As told to Parliament (March 13, 2020): Results of National TB Prevalence Survey expected by March 2021

The results of the ongoing National TB Prevalence Survey are expected by March 2021, Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Health And Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey told the Lok Sabha.

The Central TB Division (CTD) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are conducting the survey to get data on tuberculosis prevalence at the national and state levels, including all states and Union territories except Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Choubey said. The survey was launched on September 25, 2019.

The last National TB Prevalence survey was conducted 60 years before, between1956 and 1959.

Acute Respiratory Infection cases

Kerala and West Bengal accounted for close to 25 per cent of the Acute Respiratory Infection cases in 2018.  Kerala had the highest number of cases — 58,57,820,  followed by West Bengal with 43,77,093 cases, the data presented by Choubey in the Lok Sabha, showed.

Migratory species of wildlife

No assessment has been carried out so far to ascertain the fluctuations in the overall number of migratory species visiting India over different time periods, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, stated in the Lok Sabha on March 13, 2020.

He made the statement in response to a question on whether there had been a decline in the number of such species migrating to the country.  Detailed assessments with respect to all migratory species visiting India had not been conducted by the ministry so far, Javadekar added.

Per capita GHG emission in India

India has ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is the primary multilateral treaty governing actions to combat climate change through adaptation and mitigation efforts directed at control of emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) that cause global warming, the environment ministry told the Lok Sabha.

According to India’s second Biennial Update Report submitted to UNFCCC in December 2018, the per capita GHG emission in India was 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent and net GHG emission was 2.306 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent

Deaths due to illegible prescriptions

The government does not maintain records of any death or disability caused as a result of medication errors by pharmacies due to misreading prescriptions written by doctors in illegible handwriting, the health ministry said. 

Health iss a state subject and no such data is maintained centrally, according to Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan.

No deadline for lake sewage treatment plants

The government has not fixed any deadline to establish sewage treatment plants for lakes Javadekar told the Lok Sabha.

Non-compliant industries

Out of 700 industries inspected by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) during the period April 1, 2016-March 4, 2020, 342 industries were found to be non-compliant, according to the data presented by the environment ministry.

Of the 342 units, 293 are complying as on date. Directions/ notices issued for the remaining 49 non-complying units are still in force, the ministry said.

Ban on reverse osmosis Purifiers

Minister of State in the environment ministry, Babul Supriyo, said the details of the published draft notification for regulation of Membrane Based Water Purification System had been shared in Parliament.

Supriyo was responding to a question on whether action had been taken on the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ban / prohibit Reverse Osmosis purifiers in places where Total Dissolved Solids in water flow was 500 mg per litre.

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter :

Donate Now

We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.