Kerala mulls Vigilance cell for Health

Syllabus subtopic: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Prelims and Mains focus: about the cell and its objectives; concerns raised against the move

News: The Kerala government is reportedly mulling over a proposal to set up a vigilance wing in the Health Department.

Objective of setting up the Vigilance cell

Optimally, the vigilance wing will detect private practice by medical education service doctors, crack down on quackery and unearth ethically dubious financial relationships, if any, between State doctors and diagnostic clinics, pharmacies and health care firms in the private sector.

It will also monitor health care advertising and flag false claims aired by health care companies to mass-market pharmaceutical and Ayurveda drugs without a doctor’s prescription as off-the-shelf cures for a wide range of ailments.

The wing will also prosecute self-styled healers who exploit their influence on social media to fuel unhealthy scepticism about the government’s vaccination programmes.

Functioning

The proposed vigilance cell would be under the Home Department and headed by a police officer.
However, in all medico-legal issues, domain inputs will be sought from the medical community itself.

Concerns raised against the move

The proposal appears not to have gone down well with the medical community. Many have objected to the government singling out doctors for intrusive vigilance inspections.

Some felt the government has raked up the old proposal to arm-twist doctors against striking for wage revision.

Some felt that the timing of the move was suspicious as it comes at the fag end of the LDF’s term.

Source: The Hindu

Join Our Telegram

US Resumes Nuclear Weapon Testing

Formation Day

03 Dec, 25
SHARE

On 1st November, eight Indian states—Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu—along with five Union Territories—Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry—celebrate their Formation Day. This date marks an important milestone in India

Turtle (Kachhua) Wildlife Sanctuary

02 Dec, 25
SHARE

The Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as the Kachhua Sanctuary, is located in the Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. It is recognised as India’s first freshwater turtle wildlife sanctuary, established to conserve endangered turtle species and support the ecological health of the Ganga River. Location and Extent The sanctuary co

Introduction of AI and Computational Thinking (CT) in

02 Dec, 25
SHARE

The Ministry of Education plans to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computational Thinking (CT) from Class 3 onwards in the 2026–27 academic year. This initiative is part of the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 and aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The aim is to prepare student

Sal Tree

02 Dec, 25
SHARE

Scientists from the Environment Department of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) in Shimla have recently revealed that the Sal tree (Shorea robusta) is the most effective natural air purifier for combating rising pollution levels. Their findings highlight the tree’s superior capacity to trap dust, absorb gases, and cleanse the air compared

US Resumes Nuclear Weapon Testing

02 Dec, 25
SHARE

The President of the United States has ordered the resumption of nuclear weapon testing after a gap of 33 years, the last test being in 1992. This decision marks a significant shift in global nuclear policy and has far-reaching implications for geopolitics, the environment, and international security. Status of Global Nuclear Weapon Testing