Government's measures to stop depreciation of rupee 'half-hearted': Chidambaram
New Delhi, Sep 15 : Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Saturday said the Narendra Modi government's five measures to stop further depreciation of the rupee and widening of the current account deficit (CAD) were "half-hearted and too late".
"Government's five "measures" announced yesterday are half-hearted and too late. Because government was in denial," the former Finance Minister said on Twitter.
"The worsening of the CAD has been evident for several months; yet the government did nothing. The slide in CAD, the FPI outflow, the weakening rupee and the depletion of forex reserves were wake-up calls that were ignored," he added.
To stop further depreciation of the rupee and widening of CAD, the government on Friday took five measures and a broad policy decision to curb non-essential imports and increase exports.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, after holding a detailed discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the government is committed to maintain its fiscal deficit target even as it monitors the impact of external factors on the Indian economy.
"One broad policy decision was to address the issue of expanding current account deficit. The government will take necessary steps to cut down non-essential imports and increase exports," Jaitley told reporters after the high-level meeting.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
