Right diagnosis, faulty prescription
The Prime Minister has highlighted the need for more medical colleges in India as thousands of aspirants of medical education go abroad every year, which put them to hardships, besides causing loss of income to the nation. His diagnosis is correct, still his prescription is seemingly not so good. He finds solution for that in private sector, but its role should be secondary. The prime mover must be public sector to cater to the needs of rural as well as urban population. In a hurry to raise the number, it should not allow compromises in quality. If the government can spend six per cent of GDP for health, as recommended by experts, it can provide health infrastructure and manpower as well. The mushrooming of engineering colleges in India has not helped the country much as regards quality education. Now the medical colleges should not follow suit.
Dr DVG Sankararao, Vizianagaram
Apart from the fees being affordable, the process of medical college admission and facilities are much better abroad. As for medical admissions in India, it is a nightmare for the students and their parents. The NEET 2021 was conducted on 12 September and results were announced on November 1. The counselling for admission finally started in January and around the first week my niece could block a seat in an MCI-approved college in the south and was expecting a confirmation on 20 February. It is now March and there is no update from college. This is the plight of not only my niece but many other students who are uncertain about their future. How does the PM expect our students to stay in India to pursue their career? What steps has his government taken to make students comfortable to stay in India to pursue their career. Does the government expect every student to get top rank and is it possible?
N Nagarajan, Hyderabad
Ukraine war: What India should do
After the west increasingly rallied behind Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin's move to place Russia's nuclear forces on alert and then issuing nuclear threats to the western countries has become a worrying factor in the midst of economic crisis faced by the world due to Covid pandemic. Nuclear threat has forced Ukraine to agree for talks without preconditions. What is shocking that even before the beginning of talks, Russia escalated tension reiterating nuclear threats. Ukraine crisis is a wake-up call to India to focus on renewing our capabilities that strengthen and help chanellise our energies on economic development and modernisation as former PM PV Narasimha Rao did in 1991 to change the fortunes of the country for the better.
K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad
DMK's landslide victory
The runaway victory of DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in the urban local body elections once again showed the party's widespread popular support at grassroots level. Widely perceived as an endorsement of MK Stalin's leadership and his government's performance, it affirmed DMK's pre-eminence in Tamil Nadu politics. The perception that the leadership of the AIADMK dances to the BJP's tune and lacks the spine to oppose the Modi government's anti-people policies worked to the regional party's disadvantage, notwithstanding the fact they contest elections separately. One significant takeaway from the election results is that the people of Tamil Nadu overwhelmingly rejected the attempts to divide them along religious lines.
G David Milton, Maruthancode
Drive for a polio-free India
National Immunization Days (NIDs) are held across India twice a year to administer two doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) to every child under the age of five. Over 15 crore children under 5 years of age will be vaccinated in the coming months. Though our country is declared as a 'polio-free nation,' we should remain vigilant and continue the vaccination programme since our neighboring countries are still not polio-free. Polio is a life-threatening disease caused by a contagious poliovirus that mainly affects children under 5 years old. The virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route and by aerosol droplets. There is no cure for polio, and it can only be prevented by immunisation. For best protection, children should get four doses of the polio vaccine. We have to extend our support to the government to motivate parents to vaccinate their children to ensure a polio-free world.
Dr Krishna Kumar Vepakomma, Hyderabad
