2023 G20 summit will be milked by 'world's greatest event manager' for LS polls: Congress
New Delhi (PTI): As India was handed over the presidency of the G20, the Congress on Wednesday alleged that the grouping's summit in 2023 will be milked by "the world's greatest event manager" for the Lok Sabha elections, an apparent jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India was handed over the presidency of the influential bloc at the end of the two-day G-20 summit in Bali which was hosted by Indonesia.
India will officially assume the G20 Presidency from December 1.The next G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, "G20, a grouping of 19 major economies & the European Union was set up in 1999. Since 2008 an annual summit is held in each member country IN TURN."
Each country gets a chance and India will host the summit in 2023, he said.
"It's certainly to be welcomed like similar summits held earlier The Non Aligned Summit of over 100 countries took place in New Delhi in 1983 followed by the Commonwealth Summit," Ramesh said.
"The 2023 Summit will of course be milked by the world's greatest event manager for the Lok Sabha elections a year later to distract from real issues of the people," he alleged.
In his remarks at the closing ceremony of the summit in Bali, Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday said India's G-20 presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented, noting that the country is taking the charge at a time when the world is grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown and rising food and energy prices.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.
It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
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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.
