Vladimir Putin conveys to PM Modi his inability to attend G20 summit; Sergey Lavrov to attend
New Delhi, Aug 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin who conveyed his inability to attend the G20 Summit on September 9 to 10 in India and said Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The two leaders also reviewed progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern, including the recently concluded BRICS summit in Johannesburg, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin in its readout said "a mutual commitment" to the consistent implementation of "large-scale projects" in the energy sector and joint work on the expansion of international transport and logistics infrastructure was "expressed" during the conversation.
It said the significance of the decision on the expansion of BRICS at its summit in Johannesburg last week figured in the conversation and that they emphasised that it will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of the grouping's influence in international affairs.
The PMO said PM Modi and President Putin reviewed progress on a number of issues of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of "mutual concern", including the recently concluded BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Johannesburg.
"President Putin conveyed his inability to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9-10 and informed that Russia would be represented by Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov," the PMO said in a statement.
"While expressing an understanding for Russia's decision, the PM thanked President Putin for Russia's consistent support to all initiatives under India's G20 Presidency. The two leaders agreed to remain in touch," it added.
India is hosting the G20 summit in New Delhi in its capacity as the current president of the grouping.
Putin did not travel to Johannesburg for the BRICS summit from August 22-24 and joined some of its key sessions through video conferencing.
The Kremlin also said that topical issues of "Russian-Indian relations, steadily developing in the spirit of the special and privileged strategic partnership, were touched upon."
"The positive dynamics of trade and economic cooperation was underscored. A mutual commitment to the consistent implementation of large-scale projects in the energy sector and joint work on the expansion of international transport and logistics infrastructure was expressed," it said.
The Kremlin said Putin once again warmly congratulated Modi on the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon near its South Pole and that they reaffirmed the willingness to further develop bilateral cooperation in the space exploration sector.
"The results of the XV BRICS summit in Johannesburg were discussed. The significance of the agreements reached, primarily, the expansion of BRICS, which will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of its influence in international affairs, was emphasised," it said.
In a landmark move, the top leaders of the BRICS nations last week decided to admit Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members of the grouping that is largely seen as a counterweight to Western powers.
"The sides agreed on close interaction in the context of Russia's BRICS chairmanship starting on January 1, 2024. An exchange of views was also held with regard to the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi," it added.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
