India at BRICS Digital Health Summit

• Digital Health has become the priority in wake of the COVID 19 Pandemic.
• The two waves presented us with unique challenges for which an effective and humane centralized response sensitive to regional needs was warranted.
• The Digital health was aptly utilized to manage the pandemic and enabled us for a much more scientific and data driven approach for strengthening our response.
• India’s National Digital Health Blueprint is an overarching architectural framework for digital initiatives of Health in India.
• We are implementing the recommendations for streamlining the digital health programmes through National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).
• NDHM through the issue of Unique Health ID will create a single source of truth for facilities and practitioners and lead to extension of various health services through digital mode.
• India’s immediate field level priorities for creating an ecosystem of Digital Health includes Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) implementation in all district hospitals for real time clinical management, affordable and accessible medical consultation to every citizen through telemedicine and establishing a framework for health disaster management integrating all stakeholders.
• On the creation of a pool of human resource for managing pandemic digitally, the Minister showcased how India leveraged iGoT (online training platform) to train more than 16 million COVID warriors across the spectrum to manage COVID which includes doctors, paramedics, nurses, community participants etc.
• BRICS digital health platform is the need of the hour to ensure health data availability across BRICS countries in an interoperable manner to ensure continuum of care
• India has priorities towards full adoption of digital health technologies at all levels and BRICS’s strategy in building a cadre of competent health informatics professionals using a standardized curriculum across BRICS countries.
• India’s expectations from the development of a repository of evidence-based digital technologies and innovations for health systems (under BRICS) and India’s strategic approach to sustaining the gains from the use of digital innovations during COVID-19 in a sustainable manner toward building health systems resilience was also discussed.
• The ability of the platform to leverage existing organizations and their experiences like Global Digital Health Partnership, World Health Organization, G20 etc. and policy advocacy for wider as well as appropriate adoption of Digital Technologies not limiting to BRICS Countries was envisioned as India’s key expectation from this platform.
• We initiated a robust mechanism through a national Covid portal which integrated surveillance, testing, logistic management, data driven analytics etc.
• We popularized Arogya Setu and ITIHAS application – Digital Surveillance Application to source data from citizens and to predict the upcoming hotpots in the community.
• Arogya Setu became one of the most downloaded application with more than 201 million downloads.
• Similarly, to take health services to the doorstep of citizen, we are augmenting the National telemedicine platform (eSanjeevani) of India and establishing telemedicine HUBs with dedicated doctors in all Districts. The HUBs will serve all facilities in their region, for both Covid & non-Covid health care support.
• India is leveraging the Disease Surveillance Programme through an Integrated Health Information Platform which source real-time data from facilities on 33 Epidemic Prone Diseases for community surveillance. India is undertaking the World’s largest vaccine drive and the whole effort is being managed through the digital tool, Co-WIN (Winning over COVID). 
• Co-WIN has been declared as a global good by the Government of India for adoption by any country for managing their vaccination drive, not only limiting to COVID but for conventional immunization also.
• In presence of honourable Health Ministers of BRICS nations, BRICS Digital Health Declaration was adopted.
• India being the host of the BRICS Digital Health Summit, the conclave was presided by Union Health Secretary Shri Rajesh Bhushan who brought focus to the wide adoption of digital health in the COVID-19 Pandemic on the spectrum that includes population surveillance, active case finding, communication with common citizens in crisis.
• The embarking of nations on digital technology in embracing primary universal health coverage was highlighted.

6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) session

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered a video address during the plenary session of the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held on 3 September 2021 in Vladivostok.
• It may be recalled that PM was the Chief Guest for the 5th EEF in 2019, the first by an Indian Prime Minister.
• In Indian history and civilization, the word ‘Sangam’ has a special meaning. It means the confluence or coming together of rivers, people or ideas. In my view, Vladivostok is truly a ‘Sangam’ of Eurasia and the Pacific.
• Applauding President Putin’s vision for the development of the Russian Far East, PM reiterated India’s commitment as part of its "Act East Policy’ of being a reliable partner of Russia in this regard.
• In 2019, India committed to an “Act Far East” policy. This policy is an important part of our special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia.
• He underlined the natural complementarities of India and Russia in the development of the Russian Far East.
• PM stressed the importance of greater economic and commercial engagement between the two sides in line with the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’.

• Mazagon Docks Limited will partner with ‘Zvezda’ for the construction of some of the most important commercial ships in the world.
• India and Russia are partners in space exploration through the Gaganyaan program.
• India and Russia will also be partners in opening the Northern Sea Route for international trade and Commerce.
• The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time. Most recently it was seen in our robust cooperation during the Covid-19 pandemic including in the area of vaccines. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the health and pharma sectors in our bilateral cooperation.
• Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Mr Hardeep Puri is in Vladivostok to represent India at this forum Indian workers are participating in major gas projects in the Amur region, from Yamal to Vladivostok and onward to Chennai. We envisage an energy and trade bridge known as Chennai - Vladivostok Maritime Corridor.
• This connectivity project along with the International North-South Corridor will bring India and Russia physically closer to each other.
• India has a long-term supply of coking coal to the Indian steel industry.
• We are also exploring new opportunities in the agro-industry, ceramics, strategic and rare earth minerals and diamonds.
• He also referred to other potential areas of economic cooperation including diamond, coking coal, steel, timber etc.

24th FSDC Meeting

• Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 24th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) here today.
• The meeting was attended by (PT Pointers for Banking and State PSC Exams)
  1. Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, MoS (Finance);
  2. Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, MoS (Finance);
  3. Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India;
  4. Dr. T. V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary and Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance;
  5. Shri Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance;
  6. Shri Tarun Bajaj, Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance;
  7. Shri Debasish Panda, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance;
  8. Shri Rajesh Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs;
  9. Dr. Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance;
  10. Shri Ajay Tyagi, Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Board of India;
  11. Shri Supratim Bandyopadhyay, Chairperson, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority;
  12. Dr. M. S. Sahoo, Chairperson, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India; Shri Injeti Srinivas, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centres Authority;
  13. Ms. T. L. Alamelu, Member (Non-Life), Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India; and the
  14. Secretary of the FSDC, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
• The meeting deliberated on the various mandates of the FSDC, viz., Financial Stability, Financial Sector Development, Inter-regulatory Coordination, Financial Literacy, Financial Inclusion, and Macroprudential supervision of the economy including the functioning of large financial conglomerates etc.
• It was noted that there is a need to keep a continuous vigil by Government and all regulators on the financial conditions.
• The Council also, inter alia, discussed issues relating to management of stressed assets, strengthening institutional mechanism for financial stability analysis, financial inclusion, framework for resolution of financial institutions and issues related to IBC processes, banks’ exposure to various sectors and Government, data sharing mechanisms of government authorities, internationalisation of Indian Rupee and pension sector related issues.
• The Council also took note of the activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee chaired by the Governor, RBI and the action taken by members on the past decisions of FSDC.