Important Current Affairs Last week of July 2018
National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme 2018
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , Government of India has launched a National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation to eliminate this deadly virus by 2030. It was launched on the World Hepatitis Day July 28th 2018.
So what is the initiative & what government will do
Government of India along with World Health Organisation (WHO) has planned to provide all the facilities that will bring down the mortality occurs with this disease. The Programme basically aims to combat viral hepatitis and reduce mortality and morbidity associated with it. Its focus is not only on the treatment and about providing drugs but to create awareness among the people because lack of awareness is the biggest challenge & only some 10% of all the infected ones are aware of this life threatening disease.
In the words of Union Health Minister J.P.Nadda – “Programmes are now designed at the ground level and all stakeholders are taken into the consideration. We are now making sure that the last person gets the benefit out of it”. He further added, “This initiative will provide laboratory testing and management of viral hepatitis with a de-centralized approach,”.
About the Virus
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver.
Contaminated food and water are the main sources through which Hepatitis A and E are mainly spread.
Hepatitis B is mainly sexually transmitted.
Hepatitis B and C are commonly spread through infected blood such as may occur during needle sharing by intravenous drug users.
Hepatitis D can only infect people already infected with hepatitis B.
Acute infection may occur with limited or no symptoms, or may include symptoms such as jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Source: pib
The Inner Line Permit (ILP)
Issued under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 also known as Regulation 5 of 1873, by the state governments, the inner line permit (ILP) system, is a permit required by Indian citizens for entry into Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. ILP is ultra vires of the Constitution of India.
Inner Line Permit (ILP) is a permit/travel document granted by the Government of India to Indian nationals residing in India to allow travel of an Indian citizen into certain areas for a limited period.
ILP applies to some remote parts of the country to protect the native/indegenous culture & interests of the people by placing additional restrictions on influx of outsiders and their ability to buy property or live permanently in those restricted or protected regions.
One can travel to these regions but if you are planning a visit to these areas you need to plan your visit in advance to get the permits.
ILP also applies to some sensitive areas adjacent to international borders for safeguarding the national security.
Arunachal Pradesh – Issued by the secretary (political) of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, required for entering through any of the check gates across the interstate border with Assam or Nagaland.
Mizoram – Issued by the Government of Mizoram.
Nagaland – It is mandatory for a mainland Indian citizen entering the state of Nagaland through any of the check gates across the inter-state borders.
Dimapur, Nagaland’s largest city is the only place in the state which does not require an ILP, and Indians arriving by Air at Dimapur Airport can arrive and stay in the city without Inner Line Permit.
For the state of Arunachal Pradesh, Government of India provided two kinds of permit. One is Inner Line Permit (ILP) for Indian Nationals living in India & Protected Area Permit (PAP) for foreign tourists.
Foreign tourists or foreigners can get the Protected Area permit from All Indian Missions abroad & Ministry of Home Affairs.
Also, NRIs (Indians staying abroad for more than 6 months), Person Of Indian Origin (PIO) card holders and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) holders have to apply for Protected Area permit and not the regular Inner line permit which is for Indian Nationals only.
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is an immigration status authorized for a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in the Republic of India indefinitely.
The OCI was introduced in response to demands for dual citizenship by the Indian diaspora, particularly in developed countries. To apply for and use an OCI document, a holder must be a citizen of and hold a passport of another country, except that of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Source Wiki
Also, the Person of Indian Origin card scheme was withdrawn by the Government of India and was merged with the Overseas Citizen of India card scheme. All currently held PIO cards are treated as OCI cards. PIO card holders will get a special stamp in their existing PIO card, saying “lifelong validity” and “registration not required”, thus making them equal to existing OCI cards. Source Wiki