea of the situation on the ground beyond the
cacophony emanating from those at the helm of the government.
In a democracy, no one can take away the right of a political leadership to convert itself into an election-winning
machine. After all, the textbook objective of a political party is to come to power through the majority route and it
has every right to adopt all legitimate ‘means’ to do that. In this race, though, the sight of the ‘ends’ cannot be lost,
more so in a country which holds the largest possible diversity globally and a growing inequality. As the
government ends the current term in office and all political parties prepare for the next general elections, this
report is a call to keep the people’s concerns and aspirations at the heart of governance, in particular of the
excluded and vulnerable sections.
political change whose sheer continuity has surprised many. Simply put, this is about the impressive electoral
journey of the BJP which has, by now, expanded its footprint and formed governments in every region of the
country, Karnataka being the most recent. Ideally, this tectonic political shift should have resulted in a much better
synchronisation between the Centre and the states where NDA is in power. This exactly has also been the BJP’s
argument during the various state election campaigns. The ideological commonality of the Central and state
political leaderships — besides the fact that Prime Minister Modi is now seen as the undisputed, universal leader of
the ruling side — should have transformed the country’s development contours. The moot question, therefore, is:
Has this political change actually helped end poverty, social exclusion and discrimination in India? This
penultimate Citizen’s Report, being released as the NDA government enters its last year in office, is a humble and
dispassionate attempt to evaluate its working through the watchful eyes of civil society observers.
The current Citizen’s Report, takes a comprehensive look at the four years of the government, makes an objective
assessment of the direction that society and economy have taken and makes its statement. For instance, it is
evident that the flagship ‘UjjwalaYojana’ has helped reduce the distress of rural women in millions of poor
households. They have moved away from the traditional smoking chulha (oven) as the scheme has provided them
with free LPG connections. It has made life easy for women while also reducing their health hazards. But this is only
half the story as a good number of beneficiary families have actually reverted to the smoking and polluting oven
after their first free LPG cylinder got over. The reason for this was as basic as it could get: The families did not have
the money to buy the second cylinder! The history of independent India is replete with instances of too many wellmeaning
development schemes going bad due to similar pitfalls which result from careless planning. It is desirable
that a cautious government should anticipate possible loopholes in any particular scheme before launching it.
The report reviews various electoral promises for al-round development, employment generation, improved
health and education, strong economy, enabling environment and equal opportunities for marginalised
communities, social justice and social harmony, protection of human rights, land rights and environment et al. The
report reviews these very issues from the lens of the vulnerable populations and constitutional mandates. While
much has been promised and popularised, the report finds many gaps and much more needs to be done. There
are many disturbing trends of continued exploitation and marginalisation of these communities.
Besides the sector-wise assessment, this Citizen’s Report has unequivocally noted the marking of a very definite
and degenerate direction that the government has taken. This new push has turned out to be a debilitating cause
of concern for the country and its people. For ease of understanding, the sum total of this overpowering trend,
which has the potential of assuming disastrous proportions in today’s times of social media and instant
technology, can perhaps be called ‘Intrusive Mind Management’ by a government influenced by its ideological
mentor. From time immemorial, governments, ruling establishments, monarchs and even dictators across the
world have relied upon and resorted to high-decibel propaganda to win popular support. But democracies are
always expected to take any such self-serving attempt with a pinch of salt. The mass media is believed to be the first
line of interrogation against all such misadventures resorted to by the government of the day. In the Indian case,
the media has had an overall glorious record of living up to its duties. This Report, however, notes the disturbing
disappearance of Doubting Thomases from some of the most visible sections of mass media. This isn’t a good
signal at all for preserving the plurality that has always been the hallmark of Indian society and also the reason why
this civilisation has a never-ending sustainability. The co-option of the minds in the media, particularly in the
electronic variant of it, doesn’t augur well for a democratic India. The Report has made an attempt to discover the
factors that have led to this well-calibrated tendency, which has the danger of erasing all hues of existence and
converting the vibrant Indian society into a monochromatic inanity.
Another significant marker in the Report is the identification of a clear trend to undermine the citizens’ inalienable
rights to privacy, dignified living and free speech. While the government, for instance, has moved ahead with its
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Citizens’ Report on four years of the NDA Government 2014-2018 1
continuous shift to an Aadhaar-based identity system, the basic concerns of privacy and data leak have not been
addressed with the same gusto. Quite a few instances of Aadhaar database being compromised have come to
light, but it has not set the alarm bells ringing. The vulnerability of similar database being misused through the
social media route is no secret now. Here too, the government is yet to take stringent corrective actions to protect
the privacy concerns of the citizens. On the free speech front too, the government seems to have fallen short of the
high degree of tolerance it is expected to display. Wishing away all its critics may prove to be a convenient recourse
for any government to take, for then only the good words would remain. In the long run though, this would prove
to be counter-productive for society at large and self-defeating for the government of the day. Unfortunately, the
BJP-led government has failed to generate enough confidence on this crucial count.
Yet another trend that became evident in the fourth year of the NDA government is the fast shrinking space within
which the voluntary sector is now expected to operate. Any wrongdoings, especially of the financial nature,
committed by the voluntary organisations and NGOs cannot be defended. Over the decades, these groups have
made remarkable contribution to India’s development story, and their work has been acknowledged by the
government and international organisations. The new branding of the entire sector, therefore, as unproductive
and, in some cases, as unpatriotic has come as a shocker to thousands of women and men involved in such work.
This could well be a part of the larger effort to silence the critics because voluntary groups — since a good number
of them work at the grassroot level — have a relatively fair idea of the situation on the ground beyond the
cacophony emanating from those at the helm of the government.
In a democracy, no one can take away the right of a political leadership to convert itself into an election-winning
machine. After all, the textbook objective of a political party is to come to power through the majority route and it
has every right to adopt all legitimate ‘means’ to do that. In this race, though, the sight of the ‘ends’ cannot be lost,
more so in a country which holds the largest possible diversity globally and a growing inequality. As the
government ends the current term in office and all political parties prepare for the next general elections, this
report is a call to keep the people’s concerns and aspirations at the heart of governance, in particular of the
excluded and vulnerable sections.
Halfa Macha Ke Gaeil: A movie all set to change the scenario of Bhojpuri Industry!
Halfa Macha Ke Gaeil is an upcoming Bhojpuri movie directed by Pramashu Singh and produced by Pawan Kumar, Harish Nayar, and Ramesh Nayyar. An upcoming project is a Drama, romantic and comedy movie. As the team of Thea film was witnessed in New Delhi for the promotions. Present at the event was an actor of the film Raghav Nayyar, Choreographer Pappu Khanna and producer Ramesh Kumar. While interacting in a press conference held in CP at PVR Plaza, they revealed about the movie as well as their experiences.
Actor Raghav Nayyar stated, “I had a great experience working for this film. Every artist was supportive on the set. Our entire team worked really hard, this movie is different from other films, after watching people will realize this and I hope we will get an appreciation for our work.” On asking about his work for Bollywood Industry, he added, “It really doesn’t matter whether its Bollywood or Bhojpuri Industry, I respect every work and I try to give my best for what I do”
The well-known Choreographer, Pappu Khanna added, “I don’t feel like this movie is Debut of Raghav, he handled things so professionally, which shocked me.” Talking about his work as a choreographer he stated, “It was a great experience working with such a multi-star cast, and I will really appreciate Ramesh Kumar ji to coordinate so gracefully with all the artists. Now Bhojpuri Industry is also taking a bigger place, you will get to see bigger movies by bigger makers. Film Border is coming which is also choreographed by me. I am sure people are going to witness more great work of Bhojpuri Industry.”
Well, Halfa Macha Ke Gaeil Introducing Raghav Nayyar, Shipra Gaur and stars Sambhawn Seth, Payal Rohatgi, Prem Chopra, Ranjeet, Raza Murad, Sara Khan, Bruna Abdullah, Sunil Pal, Ehsan Qureshi, Awdhesh Mishra and many more. Featuring under the banner of RN Events & Production. The movie is slated to release on 25h May.
CAIT: GOVT NOT TAKING ANY ACTION ON WALMART DEAL
CAIT EXPRESSED DISPLEASURE FOR GOVT NOT TAKING ANY ACTION ON WALMART DEAL
In a strong worded communication sent today to Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Commerce Minister , the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) sought to know as to what steps the Government has taken to scrutinise the deal of Walmart-Flipkart or as usual the Govt has kept its eyes & ears closed irrespective of the fact that whether deal is violating any law or FDI policy of the Govt. The CAIT as a first step is moving to Competition Commission of India for filing its objections to Walmart deal.
CAIT Secretary General Mr Praveen Khandelwal said that Important issues of FDI policy, cyber security, apprehension of using e Commerce for entering into retail trade by circumventing the law etc are involved in the deal and looking at the stiff opposition from trade bodies, online vendors & others, the Govt must rise to the occasion and scrutinise the deal in depth of it. It is highly regretted that so far Government has not taken any step to consult the traders despite lodging their objections with the Commerce Ministry. Such an attitude indicate the turning balance towards MNCs at the cost of ignoring the domestic retail trade. It is much against the BJP manifesto of 2014 which has committed no encouragement to FDI in retail. It appears that Government has taken a u turn to its declared commitment.
Mr Khandelwal further said that sadly in last 4 years no steps have been taken by the Government to ensure speedy & stimulated growth of domestic trade whereas several steps have been taken to encourage MNCs to enter into retail trade of the Country. The Walmart Flipkart deal will prove to be a nightmare for retail trade & economy of the Country. There will be enormous job losses and an uneven level playing field will be created with such deals. It’s an open fact that in US, Europe etc, the financial lending entails an interest rate from 1.5 to 2.5 percent only whereas in India the Finance is lend by the Banks from 12 percent to 20 percent per annum. This difference in interest rates in itself is enough to kill the domestic trade. The Govt should take steps to bridge the gap for maintaining equal level playing field and to encourage healthy Businesd practices in the Country
AAP reaction on oil price surge
AAP/PR/PetrolPriceHike
पेट्रोल-डीज़ल की आड़ में आम जनता की जेब पर डाका डाल रही है भाजपा सरकार: AAP
सोमवार को एक बयान जारी करते हुए आम आदमी पार्टी के मुख्य प्रवक्ता सौरभ भारद्वाज और प्रवक्ता राघव चड्ढा ने कहा कि देश में इस वक्त पेट्रोल के दाम आसमान छू रहे हैं। अंतर्राष्ट्रीय बाज़ार में कच्चा तेल सस्ता है लेकिन बावजूद इसके पेट्रोल-डीज़ल के दाम शिखर पर हैं।
सौरभ भरद्वाज ने कहा कि अंतरराष्ट्रीय बाज़ार में कच्चे तेल के दाम इतने ज़्यादा नहीं हैं लेकिन फिर भी पूरे देश में पेट्रोल-डीज़ल के दाम आसमान छू रहे हैं। ताज़ा आंकड़ों का हवाला देते हुए उन्होंने कहा कि आज दिल्ली में पेट्रोल के दाम ₹76.24 हैं, कोलकाता में ₹78.91 है, चेन्नई में ₹79.13 है, जबकि मुम्बई में ₹84.07 हैं। हालांकि अंतर्राष्ट्रीय बाज़ार में कच्चे तेल के दाम साल 2013 के मुकाबले काफ़ी कम हुए हैं। समझ नहीं आता कि जब क्रूड ऑयल के दाम में गिरावट आई है तो भारतीय बाज़ार में पेट्रोल-डीज़ल के दाम कम करने की बजाए बढ़ाए क्यों जा रहे हैं? निश्चित ही यह एक बड़े घोटाले को संकेत देता है।
राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता राघव चड्ढा ने पेट्रोल-डीज़ल की बढ़ती कीमतों को लेकर भाजपा सरकार को घेरते हुए कहा कि “बहुत हुई महंगाई की मार अबकी बार मोदी सरकार” का नारा देकर, जनता से वोट मांगकर सत्ता में आई मोदी सरकार ने देश की जनता के साथ विश्वासघात किया है। जब से मोदी सरकार सत्ता में आई है, हर क्षेत्र में चाहे वो पेट्रोल-डीज़ल हो, घरेलु गैस हो या फिर खाने पीने के ज़रूरत की चीज़ें हो, सभी क्षेत्रों में महंगाई ने सारे रिकॉर्ड तोड़ दिए हैं।
साल 2013 में जब डॉलर के मुकाबले रुपया ₹63.88 पर था तब अंतर्राष्ट्रीय बाज़ार में कच्चे तेल की क़ीमत लगभग 109 डॉलर प्रति बैरल पर थी तब दिल्ली में पेट्रोल के दम 69 रूपए और डीज़ल के दाम 64 रूपए के आसपास थे। जब मोदी जी की सरकार सत्ता में आई तो कच्चे तेल की कीमत घटकर एक समय 30 डॉलर प्रति बैरल हो भी गई, लेकिन मोदी जी ने पेट्रोल के दाम में आम आदमी को किसी भी प्रकार की कोई राहत नहीं दी।
दिन-ब-दिन महंगाई बढ़ती जा रही है और आज तो स्तिथि ऐसी हो गई है कि अब अगर 2-4 दिन महंगाई ना बढ़ें तो एक आम आदमी को घबराहट होने लगती है। एक लीटर पेट्रोल खरीदने में एक आम आदमी जो कीमत दे रहा है उसका लगभग 50% टैक्स के रूप में सरकारी खज़ाने में चला जाता है। और फिर जनता की गाढ़ी कमाई का ये पैसा नीरव मोदी और विजय माल्या जैसे बड़े-बड़े उद्योगपतियों पर लुटाया जा रहा है।
उन्होंने कहा कि जब से मोदी सरकर सत्ता में आई है लगभग 200% एक्साइज ड्यूटी पेट्रोल पर और लगभग 450% एक्साइज़ ड्यूटी डीज़ल पर मोदी सरकार द्वारा बढाई जा चुकी है।
केंद्र में बैठी भाजपा ने चुनाव से पहले वादा किया था कि सरकार में आने के बाद पेट्रोल के दाम कम किए जाएंगे और मंहगाई पर लगाम लगाई जाएगी लेकिन हो इसका उल्टा रहा है। आम आदमी पार्टी का मानना है कि पेट्रोल-डीज़ल के ज़रिए एक बड़े घोटाले को अंजाम दिया जा रहा है। मोदी सरकार ने झूठ बोलकर एक आम आदमी की पीठ में छुरा घोपा है। मोदी सरकार को अपने इस कृत्य पर शर्म आनी चाहिए, और अपने इस झूठ के लिए देश की जनता से मोदी जी को माफ़ी मांगनी चाहिए।
Takeda to divest China JV $280m
Japenses firm, Takeda Pharmaceutical will divest its majority stake in a Chinese joint venture, seeking to secure its financial footing as it prepares to acquire Irish drugmaker Shire. The deal, announced Monday, is estimated at $280 million.
Takeda will sell its entire 51.34% stake in Guangdong Techpool Bio-Pharma to venture partner Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding and an investment fund. The all-cash transaction is expected to close once it receives approval from Chinese authorities within a few months.
Takeda intends to unload noncore assets to focus on a few key treatment areas, including cancer, gastrointestinal ailments and neurological diseases.
Techpool launched in 1993 as a developer of biopharmaceutical products derived from urinary proteins. Switzerland’s Nycomed acquired a majority stake in 2010, and Takeda inherited the ownership when it took over Nycomed for about $14 billion in 2011.
Takeda’s interest-bearing debts tallied around 985.7 billion yen ($8.87 billion) at the end of March, marking a roughly 70% increase over five years. Its $62 billion deal to buy out Shire is expected to cause the debt to balloon to 3 trillion yen. Takeda is also borrowing about 3 trillion yen to finance the purchase. Those factors are expected to heavily weigh on Takeda’s financial standing.
Although expiring drug patents have dented Takeda’s earning capabilities, the company still shells out generous dividend payments. Even after reaching the agreement on the Shire purchase, President Christophe Weber vowed to maintain the 180 yen-per-share annual dividend.
asia.nikkei.com
US approves first drug that prevents migraines
The first drug aimed at preventing the headaches has gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. It was found that the injected drug called Aimovig or erenumab can prevent migraines if other treatments have failed to do so.
“Aimovig provides patients with a novel option for reducing the number of days with migraine,” Dr. Eric Bastings, deputy director of the division of neurology products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. “We need new treatments for this painful and often debilitating condition,” he added.
The drug, Aimovig, is taken by patients once a month through self-injection. The drug blocks a key brain “neurotransmitter” chemical that sends out pain signals, explained a team of researchers who presented their study findings last month at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in Los Angeles.
Working with a group of people with tough-to-treat migraine, the “study found that [Aimovig] reduced the average number of monthly migraine headaches by more than 50 percent for nearly a third of study participants,” lead researcher Dr. Uwe Reuter, of The Charite University Medicine Berlin in Germany, said in an AAN news release.
In the study by Reuter and colleagues, which was funded by drug maker Novartis, the investigators tested Aimovig on 246 people with treatment-resistant migraine.
Of these participants, 39 percent had already failed to respond to two available migraine medications, 38 percent were treated with three other medications and 23 percent had tried four different medications to help control their migraines.
On average, these migraine sufferers experienced nine migraine headaches each month and took an acute migraine drug to stop an attack five times each month.
During the study, each person received injections of either 140 milligrams of Aimovig or a “dummy” placebo once per month for three months.
After three months, those treated with Aimovig were almost three times as likely to have fewer days with migraine pain, compared to people who’d only gotten the placebo. Days with migraine headaches were reduced by at least 50 percent compared to those who were given the placebo. In addition to fewer days with headaches, these patients also took acute migraine drugs less often.
Of all the participants, 30 percent treated with Aimovig said their migraine frequency dropped by half. The same was true for only 14 percent in the placebo group. The drug was also not associated with significant side effects.
All of this “can greatly improve a person’s quality of life,” Reuter said. “Our results show that people who thought their migraines were difficult to prevent may actually have hope of finding pain relief. ”
The FDA said after studying the effectiveness of Aimovig in three clinical trials, they learned most patients who used the drug experienced at least one less migraine per month.
One study involved 955 people with episodic migraine who were given either Aimovig or a placebo for six months. In that trial, use of the drug was tied to one to two fewer migraine days per month.
In the second study, 577 patients with episodic migraine were given Aimovig or a placebo for three months. Again, those on the drug had at least one less day of headache in a month. Similar results were found in a third, three-month study involving 667 patients—this time, Aimovig users had 2.5 fewer migraine days per month, the FDA said.
The most common side effects were some injection-site reactions and constipation.
The estimated cost of the drug is $7,000 annually and may be covered by insurance, according to published reports.
According to Reuter, “more research is now needed to understand who is most likely to benefit from this new treatment.”
The researchers added that larger studies are also needed to evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of the medication.
/biospectrumindia.com
India’s Free Trade Agreements: Dynamics and Diagnostics
Programme on India’s Free Trade Agreements: Dynamics and Diagnostics of Trade Prospects, 30th May, 2018 at 10:00 am at PHD Chamber, New Delhi
Over the years, bilateral and regional trading arrangements, alias Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), have become permanent features of the global trading architecture. Trade is of great importance to most nations in the modern world. Trade without barriers – free trade – is promoted by institutions like World Trade Organization (WTO). FTAs are intended to grow the economies of the countries who participate in them, first and foremost by eliminating most tariffs among its participants. In addition, they work to reduce the red tape of non‐tariff barriers, such as quotas or export/import license requirements, which can inhibit trade as much as tariffs can.
In this background, as an emerging super power, India’s Free Trade Agreements deserve special attention. India has been actively engaging in regional and bilateral trade negotiations with a view to diversify and expand the markets for exports as well as ensuring access to the needed raw materials, intermediates and capital goods for stimulating value added domestic manufacturing.
With this backdrop, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry is organizing a Programme on India’s Free Trade Agreements: Dynamics and Diagnostics of Trade Prospects on 30th May, 2018 at 10:00 am at PHD Chamber, New Delhi to assess the implementation status of the various FTAs signed by India, and prospective impact of the FTAs under negotiation. Evaluating current agreements may uncover new international trade opportunities for India in the coming years. The programme will comprise of eminent people from business community, government, academicians, and many others.
We will be releasing a research report prepared on “India’s Free Trade Agreements: Dynamics and Diagnostics of Trade Prospects” during the deliberations of the captioned programme.
Ms. Priyanka Mittal, Chairperson, Foreign Trade & Investment Committee, PHD Chamber, Shri G S Singhvi and Shri Sanjay Beswal, Co-Chairmen, Foreign Trade & Investment Committee, PHD Chamber solicit your kind presence and active participation at the programme.
We would be grateful to you for your kind presence during the programme and request you to kindly make it convenient for being with us.
A line in confirmation through email to Mr. Rohit Singh, Research Associate, PHD Chamber at rohit.singh@phdcci.in or research@phdcci.in or Fax at 011—26855450 shall be highly appreciated.
World Health Statistics Report, 2018 released by the WHO
World Health Organization (WHO) released the World Health Statistics report 2018 according to which India’s per capita expenditure on health spends at a dismal $ 63 is less than that in neighbouring Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The report also says that the life expectancy in India is just 59.3 years which is very low as compared to several other developing countries.
World health statistics 2018 focuses on the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets by bringing together data on a wide range of health-related SDG indicators. It also links to the three SDG-aligned strategic priorities of the WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work, 2019¬2023.
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Source: World Health Statistics 2018
One of the key roles of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to monitor global health trends. The World Health Statistics series, published annually since 2005, is WHO’s annual snapshot of the state of the world’s health. Since 2016, the World Health Statistics series has focused on monitoring progress towards the SDGs and this 2018 edition contains the latest available data for 36 health-related SDG indicators.
According to the report, remarkable progress has been made on several fronts but huge challenges still remain to reach the targets for health.
CAIT WROTE TO LG ON ENCROACHMENT DRIVE
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has expressed deep anguish & resentment over the manner in which the MCD is conducting encroachment removal drive in the capital. Under the guise of this drive, the MCD has even uprooted legal structure and in its bid to remove encroachment is involved in great high handedness and most cruel attitude and the drive is being conducted without giving any notice or warning period which has caused immense loss to traders. The recent incident of this drive in Khari Baoli market in walled city is a living example of irresponsible behaviour of MCD officials.
In a communication sent to Delhi LG Mr Anil Baijal, the CAIT said that we are totally against any kind of encroachment on Govt land and footpath and such encroachment needs to be removed. In fact, traders will remove themselves any such encroachment . But it would be worth if MCD publicaly declare what kind of encroachment needs to be removed. Even the sign boards are being removed in the name of encroachment though sign Board is primarily meant for indication of the shops. The MCD should declare as to what kind and size of sign Board is allowed. The MCD after such announcement should give a grace period of 15 days during which traders will themselves remove any such encroachment which comes under the ambit of drive- said CAIT to LG. It has also suggested that LG should convene a meeting of Trade representatives & MCD Authorities to work jointly in a cohesive manner to avoid any unjustified act.
The CAIT has also brought attention of LG towards occupying large space by Rickshaw, Auto Rickshaw and others on Road for parking which practically leave a small way for movement even on wide roads. Both MCD & Police should launch a drive to remove such parking at various places in Delhi and in fact some places should be designated for their parking in an orderly manner. Large number of Rickshaws are plying without any license and those should be identified and their plying should be stopped.
The CAIT is committed for a better Delhi and will extend all cooperation to the Authorities to carry out the directions of STF but with due dignity and little patience. The LG must work out the modalities of the drive in consultation with traders.The CAIT has urged the LG to suspend the drive for 15 days and proper announcement should be made about Dos & Donts of the encroachment drive.
