Over 2.7 lakh children missing since 2018
- Over 2.75 lakh children went missing in the country in the last five years, while more than 2.4 lakhs were traced, Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani informed the Lok Sabha.
- Among the missing, over 2.12 lakh children were girls, more than three times the number of boys 62,000.
- The total number of missing children stood at 2,75,125 and this included 2,12,825 girls and 62,237 boys and 63 children of the third gender, the number of children who went missing between January 2018 and June 2023.
- Madhya Pradesh topped the list with 61,102 missing children.
- The ministry unified its efforts and schemes related to children under Mission Vatsalya and announced that four portals – TrackChild (for missing/found children), CARINGS (for the adoption of children), ICPS portal (for monitoring the scheme) and Khoya-Paya (citizen-centric application for missing and sighted children) – would be integrated into one common platform.
- The TrackChild portal has been implemented with the involvement of the ministries of Home Affairs and Railways as well as state governments.
Law governing anti-trafficking crimes:
- The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956
ICMR doing 3 studies on post-Covid heart attack
- The Indian Council of Medical Research is conducting three different studies to ascertain the facts regarding rising cases of cardiac arrest after the pandemic, Mandaviya said in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.
- He said a multi-centric matched case control study on factors associated with sudden deaths among adults aged 18 to 45 in India is ongoing at around 40 hospitals/research centres.
- Another multicentric hospital-based matched case control study is underway at around 30 COVID-19 clinical registry hospitals to determine the effect of the Covid vaccine on thrombotic events among the population aged 18 to 45 in 2022 in India.
- To address the health issues related to cardiovascular disease, the Centre’s Department of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to states and Union Territories under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases.
Cardiovascular disease is an integral part of NP-NCD.
- The programme includes strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion, population-based screening of the population in the 30-year and above age group under the Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centre, early diagnosis, and management and referral to an appropriate level of health care facility.
- There is also focus on cardiovascular diseases in its various aspects in case of new AIIMS and many upgraded institutions under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
- To facilitate accessible and affordable health care and treatment under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary or tertiary care hospitalisation is provided to over 60 crore beneficiaries.
- Under the umbrella scheme of the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi, financial assistance is provided to families living below the threshold poverty line for treatment in government hospitals.
Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2023
- The Centre has introduced Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023 in the Parliament, which aims to curb the menace of film piracy as well as revamp age-based certification given by the Central Board.
- Under this the government plans to add age certfication beyond „U‟, „A‟ and „UA‟. Three additional categories of UA 7+‟, „UA 13+‟ and „UA 16+‟ will be introduced. The proposed provisions will also empower the Censor Board to sanction separate certificates to a film for exhibition on television and other such media.
- “The proposed amendments would make the certification process more effective, in tune with the present times and comprehensively curb the menace of film piracy and thus help in faster growth of the film industry and boost job creation in the sector,” Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said.
