CII Summit calls for Health for All

CII for govt, pvt partnership in healthcare

Mr Shripad Yasso Naik, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Department of AYUSH, today announced that the proposed National Health Assurance Mission (NHAM) would reduce out-of-pocket spending on healthcare by the common man.

In his keynote address to the 11^th India Health Summit here today, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Minister acknowledged the need for the government to work in sync with the private sector with clear targets in mind so as to achieve the goal of Health for All. “We need to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare in rural areas, where most of our population resides,” he urged.

Mr. Shripad Yasso Naik,, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dept of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, Government of India

Mr Lov Verma, Secretary-Health, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, hoped that the NHAM would soon become a reality. Preventive and promotive healthcare is one of the key pillars of the Mission and included many components like Swachh Bharat, yoga, meditation, etc.  Another pillar would be provision of a basket of essential drugs, diagnostics and services.

According to Mr Verma, the NHAM has identified 184 districts (bottom 25 in each State) to ensure targeted interventions. He said that while the per capita expenditure on health has nearly doubled from 2004-05 to 2010-11, it is way below global averages. However, there have been some basic improvements, and India is well on course to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) goals in reducing the maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate and under-5 mortality rate.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Healthcare & Chairman and Managing Director, Medanta – The Medicity, said that aligning the expertise and resources available with the private sector with the public sector capacity will result in significant enhancement of healthcare delivery in the country without much additional investment.

Setting the context for the two-day summit, Dr Trehan said there was need to identify areas where private sector can complement government efforts in achieving ‘health assurance’ and called for a multi-stakeholder collaborative approach. He also cited the example of the ‘Healthy and education village programme’ done by CII in which Medanta is looking after delivery of medical services. Under this, 100 villages have been adopted. Similarly, he suggested that a few pilot PPP sites be created where government and private providers actively collaborate to develop a framework for quality assurance, payments and reasonable profitability.

Welcoming the commitment of the new government, Mr Harpal Singh, Mentor and Chairman Emeritus, Fortis Healthcare Ltd, said that a Mission like the NHAM was fundamental for development and economic well-being. He suggested that the Mission should focus on the most neglected girl child. He also mentioned that through the consistent efforts of the CII over the last 15 years, health has become a ‘boardroom agenda’ for many Indian companies.

Mr Rahul Khosla, Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Healthcare & Managing Director, Max India Ltd., said that sustainability was key issue in achieving Health for All. There must be better utilization of what we already have, he said, and there is huge potential to maximize what we have in terms of infrastructure. He looked forward to working hand in hand with government to achieve the goal of health for all.

The two-day CII summit has the theme, Health for All—Call to Action and is attended by government representatives, healthcare professionals, allied healthcare service providers, and media among others.

India, Africa are asserting their rightful places on global economic landscape: Anand Sharma

India and Africa are taking their rightful places in the emerging world order. Stating this in his keynote address in the inaugural session of the three-day 10th CII-EXIM BANK Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership being organised in New Delhi, Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said that the 21st century will be the century of India, Asia and Africa.

Mr Sharma said the India-Africa partnership is “distinct and different”, exemplifying the spirit of South-South Cooperation. He urged the present generation to revisit the pages of history to remind itself of the greater goals that drive the India-Africa partnership. India has committed over $10 billion to Africa for infrastructural and development projects since the holding of the first and second India Africa Forum Summit meetings in 2008 and 2011, and is partnering in establishing 70 pan-African and regional institutions across Africa.

Mr Sharma cited agriculture and food security, healthcare and life sciences, infrastructure, energy and energy security, mining, and SME development as the priority areas for India-Africa partnerships. He made a special mention of the Buyers Credit that was introduced by his ministry for supporting Indian companies’ participation in African infrastructure projects.

Speaking about India’s technological progress, Mr Sharma said that India is now a global leader in ‘frugal innovation’ and a major R&D hub for Fortune 500 companies.

Referring to India’s key contributions to Africa’s healthcare sector, he said that India will stay committed to making available new generation life science products to Africa. India is also a world leader in the production of finished generics.

Rt. Hon. Dr Motsoahae Thomas Thabane, Prime Minster of The Kingdom of Lesotho, said that India’s development model is most appropriate to African economies. He cited education and training, science and technology, infrastructure development, and agriculture and food security as areas that offer immense scope for India-Africa partnerships.

Mr Thabane said that while the concessional lines of credit extended by the Government of India to Africa have played a key role in Africa’s development, there is a need for innovative ways to fully utilise the lines of credit to meet Africa’s future development needs.

Mr Thabane also said the lines of credit should be structured according to the development stage of each recipient country, and he urged India to increase the grant element and extend the repayment period.

Ms Arancha Gonzales, Executive Director, International Trade Centre, said in her address that in the emerging global order, countries need to focus on private sector development and comparative advantage as transformative tools.

Ms Gonzales urged India and Africa to direct sharper focus on SME development and cooperation in the broader framework of India-Africa cooperation. She said that Africa’s SME sector could leverage the experiences of India’s SME development in the services sector. Citing this, she said the success of ‘Incredible India!’ promotion could inspire an ‘Amazing Africa’ initiative.

Mr Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman & Managing Director, Export-Import Bank of India, said, that India’s role in Africa’s capacity building will increasingly focus on areas like agriculture, private sector development, infrastructure development and manufacturing growth.

Mr Mathur said that about $5 billion worth of projects have been planned under the Buyers Credit that was introduced by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. He also said that EXIM Bank of India is in dialogue with the African Development Bank for the sharing of project development expertise.

Mr Noel Tata, Chairman, CII Africa Committee and Managing Director, Tata International Ltd, said, the committee is focused on promoting bilateral partnerships in areas such as agriculture, pharma and healthcare, mining, power and energy, transportation, SME development and skill development.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said in his opening remarks that over the last nine editions of the Conclave 985 projects worth $172 billion have been discussed. As many as 4,684 delegates from Africa and 4,292 delegates from India have participated in the nine previous editions.

At the session, a CII-McKinsey Report on “Joining hands to unlock Africa’s potential – A new Indian industry-led approach to Africa” and an EXIM Bank of India report on ‘Enhancing India’s trade with SADC’ were released.

Three MoU were also signed at the end of the session, between International Trade Centre and CII; International Trade Centre and UK Department for International Development; and EXIM Bank and Government of Republic of Congo.

Three new bilateral industrial R&D funding programs with Finland, Spain & UK, launched at Global Innovation & Technology Alliance Platform

The Global Innovation & Technology Alliance Platform” event, organized by the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA), in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology(DST), Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was held on November 12-13, 2013.

GITA is a “not–for–profit” Section–25 Public Private Partnership (PPP) company promoted jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Technology Development Board (TDB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI).

The objective of the platform is to facilitate technology partnerships betweenIndian industry and its counterparts in other countriesto develop new and affordable products & services in diverse areas.This 2-day event was the largest platform of its kind for forging business alliances in Science, Technology & Innovation (STI) areas between India and other countries. During the 2 day event, over 200 B2B meetings were held between Indian companies and their counterparts.

Global Technology Leaders and Delegations from Canada, Finland, Israel, Japan, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwanandthe United Kingdomparticipated in this platform. Several Government agencies & S&T organizations from participating countries partnered for this event.  Exhibition of innovative technologies from India & across the world was also held concurrently during the platform.

The inaugural session was addressed by senior government officials Dr T Ramasami, Secretary, DST, Mr Harkesh K Mittal, Co–Chairman, GITA and Secretary, Technology Development Board, DST, Dr ArabindaMitra, Adviser & Head, International Cooperation (Bilateral), DST, Government of India.

Dr Ramasami gave an overview of the innovation landscape of the country and commended GITA on its initiative. He mentioned that the Science, Technology & Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 of India is outward-looking and reflects the aspiration to be to globalize in the innovation space. It brings the innovation space to centre-stage through which best global practices could be suitably adapted in the Indian context.

From the Industry, Mr Vikram Kirloskar, Chairman, Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) Chairman, GITA and Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited, MrDeep Kapuria, Chairman Hi-Tech Group of Companies &Member, GITA Board of Directors andDr Devi Prasad Shetty, Founder & Chairman, NarayanaHrudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Sciences.

In his welcome address, Mr Vikram Kirloskar, expressed that in a short span of two years, since its establishment in November 2011, has developed partnerships with S&T organisations in several countries and has emerged as anunique institution for forging frontline global technological alliances for Indian companies with counterparts in other countries.

Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, in his address, mentioned that India has the potential to become the first country to dissociate healthcare from affluence. He mentioned several new initiatives such as hospital protocol digitization, simulation-based training of critical-care nurses and disease management software which could revolutionize the healthcare scenario in India and the world.

Three new bilateral industrial R&D programs were announced with between India on one side and Finland, Spain and the UKrespectively. H E Gustavo de Aristegui,Ambassador of Spain to India, Ms MejcaMerjaHiltunen, Director,Tekes, and Sir Walport, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, The Government Office for Science, UK,also addressed the gathering on the occasion. The partnering agencies in the respective countries for these programmes are International Science & Technology Partnerships, (ISTP), Canada; Tekes, Finland; MATIMOP, Israel; Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), Spain; and Technology Strategy Board, UK. During the announcement, Dr ArabindaMitra mentioned that incorporation of GITA has been a phenomenal journey and reflects the aspirations of the Indian Government and Industry to enhance engagement India’s engagement in the innovation space in a collaborative manner.

On this occasion, Mr H K Mittal released the 3^rdedition of the India Innovates report which captures the spirit of innovativeness in India, encompassing the value-chain of the process of technological change that includes development of new ideas & solutions for existing problems, realizing of new solutions & technological options, and diffusion of new technologies at a broader level. It also highlights the pursuit of enterprises fordisruptive innovations in technological and social spheres which help in inclusive growth. The case studies covered in the volume represent diverse sectors such as information technology enabled services (ITES), financial services, waste management, power distribution, biotechnology, automobiles, clay based products for everyday use and handicrafts.

The session on Disruptive Technologies: Advances that will Transform Life, Business and the Global Economy – Opportunities for Technology Partnerships with India was addressed by Mr Koji Omi, Chairman, STS Forum, Japan; Mr Daniel Johansson, State Secretary, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Sweden; Sir Mark Walport, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, The Government Office forScience, UK, Ms Vera Egreja C Barracho, Network Development Manager, European Business Innovation, Centre Network (EBN)

Mr Koji Omi, highlighted the vast potential between India and Japan in the area of Science, Technology and Innovation(STI), to take the relationship to the next level. He showed keen interest in collaborating with DST and GITA in this endeavour.

On November 12,Parallel Sectoral sessions on Cleantech / Green Manufacturing Technologies, Homeland Security, Pharma /Affordable Healthcare Technologies, Information & Communication Technologies and SmartGrids were organized during the day. Senior officials and business delegates from participating countries made presentations at these sessions and discussed collaboration opportunities in the respective sectors. 

From the Indian side, senior officials from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Ministry of External Affairs addressed the participants at various sessions. Representatives of state governments and academic/R&D organisations also participated in these sessions.