Over 1 lakh patients in Kerala to receive palliative care
Thiruvananthapuram, June 20 : At least 1.50 lakh patients in Kerala who suffer from various ailments will have a better quality of life through palliative care, the government said on Wednesday.
The care would be provided through a joint initiative between the private sector and state government, the Kerala Assembly was told. Palliative care is given to improve the quality of life of patients who have a serious or life-threatening disease.
Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said even as Kerala boasts of having the best of health care, when it comes to palliative care to those suffering from serious ailments like cancer and other life threatening diseases, there has to be an improved effort to give them an improved quality of life.
"At present, there are around 1.50 lakh patients suffering from cancer, several other ailments, old age problems and are mostly bed-ridden. It's here, where we wish to provide an improved palliative care," the Minister said.
"For this, there will be a better co-ordination between the various organisations which are involved in this activity and the state government programmes," said Shailaja.
She added that of 1.50 lakh such patients, around 49,000 currently getting benefits of palliative care through various private organisations and the ones in the state government sector.
"We have already included palliative care in the state owned 232 community health centres. We have decided to appoint a physiotherapist and a nurse in addition to the existing staff so as to benefit those who need palliative care," she said.
"There are 15 training centres which have the approval of the WHO which gives training to volunteers who are interested in providing service to the suffering," added the minister.
She added that it has also been decided that the Ayurveda sector will also be asked to join the new initiative, as Ayurveda too provides elements to improve the quality of life of those who need palliative care.
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Man booked for duping firm of Rs 6 cr by posing as Infosys CSR official
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against a man and his accomplices for allegedly cheating a firm of Rs 6 crore by falsely claiming to be associated with an IT company and promising to facilitate CSR funds for its projects, police said on Friday.
The crime is said to have taken place between September 1, 2025 and March 20, 2026, and after consultation with legal experts the company decided to file a complaint at the Devanahalli police station here, they said.
The FIR was registered on March 30 following a complaint by Mysore Mercantile Company, alleging that a person named Gagan N Deep approached them, posing as the Regional Head (CSR) at Infosys Ltd, they said.
According to the FIR, Deep claimed he reported to senior officials - Harsh J, Senior Regional Manager - Infrastructure, Facilities Operation, Public Relations and CSR Works, and Niladri Prasad Mishra, Senior Vice President and Head - Global Infrastructure and Climate Action.
The FIR alleged that the accused expressed interest in the activities of their associated trust, Heggunje Rajeeva Shetty Charitable Trust, Bangalore, and assured facilitation of CSR funds from Infosys Ltd.
It further stated that the accused sent a team of four to five individuals representing Infosys, including persons identified as Chethan and Tejas, to Udupi, Mangaluru and other places to verify the trust’s activities.
According to the complaint, the accused subsequently induced the complainant to pay an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to alleged regular vendors of Infosys as a condition for approval of CSR grants.
The complainant stated that a total amount of Rs 6 crore was paid, including Rs 1.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of Anitha Ventures and Rs 3.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of ANS Engineerings, apart from an additional cash payment of Rs 30 lakh allegedly handed over to the accused through his driver near Nandi Upachar Hotel in Devanahalli, as per his instructions.
The FIR further alleged that the accused issued a purported sanction letter dated October 21, 2025, allegedly from Infosys bearing the signature of Mishra, and executed a grant agreement dated January 8, 2026 between Infosys and the charitable trust for the construction of more than 855 houses across Karnataka with a total grant of Rs 179 crore.
Another grant agreement dated January 13, 2026 was also executed for construction of primary health care centres across the state with a total grant of Rs 178 crore, it stated.
However, the complainant later suspected that the representations made by the accused were false, the documents were fabricated, and the entire transaction was fraudulent in nature, as the accused dishonestly induced them to part with substantial amounts under the pretext of EMD for CSR grants.
"Despite repeated follow-ups neither has any grant materialised nor have the amounts been returned, and the accused is now unresponsive and deliberately avoiding communication," the FIR added.
A case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), Section 319(2) (cheating by personation), Section 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), police said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.
Efforts are being made to nab the suspects in the case, they added.
