On the eve of World Tuberculosis Day 2017, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched Bedaquiline, the new anti-TB drug for Drug Resistant TB. He also released the TB India 2016 Annual Report and the Technical and Operational Guidelines for TB Control in India 2016. These guidelines are mainly focused on managing all varieties of TB; introducing more patient centric approaches; and setting up a single-window care for patients suffering from both HIV and TB. Two other e-books were also launched- A handbook for ‘Healthcare Worker surveillance for TB in India’ and Guidelines for Prevention and Management of Adverse reactions associated with anti-TB drugs. Furthermore, a new radio campaign and a social media campaign was also launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP) has been one of the most important and successful programmes in eliminating TB through proper surveillance, monitoring, screening and treatment. The main focus of the government has been to provide quality treatment to the patients suffering from TB by developing new tools for diagnostics and new research. However, the road is long as there is urgent need for better infrastructure and increasing investment. The government has been intensifying its efforts towards TB treatment and prevention that would help India in completely eliminating the deadly disease of TB. The New Health policy 2017 of the government not only aims at providing healthcare in an “assured manner” to all, but also acknowledges the need for increase in the level of public financing for health. One of the major goals of this policy is to Achieve and maintain a cure rate of above 85 percent in new sputum positive patients for tuberculosis and reduce incidence of new cases, to reach eliminated status by 2025 Hence active case detection, with a greater involvement of private sector is the need of the hour. This can further be supplemented by preventive action in the workplace and in living conditions and access to free drugs. Affirmative action on these lines would ensure that the treatment is carried out properly.
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On the run up to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Football that is going to be held for the first time in India from 6-28 October 2017, the government is keen to promote football as a popular sport amongst the Indian youth and get more children into playing football. Mission XI Million, launched by the Union government in February 2017, aim at training 11 million children in football by October 2017. Considered as the largest school outreach programme, this initiative is expected to reach out to 12,000 schools in over 32 cities across all 29 states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong interest in sports and his vision to develop football as a popular sport has led to the initiation of this programme that would enable the youth from all parts of the country to partake in football tournaments, both national and international. Prime Minister has mentioned several times, both in his speeches as well as through his Mann Ki Baat, the importance of creating among the youth an interest to play sports. In his Mann Ki Baat aired on 27th March 2016, he explicitly mentioned the need to promote football among the youth of India and how he wants “football to be played in every nook and corner of the country”. It is his vision for promoting the game that was taken forward by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports by the Mission XI Million initiative that would expand the reach of football to all parts of India and gain prominence amongst the youth in the coming years. Rural India would also get an opportunity to play football and get trained for world-class football events. Furthermore, the initiatives like this would also increase the talent pool that the country can make use of for various national and international tournaments. The purpose is not only to bring India laurels by winning international football tournaments but also to develop a society that adopts active and healthy lifestyle through sports and games. Sports like football would eventually help the youth of India learn the importance of teamwork and cultivate sportsman spirit. For this, the government plans to work closely with the school principals, sports teachers and parents of the children, and encourage them to make their children play football on a regular basis. As a prelude to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, several programmes will be organised to promote football including seminars for teachers, school-level events and football festivals until September 2017. Apart from developing a sports culture in the country; bringing Indian youth more closer to football and making it a “sport of choice” has been the primary goal behind the programme like Mission XI Million. Several initiatives like the Khelo India Programme, Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)  and Olympic Task Force Committee are all steps in the direction of improving India’s prospects in international sports events and bringing medals to the nation in different sports categories. The government is prioritising FIFA Under-17 World Cup Football as a milestone in its sporting history as it is a golden opportunity for India to show it to the world its capacity to develop world-class infrastructure facilities and ability to organise sports events of international stature. By empowering its youth and preparing them for playing an international game like football, India can hope to become a formidable force in the field of sports with increased infrastructure and participation by youth in prestigious international sports events.
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Moving away from archaic ways of urban governance, planning and financing. Rationale Over the last two & a half years, a number of major Missions have been launched by Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India for improving the quality of urban services and bridging the urban infrastructure deficit. One of the key challenges faced is the limited revenues of cities and their limited capacity. Value Capture Finance (VCF) is an innovative urban-development funding and revenue generation tool. Meaning VCF seeks to enable States and city governments raise resources by tapping a share of increase in value of land and other properties like buildings resulting from public investments and policy initiatives, in the identified area of influence.