Over a month after Coast Guard chopper crash, body of missing pilot recovered off Gujarat coast
Ahmedabad(PTI): The body of a missing Indian Coast Guard pilot has been recovered over a month after a helicopter belonging to the maritime security agency crashed into the Arabian Sea off Gujarat coast, officials said on Friday.
Three crew members went missing after the ALH MK-III helicopter fell into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar on September 2. While the bodies of two crew members were recovered subsequently, a search continued to trace Rakesh Kumar Rana, the pilot in command of the mission.
Rana’s body was recovered from the sea, nearly 55 km southwest of Porbandar, on October 10, the Coast Guard said in a release.
“ICG (Coast Guard) along with the Indian Navy and other stakeholders continued unrelenting search efforts to locate Commandant Rakesh Kumar Rana, who was the Pilot in Command of the mission.
“His mortal remains will be cremated as per service traditions and honour. A warm salute to the three brave souls from Rank and File of the Indian Coast Guard who laid down their lives in the line of duty,” it said.
The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Coast Guard with four crew members met with the accident while trying to evacuate an injured man on board motor tanker Hari Leela, nearly 30 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast.
While one of the four crew members on the helicopter, diver Gautam Kumar, was rescued immediately, three went missing. A day later, the bodies of pilot Vipin Babu and diver Karan Singh were recovered. But Rana remained missing, prompting a massive search operation.
As part of the search by the Coast Guard and Indian Navy, more than 70 air sorties and 82 ship days involving several vessels were pressed into service, added the release.
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Out-of-pocket medical expenses remain high in India - CAM Survey
New Delhi: The average out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) for hospitalisation, including institutional deliveries, in rural and urban India stood at ₹4,129 and ₹5,290 per household, respectively, between July 2022 and June 2023, according to the Comprehensive Annual Modular (CAM) Survey by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
OOPE refers to the expenses households bear at the time of receiving healthcare, and it is a key measure of financial protection in healthcare payments. The survey, released on Wednesday, was conducted as part of the 79th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). Covering over 3 lakh households across India, the CAM survey aims to generate data on education, healthcare expenditure, digital use, financial inclusion, and asset possession, except for certain villages in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The survey also noted that rural and urban households spent an average of ₹539 and ₹606, respectively, on medical services not requiring hospitalisation within a 30-day period. Additionally, individual costs of hospitalisation in rural areas amounted to ₹1,035, with 91.3% being OOPE, while in urban areas, the cost was ₹1,879, with 60.9% from OOPE.
Despite government health initiatives, OOPE remains a significant burden. The survey reveals that the average cost of hospitalisation during the period was ₹4,496 in rural areas and ₹6,877 in urban areas. This indicates that rural households spent about 92% of their hospitalisation costs from their own pockets, while urban households covered approximately 77% of these costs through OOPE.
In contrast, the 75th NSS round in 2017-18 recorded higher average medical expenditures for hospitalisation, at ₹16,676 in rural areas and ₹26,475 in urban areas. This suggests some progress, likely influenced by schemes like Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), which provides health coverage of ₹5 lakh to nearly 50 crore Indians.
Health experts have also noted a rise in private health insurance uptake, especially post-Covid-19, as a contributing factor in reducing OOPE. However, public health specialists warn that OOPE alone does not provide a complete picture. Catastrophic healthcare expenditure (CHE) and the percentage of people pushed into poverty due to healthcare costs are also important indicators to assess financial protection in healthcare.
