Reconsider the ban: on oxytocin
The Union Health Ministry’s ban on the retail sale and private manufacture of oxytocin, expected to kick off on September 1, is an extremely ill-thought-out one. The drug, a synthetic version of a human hormone, is a life-saver for women. Doctors use it to induce labour in pregnant women and to stem postpartum bleeding. So critical is its role in maternal health that the World Health Organization recommends it as the drug of choice in postpartum haemorrhage.
The government’s ban ignores this, and is motivated instead by the misuse of the hormone in the dairy industry. Because oxytocin stimulates lactation in cattle, dairy farmers inject the drug indiscriminately to increase milk production. This has spawned several unlicensed facilities that manufacture the drug for veterinary use. It is a problem that needs solving. But the right approach would have been to strengthen regulation, and crack down on illegal production. Much is unknown about the ill-effects of oxytocin on cattle.
One of the concerns was that oxytocin leads to infertility in dairy animals, and some studies show this to be true. It has also been linked to mastitis, a painful inflammation of the udder. Milk consumers worry about exposure to it through dairy products. The science behind some of these claims is unclear. In a Lok Sabha answer in 2015, the National Dairy Research Institute was quoted as saying there was no evidence that oxytocin led to infertility. A 2014 study by researchers at the National Institute of Nutrition concluded that oxytocin content in buffalo milk did not alter with injections.
However, even if the ill-effects of oxytocin are real, a ban is not the answer. Oxytocin is simply too important to Indian women, 45,000 of whom die due to causes related to childbirth each year. A parallel to the situation lies in the misuse of antibiotics in humans and poultry. So heavily are these drugs used that they are causing deadly bacteria to become resistant to them. Yet, despite calls for a complete ban on over-the-counter sale of antibiotics, India has been reluctant to do so.
In much of rural India, more people still die due to a lack of antibiotics than due to antibiotic-resistance. This has swung the cost-benefit ratio against outright bans. In oxytocin’s case, if only a single public sector unit manufactures the drug, as the government plans, this could lead to drug shortages and price hikes. Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Limited, the drugmaker tasked with manufacturing oxytocin, has been asked to cap the price at ₹16.56 for 1 ml of a five international unit (IU) solution. However, some private manufacturers were selling it for ₹4 until now. Monopolising production will remove the low-price options from the market. Such a situation may benefit cattle, but will put the lives of many women at risk.
courtesy : thehindu.com
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LIC of India introduced “LIC’s SMART PENSION PLAN (Plan No. 879)”
(Press Release) - LIC’s Smart Pension Plan was launched at the hands of Mr. M. Nagaraju, Secretary, DFS, Ministry of Finance in the presence of Dr. M.P. Tangirala A.S.,DFS and Shri Parshant Kumar Goyal, JS, DFS alongwith Shri Siddhartha Mohanty, CEO&MD of LIC and other MDs of LIC at New Delhi on 18.02.2025. The LIC’s Smart Pension plan is a Non-Par, Non Linked, Individual/Group, Savings, and Immediate Annuity Plan that offers a range of annuity options for Single Life as well as Joint Life type of annuities.
Key Features:
Single Premium, Immediate Annuity Plan
Wide range of annuity options available to suit customers needs
Minimum age at entry is 18 years and maximum age at entry varies from 65 to 100 years depending upon the Annuity Option
Flexibility to choose from Single Life Annuity and Joint Life Annuity Options
Incentive for existing Policyholder and Nominee/Beneficiary of the deceased Policyholder by way of enhanced annuity rate
Several liquidity options available for partial / full withdrawal as per terms of policy
Minimum Purchase Price is Rs. 1,00,000/- with incentives for higher purchase price
Modes of Annuity Payments allowable are yearly, half yearly, quarterly or monthly. Annuity instalment as per chosen mode of annuity payment shall be calculated.
There is an option to take immediate annuity by NPS subscriber is a special feature
The option to take the plan for the benefit of dependant person with disability (Divyangjan) life is available under this plan
The Plan can be purchased online at www.licindia.in
The Policy loan shall be allowed at any time after three months from the completion of policy (i.e. 3 months from the date of issuance of policy) or after expiry of the free look period whichever is later under specified annuity options.
Benefits
On Survival of the annuitant: - The options available on Survival of the annuitant varies as per the Annuity option chosen by him at inception.
On death of annuitant (Primary /Secondary- as the case may be):- The amount payable after death of annuitant will be as per Option chosen by the Annuitant at the time of proposal. Options chosen for payment of death benefit may be Lumpsum or Annuitisation of Death Benefit or In Instalments or Liquidity option or Advanced Annuity option or Annuity Accumulation option.
This Plan can be purchased Offline through Agent / Other Intermediaries including Point of Sales Persons-Life Insurance (POSP-LI)/ Common Public Service Centers (CPSC-SPV) as well as Online directly through website www.licindia.in.
Dated at Mumbai on February 18th, 2025.
For Further Information please contact: Executive Director (CC), LIC of India, Central Office, Mumbai.
Email id: ed_cc@licindia.com
Visit us at www.licindia.in
