No one can beat Modi in 2019 polls: Minister
Kolkata, Sep 14 : Union Minister and senior BJP leader Harsh Vardhan on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was politically invincible and there was no one to throw a challenge to him in next year's general elections.
"There is no one who can beat Narendra Modi... I do not think there is any challenge to him in 2019 (elections)," Vardhan said here.
The Modi-led central government is under attack from the opposition over the depreciating rupee against the dollar, soaring fuel prices and the Vijay Mallya case.
The Minister for Environment and Forest said that the Centre was focusing on the northeastern states right from the day it came to power in May 2014 because "during the last 50-60 years, these states did not receive the importance they deserved".
"Every Ministry has formulated policies and schemes for the northeast. Everyone implemented them. People of the northeast have recognised and acknowledged it," Vardhan said, adding that the Centre remains "passionate" about this region.
The Minister, who also holds the Science and Technology portfolio, on Friday inaugurated a curtain-raiser at the CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute here for the India International Science Festival 2018 in Lucknow from October 5-8.
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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.
