Five crore people came out of poverty: Modi
New Delhi, Aug 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday claimed that five crore poor people had come out of poverty in the four years that the NDA has been in power and that the lives of three lakh children have been secured through the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign.
Interacting with BJP workers in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh and the city through the "Narendra Modi App", he said that the government was determined to bring the last man in the queue to mainstream development in the country.
"In the last four years, five crore poor have come out of poverty," Modi said.
"Now, the common man can fly through our 'Udaan' scheme. The government has built in four years more number of toilets than constructed in last 70 years since independence," he added.
Citing a World Health Organisation report, the Prime Minister said that by running the cleanliness campaign (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) the lives of three lakh children have been saved.
"Our country is now moving ahead with speed," he said.
Speaking about the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' in Varanasi between January 21 and 23, he appealed to the residents of the holy city: "We need to demonstrate to them Kashi's spirituality and the Indian culture. To make the event a success and to give Kashi a world identity, every citizen should contribute."
Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth will inaugurate the event, which is likely to see significant participation of the Indian diaspora from across the world.
Modi also appealed for making the "Swachhata hi Sewa" campaign a success.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
