EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

Wednesday, November 25, 1998

Medicos seek immediate steps to rectify drug policy

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AMRITSAR, Nov 24: The National Medicos Organisation (NMO) has pointed out numerous flaws in the drug policy of 1994 notified by the Narsimha Rao government and has sought immediate steps to rectify it in the interest of the consumer.

Ashok Kumar Goel, national joint secretary of NMO today told ENS that a committee under his chairmanship had been formed to prepare the draft note of the new drug policy by January which shall then be submitted to the Centre. Padmakar Pandit, president of NMO is the committee's member secretary.

Goel said the Union government was convinced that the existing drug policy was pro-pharmaceuticals and was anti-consumers. He said the present drug policy had no control over drug manufacturing units for a ceiling on overhead charges which is also the main reason for the soaring prices of formulations available in the market. He said pharmaceutical firms operating in India were not spending even a single penny on research in this field and a minimum of 10 per cent of net profits shall be reserved for this purpose in the new policy. He also said that expenses incurred on advertising and incentives shall be met out of companies profits and drug price would not be increased.

Goel also said that restorative health tonics, cough syrups, mega dose vitamins and drugs increasing one's sex drive constituted around 25 per cent of the total drug production in India. He said profits in these drugs were much higher than other formulations and said these drugs were being abused as patients were bound to purchase them after a doctor prescribed them.

He said while the NMO was going to recommend not to allow sale of any medicine without the doctor's prescription, the doctors will also have to adopt professional ethics.

Goel also said that the drug should be allowed to sell by its chemical name and not by trade marks. He said only 70 per cent of drugs available were prepared in India and the rest 30 per cent were imported. Goel also said that the drug policy had given a bigger share of the market to private pharmaceutical companies and had curtailed the area of five public sector firms. He said the public sector had monopoly over 15 drugs but the Narsimha Rao government withdrew 10 drugs except vitamin B, vitamin B12, folic acid, tetracycline and oxytetracycline.Goel said the former government had also mocked at the consumers by allowing manufacturers to print retail price without including local taxes which was included in the original policy paper.

He said the NMO would recommend to the Centre to form a National Drug Authority with all powers against the present set up where atleast eight ministries or departments were interfering in the decision making process and as a result, no decision was being taken. He also sought to streamline the import policy of drugs. He said the government had allowed foreign collaboration with 51 pc equity with the result that all Indian companies were making a beeline after foreign companies. He suggested a rise in import duty on drugs and building a strong infrastructure in India.

Wednesday, November 4, 1998, Chandigarh, India

Overhaul of drug policy demanded

From Gurdip Singh

AMRITSAR, Nov 3 — The committee of National Medicos Organisation (NMO) has asked the Union Ministry of Health for a complete overhaul of the national drug policy and called for amendment of the present laws by an act of Parliament, as these laws are "outdated" and "industry-friendly" instead of being consumer-friendly.

Dr Ashok Goel, Chairman, NMO Committee who is also all-India joint secretary of the NMO, talking to this correspondent here yesterday on the outcome of the recently held NMO meeting at Pune said the committee on national drug policy was preparing a detailed plan of recommendation and implementation for the Government of India.

The NMO felt a national drug authority (NDA) should be created as envisaged in the Government of India gazette notification in September, 1994, known as new drug policy, 1994, but had remained unimplemented. He said NDA should be a quasi-judicial and an autonomous body with powers to punish and to award damages and academic-cum-law enforcing authority.

The national committee said new infrastructural facilities should be created in order to implement the new drug policy. All drug screening academic experts should be nominated by NDA. District drug screening laboratories should be created in order to save people from spurious, banned, sub-standard and toxic effect of drugs, it said.

Dr Goel further said that the committee had suggested that essential drugs list should be implemented at the national and state level that could meet community health requirements and the list should not exceed 250 drugs.

It further suggested that category one drugs meant for national health programmes like malaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, blindness, goitre, filariasis, amoebiasis, kala azar, schistosomiasis should be produced in plenty.

The national committee favoured prescription of drugs under general and not trade names.

NMO demanded that drugs' manufacture and distribution should be the domain of the Ministry of Health.

2004 Issues > April 4, 04

National Conference of National Medicos Organisation

Cooperate, not compete with different systems of medicines

—K.S. Sudarshan

“Every system of medicine has its own limitations. If one system is unable to cure the disease, then the patient should be referred to other systems. The need of the hour is cooperation and not competition with different systems of medicines. Allopathy, homeopathy, Ayurveda, yoga, etc. are all equal and meant for the betterment of mankind. There should be no distinction between them,” said K.S. Sudarshan, the Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He was inaugurating the National Conference of the National Medicos Organisation (NMO) in Patna recently.

Shri Sudarshan called upon the doctors of the country to treat the patients as human beings. Their sole objective should be to take care of the person with their utmost devotion and capability. He said every person has a soul in his body. The ailment of the body can be cured but it is the soulthat gets satisfaction. Not only should the person's body be cured but his soul should also be satisfied. This should be the aim of a curing doctor. He advised doctors not to indulge in the dilemma of ‘pathy’. Where one system fails, the other should step in, he added.

Shri Sudarshan stressed on inculcating Indian values in the medical profession. He said, “In Bharat, the medical profession is regarded as a noble profession as it is a profession of seva (service). In other countries it is a means for wealth accumulation, while in India the sevabhav (the feeling of service) is the main purpose behind it. This fact should not be forgotten by doctors and they should work in tandem with this objective in their mind.”

Earlier, the Central Executive of NMO met at the same venue and passed five resolutions for improving the functioning of the organisation and betterment of the medical profession. (VSK)

Not only should a person's body be cured but his soul should also be satisfied. This should be the aim of a curing doctor.

August 22, 2004

Sangh Swayamsevaks engaged in flood relief

Organiser - August 22, 2004 | Page: 20/36

Sangh Samachar

One thousand teams of Sangh Swayamsevaks engaged in flood relief

Hindusthan Samachar

Over one thousand teams of Sangh Swayamsevaks belonging to different RSS-associated organisations like Sewa Bharati, National Medicos’ Organisation, Bharat Vikas Parishad, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, ABVP, Vidya Bharati, etc. are engaged in flood relief activities right from the first day when floods inundated Assam and Bihar.

In the first phase of relief, the Swayamsevaks rescued the affected people and provided them with meals, drinking water, milk for children, clothes and utensils. With the exception of two districts, the floods have hit 28 districts of Assam, 17 of which are affected severely. In the second phase, the Swayamsevaks collected relief material worth lakhs of rupees from the local resources and helped the flood victims. They concentrated more on the villages where the government or non-governmental organisations have failed to reach.

In the third phase, they concentrated on medical relief, as there is a possibility that the flood-hit areas might be caught in the grip of water-borne diseases which could become an epidemic. Besides the local help, the Swayamsevaks have also received medicines from Gujarat, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

The Sangh-associated organ-isations have been working under the banner of Sewa Bharati. They have formed several teams of doctors at various districts and other prominent places. Every team organises two or three camps daily in the affected areas. In Guwahati alone, six teams of 40 doctors have been formed, which have been working under the supervision of Dr Dilip Sarkar, a retired doctor of Guwahati Medical College and vice president of National Medicos Organisation. Dr Sarkar has appealed to medical professionals of the country to assist in the relief measures. Several teams of Arogya Rakshak are also working under the banner of Sewa Bharati. They include teams in Golaghat, eight in Hojoi, two in Kampur, four in Bilasipara, three in Golokganj, four in Barpeta, three in Nalbari, six in Mangaldoi, four in Tezpur and 35 in Silchar.

NMO – Pioneer in the field of medical services celebrates its Silver Jubilee: Sushruta says:

"The patient may doubt his mother, father and his sons and never doubts sincerity of the physician". Therefore, it is physician’s prime duty, to look after the patient, as his own life. 40 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members started National Medicos Organisation (NMO) on November 5, 1977, drawing inspiration from Shri Bhaurao Deoras in the holiest city of Varanasi. It was only 16 days old when NMO had sent a team of three medicos to serve the Andhra Pradesh cyclone victims on November 21, 1977. Thereafter, NMO’s helping hand and served the numerous including the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy, earthquakes of Uttrakhand, Bihar, Khillary and Bhuj, Mandai massacre of Tripura, plague of Surat and perennial floods in Bihar, etc. In the 1999 super cyclone of Orissa, 150 NMO members treated over 33,000 victims. NMO worked amongst the tribal of Chhotanagpur and Santhal Paragana. It has been helpful in giving a new direction to the thoughts and contents of medical education and medium of instructions, etc., and it pleaded with a new vigour to cheaper, safer and better drugs.

Started from pieces of papers in the Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya on November 5, 1977 to celebrating its Silver Jubliee on November 10, 2002, at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, it has got eventful career. A unique of its type, NMO organized several “no smoking march” in places like Ajmer, Dibrugarh, Thrissur and Jammu, etc. In Ranchi NMO conducted 40,000 children’s health check-ups sponsored by Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra’s Ekal Vidyalayas. The congregation of NMO members in its Silver Jubilee Celebration was a mini medicos India, which promised to take up the challenges before the future generation.

"For all – round development of any nation, education and health sector should be given priority. But after Independence, India was not able to advance much because education and health were not properly taken care of", said Shri L.K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, while inaugurating the Silver Jubilee function of National Medicos organization (NMO) at Siri Fort auditorium. He quoted Alwyn Toffler that in the development of the world, India had an important role. Other prominent speakers were RSS Sarsanghchalak, Ma. Shri K.S. Sudarshan, Union Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha, Union Rural Development Minister Shanta Kumar, Dr. Ballabh Bhai Kathiria, Shri Surya Naryayan Rao and many more.

Every organisation needs some establishment not only for the sake of creating an image for itself, but for discharging the duties and achieving its objectives. Sewa international has taken upon itself the task of creating a positive image of Hindu concept of Sewa, through which the whole world would benefit in the long run.

Hindu heritage and tradition is rich wit sacrifice and charity. Right from the Vedas and the Bhagavad Geeta, every Hindu scripture encourages Sewa of the downtrodden, the poor, the illiterate. Saints & sages of Hindustan – right from the age of Maharshi Vyasa to Swami Vivekananda – spread the message across the length and breadth of the country that the best way to reach the Ultimate Truth is through serving others.

Hindu literature is rich with the stories of sacrifice and serving the humanity, and the nature itself, like none on the face of this planet. However, this message has not gone forth to the word boldly till now and the world knows not even a speck of it. This duty befalls on the Hindu society, wherever they be. But Hindus themselves are ignorant of this and need to prepare themselves for the awareness.

Sewa International wants to be a vehicle to reach out to the whole world to tell the tale of Hindu Sewa. Achieving this objective certainly needs some infrastructure. The opportunity of building up the infrastructure is at hand and a plot of land has been acquired from the Government for this purpose. All the readers are welcome to spread the message for joining hands and add their own together with their friends in creating the “Sewa Hub”.

The usual complaint from abroad is that the beneficiary organisation in Bharat does not send the report of or receipt of the donation itself, the communication is seldom received, what has happened of the contribution is never known! Sewa International plans to sort out such matters and both way communication that too in reasonably short time, will be the watchword. A data bank of information on all Sewa related issues will be in place and the modern communications system will enhance the dissemination of the information.

Youth from abroad regularly express their aspiration of serving some remote village, or an orphanage, or teach in a school. SI welcomes such aspiration youth for a rich experience in Sewa. The proposed building will be a place for all such youth to know more about the Sewa and voluntary effort in Bharat and get some basic training before they embark on their mission of Sewa. Liberal contribution are most welcome for constructing the building and installing infrastructure to serve the purpose

The Deputy Prime Minister Shri L.K.Advani speaking at a function organised by the National Medicos Organisation in New Delhi on November 10, 2002 .(Sunday)

Suraj’ can not be achieved without health for all: Advani

NEW DELHI, Nov 10: Linking "Suraj" (good governance) with reaching hospital services to every citizen, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today asked medical students to join the fight against diseases which were throttling development in the country.

The two reasons for India not being able to transform itself into a developed nation lie in two neglected sectors, health and education, he said quoting nobel laureate Amartya Sen while inaugurating the silver jubilee celebrations of the national medicos organisation here.

Mr Advani said though the BJP-led Central Government was formed without campaigning on a central political issue, realising the dreams of the freedom fighters who brought independence to the country was central to its governance.

"We achieved ‘Swaraj’ (self-governance), but ‘Suraj’(good governance) had not come. We wanted to achieve this," he said.

A host of Central ministers, including Health Minister Shatrughan Sinha, today lent their weight to the silver jubilee celebrations of the RSS-affiliated national medicos organisation, whose motto is "Health service is national service".

"India’s contribution to medicine is not limited to ancient medical practitioners Charak and Sushrut, but the modern day Indian doctors too are giving immense service," said Mr Advani while inaugurating a ‘health assembly’ organised to conclude the silver jubilee celebrations.

Mr Sinha was the chief guest at a session on medical ethics and reforms in medical education, also attended by RSS general secretary K C Sudharshan.

Other Central ministers who attended the event were Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Vallabh Ramjibhai Katharia, a doctor himself, and Minister of State for Natural Gas and Parliamentary Affairs Santhosh Gangwar.

National medicos organisation, which was founded in 1977 in Varanasi, has over 1,000 life members and plans to enrole 160,000 more members in 160 medical colleges across the country.

The silver jubilee celebrations held at the Siri fort auditorium were attended by hundreds of delegates from all over the country, including medical students and a number of leading doctors, who also deliberated on rural health and holistic approach to health. (UNI)

Worried doctors

Participants at the 10th Annual Conference of the National Medicos’ Organisation which started in Amritsar on April 14 expressed concern over ‘declining ethical standards’ among practitioners.

At the inaugural function the common refrain was ‘it is no more a sense of service that drives the doctors but the lust for money. ’ The President, Sujit Dhar, wanted a system to make doctors more accountable to society. In his address, Dr. B. IL Sharma, Dean of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, Chandigarh, highlighted how over the past few years medical services had become oriented towards the care of the rich alone.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2008

NMO to host two-day long National Conference from Feb 9

Bhubaneswar (4/2): National Medicos' Organisation (NMO) will hold the 24th two-day long National Conference at Cuttack from February 9 to 10. NMO is hosting the seminar for the first time in the State to discuss various issues relating to medical science. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, organising secretary Radheshayama Bhawsinka and Higher Education Minister Sameer Dey said that the conference will have scientific presentations, discussions on recent medical problems, debates on the problems faced by the professionals, poster and essay competition and quiz on medical and dental sciences and deliberation on the role of doctors in nation building. About 1500 doctors from all over the country are expected to attend the seminar, they said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the seminar while Governor Sri MC Bhandare will attend the concluding day. Besides, Law and Industry Minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal and Higher Education Minister Sameer Dey would attend the seminar as guest speakers, they added. Sanjit Panda, Sanatan Tripathy and Nagen Pradhan were among those present at the press meet.

Take telemedicine facility to

Cuttack: Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare has stressed on extending the facility of telemedicine to the village-level so that the suffering populace can gain access to specialists and top doctors for effective treatment and advice. Addressing the valedictory session of the two-day annual conference of National Medicos Organisation (NMO) here, Bhandare also called for strengthening the primary and community health centres, which are the base of the rural healthcare system. Reiterating the Government's commitment to improve health infrastructure and services through programmes like NRHM, the Governor observed that telemedicine could be utilised very effectively for the benefit of the people at the lowest level. Applying IT to connect villagers with experts and specialist doctors anywhere in the country and the world can work wonders, he stated. Reflecting on the poor health indicators of Orissa like high infant mortality, maternal mortality, morbidity and malnutrition, he called upon the doctors to take it up as a challenge and strive to correct the prevailing situation.

He also urged the private sector and Corporates to extend assistance in setting up medical colleges in the State to supplement non-availability of adequate number of doctors. He . Also described proposal to establish a health university in the State as a noble one, which would usher in a. New era in ensuring high quality medical education to the students. Among others, Law Minister BB Harichandan, national NMO president Dr JP Goyal, organising Chairman Dr Sanatan Tripathy and secretary Dr Radheshyam Bhawsinka spoke.

Source : The New Indian Express

This News was Added On 2/13/2008 12:07:38 AM & Updated On 2/13/2008 12:07:38 AM

National Medicos Organisation

FOR PHOTO GALLERY UNDER NEW HEADING OF NATIONAL CONFERENCES

Cover of the CD of the National Medicos Organisation Meet at Dibrugarh - 2003.

Inauguration of the newsletter of NMO, Dibrugarh Unit by Prof. S. M. Das, Rtd. Professor & Head Of the Department Radiology, Assam Medical College on 19th January 2003.

When CARE TODAY set up the Lest We Forget fund in the aftermath of the war in Kargil, the society wanted to ensure that the brave soldiers maimed in the hostilities would have a fighting chance of springing back to normalcy from their numbing experiences. Nothing exemplifies the success of the programme more than this story of a young Naga soldier.

DUOZOLIE ANGAMI

1 NAGA REGIMENT

If there was one person in 1999 who symbolised the tragedy of Kargil, it was the sports-loving Naga sepoy who lost both his hands in the campaign. Just 21, Duozolie Angami had been deprived of a career and, it seemed, his future. But if there is one person who symbolises resurgence today, it is this very man. After leaving the army, the former soldier is today working as an assistant with the Oil and Natural Gas Commission at Nazira in Assam. He cycles to work, eats and even signs his name without the help of artificial hands (he was provided hi-tech prostheses but finds them cumbersome and uncomfortable in the muggy Assam weather).

Angami is building a house in Dimapur in Nagaland with partial support from CARE TODAY (picture on left). He has already got Rs 1 lakh from the Lest We Forget fund and will receive Rs 2 lakh more. His brother is overseeing construction work. The house is expected to be completed by October and Angami is planning a cozy Christmas with his family here.

Angami is a popular figure across Assam and Nagaland. Whenever he travels people come up to him and ask him about his experiences. Ever the optimist, he has this one word of advice for everyone: "What's happened has happened. You have to look ahead, not back." And no one can say the brave former soldier does not live by his words.

Progress Report

Contributions of Rs 5,000 and above to the Rebuilding Gujarat Fund:

Anupam Prem Rs 5,000
Vinita Ritunjaya Rs 5,000
P.N. Mahindra and Friends Rs 8,560
Kanwar Singh Bhasin Rs 5,000
Students, 9th Grade, Abqaiq Academy Rs 25,000
Worldgate Networks Pvt Ltd Rs 13,250
PIMR Rotaract Club Rs 5,000
Satheesh Muthu and Friends Rs 5,333
A.K. Khattar Rs 5,000
Parasmoney Investment Management
Services Pvt Ltd and employees Rs 10,000
N.K. Rawat Rs 5,000
HUMANE, Riyadh Rs 1,00,000
T.V. Murali and Colleagues Rs 37,980
Dimension Paint Linkers Rs 5,000
Bimla Devi Rs 5,000
K.H. Reddy and Friends Rs 6,967
V.K. Prabhakar Rs 5,000
A wellwisher group, Malaysia Rs 1,18,378
Sanjay Kumar Rs 20,000
Middlesex University Rs 10,000
Staff Association, Zakir Hussain
Post-Graduate Evening College Rs 34,500
Commander (retd) Ajay Bhagra Rs 5,000
S.K. Kasar Rs 5,000
Prabir Roy Chaudhary Rs 23,400
4002 Field Ambulance Rs 8,460
Staff members, SS Kothari & Company Rs 15,500
National Medicos Organisation, KGMC Rs 9,000
Major G.B.K. Rao Rs 6,790
Himalayan Academy Rs 25,000
Students of HCST Farah Rs 5,000
Students of EC College and AU Rs 5,000
Madhu Thaker Rs 10,000
Employees, NADCO Refinery, Qatar Rs 22,600
D. Suresh Dasappa Rs 5,000
Modern School Old Students Association Rs 25,000
Ms Asavari and Abhiswara Sinha Rs 5,100
C. Durga Prasad Rs 5,000
Brijendra Prasad Rs 8,000
N.S.R. Krishnayya's Friend Rs 5,000
Bhushan Kumar and Mrs Parveen Rs 5,100
Late Dr V.P. Mankad Rs 5,000
Sitakant Hegde Rs 10,999
Preeti Gupta Rs 5,000
Anonymous Rs 20,000
Anonymous Rs 20,000
Indian Association Rs 1,33,572
R.K. Sharma Rs 5,000
Kamla Kumar Rs 5,555
S.C. Rajvanshi Rs 5,000
Uma Sharma Rs 5,000
Roopkanwar Vidyadevi Charitable Trust Rs 1,41,000
T.S. Mudhole and Tara Mudhole Rs 6,851
Surjit Singh Bawa Rs 5,000

Bajaj Sales Corporation

| Monday, February 03, 2003 |

Welcome

The Ranchi unit of National Medicos Organisation gave warm a welcome to the newly admitted batch of medical students of Rims on Saturday. Academician P.N. Labh was the chief guest on the occasion. Rims director K.P. Srivastava said such functions have improved the atmosphere and reduced ragging incidents on the campus. Sharda Gupta and H.P. Narayan, national vice president of NMO were also present at the function.