Kohli ends year on top of ICC Test rankings, Rahane slips to 7th
Dubai: Indian skipper Virat Kohli will end the year as the top ranked batsman while Ajinkya Rahane slipped a rung to be seventh in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Tuesday.
Kohli (928) remained 17 points ahead of Australia's Steve Smith who occupied the second spot while New Zealand skipper Kane Willamson (864) ends the year at number three. Cheteshwar Pujara (791) retained his fourth place but Rahane, who slipped to seventh, was replaced by Pakistan's Babar Azam.
Azam scored an unbeaten hundred and 60 in the second Test in Karachi against Sri Lanka to move three spots to sixth and achieve his career-best ranking of sixth.
Mayank Agarwal and India's limited overs vice captain Rohit Sharma wrapped up the top 20 for India, occupying the 12th and 15th spots respectively.
Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, who has been out since the start of the home series against South Africa due to a stress fracture, retained his sixth spot in the list headed by Australia's Pat Cummins.
India's Ravindra Jadeja, meanwhile, remained at number 2 behind Jason Holder of the West Indies among Test all-rounders.
In the ICC World Test Championship, India stand on top with 360 points, way ahead of Australia (216), Pakistan (80), Sri Lanka (80), New Zealand (60) and England (56).
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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.
