3 MILLION HOMES OFFERED BY UK TO HONG KONG CITIZENS

The government of Boris Johnson would enable almost 3 million Hong Kong people to migrate to the United Kingdom, causing greater deterioration of relations with China after it imposed a new security regulation on the former British colony.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, the British Prime Minister stated that the current bill contravenes the London-Beijing Agreement of 1984, which laid out the “one nation, two systems” policy to maintain Hong Kong ‘s sovereignty after it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.

In the U.K. Project to change the status of British National (Overseas) passport holders and give them a pathway and UK. Bourgeoisie. There are 350,000 individuals in Hong Kong keeping BNO passports, with another 2,5 million qualifying for them. China has blamed Great Britain. Interfering in the foreign relations after the plan was first tabled in May.

“The enactment and the imposition of this national security law constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British joint declaration,” Johnson said. “It violates Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and is in conflict with Hong Kong’s Basic Law.”

Johnson said he’d made clear “that if China continued down this path, we would introduce a new route for those with British National Overseas status to enter the U.K., granting them limited leave to remain, with the ability to live and work in the U.K. and thereafter to apply for citizenship — and that is is precisely what we will do now.”

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the new “bespoke immigration route” will allow holders of BNO status to come to the U.K. without the current six month limit, granting them five years limited leave to remain, with the ability to live and work in the U.K. After these five years, they will be able to apply for settled status and, after a further twelve months with that status, for citizenship.

Community dependents are also admitted into the UK. And there would be no cap on approved amounts, he added. Raab has made it clear, though, that he wants “a significant number” of those willing to live in Hong Kong or travel elsewhere in the country.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday said his cabinet was “very active” considering offering safe haven for Hong Kong citizens. He did not provide information on how this should be done.

“We think that’s important and very consistent with who we are as a people,” said Morrison, whose government has had its own clashes with China this year that have soured relations with its largest trading partner.

In the U.K., Raab also restated his criticism of HSBC for backing the new law at the expense of Hong Kong citizens’ rights. “I have been very clear in relation to HSBC and to all the banks — the rights and freedoms and our responsibilities in this country to the people of Hong Kong should not be sacrificed on the altar of bankers’ bonuses,” he said.

Speaking later on ITV’s “Peston” program, Raab acknowledged that the U.K. can’t stop China blocking Hong Kong residents from leaving, but that he hoped that would not happen as it is a reputational risk’

“I wouldn’t want to be naive about this, I think we need to be realistic,” he said. “But I do think China as a rising leading member of the international community is sensitive to the reputational risk in all of this.”

The Chinese Embassy in London hit back in a statement, saying that the U.K. had indicated that the new policy would not apply to Chinese citizens in Hong Kong who hold BNO passports.

“If the British side makes unilateral changes to the relevant practice, it will breach its own position and pledges as well as international law and basic norms guiding international relations,” the Chinese Embassy said. “We firmly oppose this and reserve the right to take corresponding measures.”

Source:https://www.livemint.com/news/world/uk-offers-home-to-3-million-hong-kong-citizens-after-china-crackdown-11593657749597.html

INVESTORS ARE WARMING UP TO A POSSIBLE JOE BIDEN VICTORY

Investors are preparing ahead for expected upcoming market turmoil ahead of the US presidential election in November, with some shifting stock portfolios and selling the dollar, as Democratic party contender Joe Biden maintains a considerable lead in opinion polls against President Donald Trump.

During the four months leading up to the Nov. 3 elections, much will shift, and several analysts are concentrated about how a coronavirus outbreak could threaten a fragile U.S. economic rebound.

Nonetheless, several fund investors are now planning for the prospect of a win for Biden by betting against the currency and slashing their stakes in US stocks.

“The president’s poll numbers have fallen off a cliff,” said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Hermes. “The market is looking at this and saying, ‘If the election were held today Biden would win.'”

The new survey by Reuters / Ipsos shows Biden leading Trump among eligible voters by 8 percentage points. Trump’s support for treating the coronavirus pandemic has collapsed.

A win for Biden-as well as a potential House and Senate Democratic sweep-may challenge initiatives supported by Trump and widely preferred by Wall Street, including lower corporate tax levels and fewer restrictions, analysts said.

Despite the sharp coronavirus-fueled dip, since Trump took office, the S&P 500 is up about 37 per cent. Under the first term of Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the index rose 85 per cent and 79 per cent respectively.

According to Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, under Biden, the corporate tax rate is expected to climb to 28 percent, replacing half of Trump’s and Republican-led Congress reduction in late 2017.

That could rising S&P 500 earnings by around $20 a share, push buyers out of U.S. stocks and damage the dollar, said Paresh Upadhyaya, fund manager at the firm that bets against the greenback.

The fund manager at Laffer Tengler Investments, Arthur Laffer Jr., unwounded his dollar stake last week, predicting that a Biden win could contribute to stronger development and strain on the U.S. currency. Laffer Jr ‘s father has been counseling Trump on economic concerns.

Gross betting in derivative contracts against the U.S. dollar just reached a two year peak.

In a report to clients, analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management said possible new legislation by a Democratic government may be a headwind for oil and financial stocks.

Recently, the BlackRock Investment Institute has cut its ratings on U.S. equities to neutral over concerns of fading fiscal stimulus and uncertainty about elections.

“The two parties are as far apart on policy as they have ever been, making the result consequential for markets,” BlackRock’s analysts said in a note.

Orlando of Federated Hermes has boosted his cash allowance as the cases of coronavirus have risen and the vote numbers of Trump have dropped. He expects to lower shares in dividend-paying securities if Trump’s fall in the polls tends to boost questions about higher dividend taxation and capital gains.

Most investors remain unconvinced that a Biden win or Democratic sweep will bode poorly for stocks, especially because the U.S. economy is supposed to be bolstered by the Federal Reserve if appropriate.

As long as (stimulus) stays constant … you will continue to have some ballast in terms of asset prices,” said Sam Hendel, president at Levin Easterly Partners.

Source:https://www.livemint.com/news/world/investors-are-waking-up-to-a-possible-joe-biden-victory-in-us-presidential-election-11593661949306.html

Internet Access must be limited to students!!!

Nowadays, we are being surrounded by different enhancement in our environment and daily living. We are already in the 21st century in which all that we need is accessible and easy to use which is why we are being dependent. We already experienced the advancement of technology wherein it helps us to make our daily living easy to deal with. Talking about technology enhancement, let’s have this as our focus: internet access. Internet is very important today because most of the transactions can be found and accessed through internet. It is important in the sense that we can easily get relevant information needed in our works. It is important especially to those students. With its help, it will help them to get things done.

Technology has advanced drastically in schools.  So much, in fact, that students of all grades are able to use laptops in class.  However, with these advancements comes with a price.  Limiting the access to other internet for students has become a necessity for three reasons.  For starters, unlimited internet will allow the student to become unfocused with their studies.  Another reason is to limit students ability to cyber-bully other studnts.  Lastly, we need to limit the internet’s rated R content.  Students cannot succeed in their studies if we don’t take action on their access to the internet.

In the real world, young adults’ attention span has decreased, while their attention to the cyber world has increased due to social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.  These sites are so popular that even Elementary students have an account.  In this predicament, all students are so glued to their accounts, that they message their friend who are either right next to them, or in another class.  When taking tests, they could use messager to cheat or they could use the popular search engine called Google.  Another internet site that greatly grabs peoples’ attention is YouTube.  While in study hall, where students should be studying for upcoming tests, they are watching videos.  If we can limit their access to the internet, or even turning it off during tests, could increase the students’ attention in school and possibly help them achieve better grades.

Bullying has been around for many years with many different forms. Typically bullying is verbal or physical; but now bullies have been known to use the internet in hopes to not get caught.  If we can limit their access to the internet, then they will be less prone to use it in ways to harm others.  Limited access could also minimize cyber trauma, or cyber rumors among students. 

Also, hackers could be stopped, at least at school, from trying their dastardly deed in stealing other student’s account.  With limited internet access, students who get bullied can have some piece of mind while at school. The world wide web offers a lot to anyone in need of searching for something for research purposes.  However, those purposes could be very inappropriate.  It has been known that some students have looked up pornography during class or in the restroom.  Those who are desparate enough to find love, have even joined online dating sites and started chatting with older men/women.  Unlimited access could give the opportunity to access violent, murderous content.  These three examples of rated R internet content are very strong reasons, especially in the eye of a parent, to limit their access.

In our generation today, with the involvement of technology specifically the internet; it should be limited in access to students. It should be and will always be limited especially those prohibited sites which are not suitable for young children or students because it might affect how they interpret our society. Internet access should have limited access to students because there are some contents and sites in the internet which exposed pornography contents wherein it might affect their development especially how they think. It will actually lead them to do negative activities which can cause negativity to the society. They should have only access to relevant information which will help their needs in school.

The Internet needs to be limited for the students if we are to continue with the schools’ reputation as a safe, educational place.  Students’ attention would be more focused on their studies and not worrying about what’s going on in the social media world.  Kids would be less teased/hacked online.  Also, they would be less tempted to look up extremely inappropriate content on the internet.  We can’t say for certain of what the kids will or won’t do outside of school, but at least there is one big place in their lives that won’t tolerate the bad internet behavior.

Refrences:-

Welcome!

“Body shaming”

People find it as humour to body shame a person. Not just probably a girl but a boy too. Both the genders in some or the other way gets trolled. Everyone says that ‘No one has the right to judge someone’ but does it anyways. We are not taught to minding our own business. Some or the other way we find the way to the judgement criteria. We are bound that way, heard our elders directly or indirectly criticising the people around us…the content which is shown in the TV is highly focused on the body shaming. Shows like The Kapil sharma show, koffee with karan, and various Indian shows focuses more on that of the physical appearance and outer beauty. The actor and actresses are choosed on the basis of their appearance, and we as a viewer are responsible..there profession is that and they have to be as such. When we choose our role models as the actors and the actresses then its pretty obvious that we will be bound to look the same kind of beauty around us. From the tender age the meaning of beauty is shown us (women as) the perfect zero size figure, with curves wherever required, fair complexion with the pretty lashes, brows and lips, and the other side(Men as) with 6 pack abs, macho look, manly shoulders, with perfect cut biceps, fairer from skin, with moustaches and beards…Irony is if men doesn’t have moutaches and beards then they are no longer called as men..height of stupidity. If they lack in any of these then should spend on ‘plastic surgeries.’ When the veteran actors and actresses themselves need to get surgeries done then how we can compare the ordinary people with them to be with same postures. Are you getting what am I trying to say!? Our mind has the inbuilt scenario created as to how the perfect beauty will look like. Since, that is what we are seeing from our childhood.

Even sometimes our parents fail to understand us..not in all cases but in some. They in the pressure of the society and ‘4 log milenge toh kya kahenge‘ mentality are trying to change their children’s mindset and postures. This society sucks I am telling you..if you are fat, they be like don’t just concentrate on eating; when you are thin they be like don’t you eat enough or are you going through depression..suffering from malnourishment; if you are tall enough then you will hear them saying you will not look good, simultaneously goes with when you are short and they be like you’ll not the find perfect match…,Yes here we are, this is the last phase where everyone comes to. When ‘Kundli milan’ or matching the appropriate ‘gunn’ of the boy and the girl then that speaks just about the sacraments of both, then just deal with it, why focussing on the outer appearances. I know this generation is all about the outer beauty and the physical appearance and all thanks to the social media and fakeness all over it.

We fail to understand our friends who suffers through such kind of trauma. Instead we are somewhere the culprit too to encourage such kind of behaviour. Sometimes even we criticise them for their appearance and try to make fun out of them but only those who gets bullied know how it feels. You make others suffer unless you become the real sufferer. This generation is all about these topics with some exceptions..and it is really out of hand to change the mentality of the people until they themselves really want to change. But from now on teach your kids to not to differentiate among the people and to stop making fun of others as kids learn whatever they see around them so teaching them from the very young age will probably bring the change in the future if not now. And talking about Now then it has been ruined. We look upto it as humour unless we ourself suffers through it. Try to stop yourself and even your friends from judging others on the basis of their appearance as you will be doubting the creation as the creator is none other than God!!

Ps:- To those beautiful people around there..how it feels to be Gods favourite ; )

TRAINING IN MANAGEMENT

Training is the process of helping employees to acquire more knowledge of the job and to learn or sharpen the needed skills, attitudes and values associated with the efficient performance of their job and new employees, as also existing employees, often need training as a means of their progress in their jobs and careers and it is an important element of the staffing function and many organizations make formal or informal arrangements for providing training to their managerial and non-managerial personnel. Training is practical education and it is a technique that brings out the hidden abilities in a person and teaches him to use his skills effectively. Training is an art and the trainer selects the best methods for training, keeping because of the requirements of the job and the ability of the concerned persons. Training is an activity which changes the outlook and behavior of persons and training may be understood as the practice of theoretical knowledge and the importance of training is well-recognized all over the world but the methods of training may vary from job to job and from industry to industry and typically, a separate training department under the charge of an expert in training techniques is established for the purpose. As Dale Yoder said, “Training is the process by which manpower is filled for the particular jobs it is to perform”.

METHODS OD TRAINING

1. On-the-job Method

On-the-jib methods are the methods that are applied, while the employee is working and it means Learning while doing and training is provided by superiors to subordinates and it is economical and less time consuming and it is used where jobs are simple, as in case of plumbers and motor mechanics.

a. Apprenticeship Programme

   Under this method, trainees are apprentices and they work under the direct supervision of the experts, who guide and help them in learning the job.

 b. Internship Training

In this method, professional institutes enter into arrangements with big business enterprises and send their students to these industrial enterprises to gain practical work experience.

c. Job Rotations

It is shifting the trainees from one department to another department or from one job position to another job position.

d. Induction Training

 It is training to help a new employee to settle down quickly into the job by becoming familiar with fellow workers the job and its environment including other people and machines in the business.

2. Off-the-Job Methods

Off-the-road jobs methods are used away from the place of work and it means Learning before doing and it is provided by experts either from within or from outside the organization and it is more expensive and more time consuming than on-the-job and it is used where jobs are complex involving the use of sophisticated machinery.

a. Vestibule training

 Under this method, training is given in a classroom and where the actual work environment is stimulated, a supplicate model of the workshop is prepared and instead of using original equipment, employees are trained on the dummy models.

b. Programming Instruction

The total information amount the job is broken into meaningful small units and are arranged in a logical sequence from simple to complex and the trainee goes through these units one by one by answering questions or by filling the blanks.

The Arduous Journey

It started as a pilgrimage
Exalting minds and making all
The burdens light, The second stage
Explored but did not test the call.
The sun beat down to match our rage.

The poet begins by stating that their journey started as a pilgrimage with their minds exalting and their minds forgetting every worry in the world.  The second stage of the journey proved to be a little testing but could not match their enthusiasm while the sun beat down on them. The sun signifies the obstacles that started coming across their way.

We stood it very well, I thought,
Observed and put down copious notes
On things the peasants sold and bought
The way of serpents and of goats.
Three cities where a sage had taught

The poet thought they endured the sun very well which means that they successfully overcame the wrath of the Sun. The poet observed things and put down a lot of notes on things the peasants sold and bought and the way of serpents and goats. He also wrote about the three cities where a sage had taught.

But when the differences arose
On how to cross a desert patch,
We lost a friend whose stylish prose
Was quite the best of all our batch.
A shadow falls on us and grows.

However, differences arose amongst the group on how to deal with a problem indicated by how they would cross a desert patch. They lost a friend whose manner of writing was the best of their batch. Problems begin to arise in their group and a shadow starts falling on them and it keeps growing.

Another phase was reached when we
Were twice attacked, and lost our way.
A section claimed its liberty
To leave the group. I tried to pray.
Our leader said he smelt the sea.

The journey becomes riddled with difficulties evident in the manner in which they were attacked twice and they lost their way. A section of the group claimed its liberty to leave the group. The poet starts praying and the leader said that he could smell the sea.

We noticed nothing as we went,
A straggling crowd of little hope,
Ignoring what the thunder meant,
Deprived of common needs like soap.
Some were broken, some merely bent.

They noticed nothing as they went which paints an eerie disturbing picture. They were like a straggling crowd with little hope, ignoring the thunder and deprived of common necessities like soap. Some of them broken and some merely bent with exhaustion.

When, finally, we reached the place ,
We hardly know why we were there.
The trip had darkened every face,
Our deeds were neither great nor rare.
Home is where we have to gather grace.

When they finally reached the place they hardly knew why they were there. The trip had taken a toll on every one of them. Their deeds were neither great nor rare. Home is where they would have to find grace and salvation.

This entire poem could be read as the struggle of India’s Independence and the section which claimed its liberty could signify Pakistan which separated from India.

Icy planets with rains of diamond

Ever wondered why diamond is so precious? What makes it so unique? Is it a marketing strategy or rarity in nature as around 250 tons of Earth ­­­­­get removed to find a carat of a diamond? We don’t know exactly, but we do know that both diamond and graphite are pure carbon. What exactly makes it distinguishable is the internal molecular structure. A diamond can be so powerful that it cannot cut by any other object; instead, it gets cut by another diamond, which makes it so unique. These diamonds made it reach everywhere, making it globally like a social status to show.

A hypothesis says that the information collected from Voyager 2 depicts the abundance of diamond-like structures on the planets Neptune and Uranus. This phenomenon happens due to extremely high pressure and temperature on these icy planets and maybe found in deep in the core too. More than 40 years after the mission, now finally can demonstrate the same by the researchers under similar conditions and factors in the controlled environment.

Diamonds or crystals?

These diamond formations can be due to methane present, and also, it can be found on other planets too in the form of pure diamond, even in the stars. Why are we restricted then? This problem is because the Milky Way itself has many undiscovered planets, and it is almost 3-4 billion kilometers away from the Earth. Also, Uranus is nearly four times the Earth in size.

Imagine you gather diamonds, but how do you distinguish between a fake one out of a bunch of collected objects? The answer is simple, and there are many methods, one of them is a fog test; blow a few times to the diamond, if it doesn’t remain foggy for long, you can keep it in your collection. The findings mention about high powered optical lasers to heat polystyrene to its maximum. But there is no such item in the actual planets, and it was a substitute to the methane deep down at 8 thousand kilometers or more, by using two shockwaves to generate heat up to 5 thousand Kelvin and pressure close to half of the force present at the core of the Earth at 150 GPa.

The solar system

As diamonds are more massive in density, it isn’t easy to find them, and so now the artificial diamonds are being created by explosives, although lasers can help if there are some new findings. The gemstone made artificially is perfect in shape. Marvin Ross, in 1981 wrote the article describing the possibilities of diamonds on these planets.

To conclude, diamonds can be shiny bright, but the actual component is still black. Carbon itself has so many usages, it is one of the major parts on Earth found abundantly, but a diamond is always rare. Be a diamond, not to discriminate, no matter how dark your future is, you can still outshine and be a model. You won’t need diamond rains when life itself is showering diamonds in your life when you’re successful.

Doctor As A Hero in Today’s Time. Happy Doctor’s Day

National Doctors’ Day is observed every year on 1 July. It is celebrated to honor Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the great physician of the country and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal. Both his birthday and death anniversary fall on this date. On this day a tribute is paid to the entire medical fraternity and highlights the importance of doctors in our lives. The Central Government started celebrating this day in 1991, the country’s renowned physician. He was born on 1 July 1882 in Patna district of Bihar. After completing his medical education in Kolkata, Dr. Rai received the degrees of MRCP and FRCS from London. In 1911, he started his medical career in India. He then became a lecturer at Kolkata Medical College. From there he went to Campbell Medical School and then Carmichael Medical College. After this, he entered politics. He became a member of the Indian National Congress and later also held the post of Chief Minister of West Bengal. Dr. Rai was also awarded the Bharat Ratna. He died at the age of 80 on his birthday in 1962, ie on 1 July. The great Physician Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy was also the second Chief Minister of Pt. Bengal and he is also called the architect of the State of Pt. Bengal for his visionary leadership. In 1961, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor.
It was started in India in 1991 by the then government. Since then, National Doctors Day is celebrated every year on 1 July. This day is celebrated to honor and pay tribute to the great physician of India and the second chief minister of West Bengal.They are saving the lives of patients regardless of their lives
In today’s time doctors are as God. They are saving the lives of patients regardless of their lives. The doctor has always been considered as another form of God. The doctor always performs his duties very well. Day by night, it always fulfills its duty. Tries his best to save his patient.
The doctor is an important person in everyone’s life. He wakes up early in the morning and goes to his clinic. He works day and night. A doctor knows how to treat and treat sick people. A doctor is a very good friend of the sick. He always talks politely so that patients feel comfortable.
He never gets irritated and tries his best for the sick. The life of a doctor is difficult. He does not have much time to sleep and rest. A doctor fights disease and death. He saves many lives. He talks softly to his patients.
He is always ready to serve sick patients, whenever needed, day or night. As a doctor, as a social worker, who has to fulfill the sacred duty and responsibility of serving the people of my country.
A doctor will always be needed. Because of this, and due to population growth, doctors will always be in demand and the profession will continue to grow. In this way, a doctor will be unemployed less and financially more secure. A doctor is like a god for patients. We should be grateful to the doctor. We should respect that.

HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WITH UNIVERSAL GOVERNMENT FUNDED COUNTRIES VS INDIA

Healthcare comprises hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical equipment. The Indian healthcare sector is growing at a brisk pace due to its strengthening coverage, services and increasing expenditure by public as well private players. As the leading growing population healthcare system is indeed in those developing countries. Access to comprehensive, quality health care services is important for promoting and maintaining health, preventing and managing disease, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equity in India.

Countries with universal government-funded health system

In this system (also known as single-payer healthcare) government-funded healthcare is available to all citizens regardless of their income or employment status. Some countries may provide healthcare to non-citizen residents, while some may require them to buy private insurance.

Countries with universal healthcare include Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States.

Other variants of classification

Countries with universal public insurance system, In these countries workers have social insurance. Usually government withholds part of their wage, which is divided between employee and employer.

Countries with universal public-private insurance system, In this system some people receive healthcare via primary private insurance, while people who are ineligible for it, from government.

Countries with universal private health insurance system, In this system people receive healthcare via mandatory private insurance, usually subsidised by the government for low-income citizens

Indian Healthcare system:

In India, the hospitals are run by government, charitable trusts and by private organizations. The government hospitals in rural areas are called Primary Health Centres (PHCs). Major hospitals are located in district headquarters or major cities. Apart from the modern system of medicine, traditional and indigenous medicinal systems like Ayurvedic and Unani systems are in practice throughout the country. The modern system of medicine is regulated by the Medical Council of India, whereas the alternative systems recognised by Government of India are regulated by the Department of AYUSH (an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy) under the Ministry of Health, Government of India. PHCs are non-existent in most places, due to poor pay and scarcity of resources. Patients generally prefer private health clinics. These days some of the major corporate hospitals are attracting patients from neighboring countries such as Pakistan, countries in the Middle East and some European countries by providing quality treatment at low cost. In 2005, India spent 5% of GDP on health care, or US$36 per capita. Of that, approximately 19% was government expenditure.

Benchmarking in the Healthcare System

The right to health has so far not been accorded the status of a Fundamental Right to the Indian citizens. It is not even a statutory right, unlike education.
Moreover, health is a subject which is assigned to State Governments as per our Constitution. This is reflected in the way we finance it, with about two-thirds of the total governmental expenditure on health coming from the State Governments and the balance one-third being provided by the Government of India. Despite this, it is also a reality that the Government of India has significant influence in the policy space with pathbreaking schemes such as the National Health Mission (NHM) and Ayushman Bharat, with its twin prongs of the Health and Wellness Centres to deliver comprehensive primary health care and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

India is also a signatory to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, whereby it has committed as a nation to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all”. In the last decade, millions of Indians have escaped from extreme poverty because of rapid economic growth. As would be expected of a rapidly growing economy, the health system and population-level health outcomes have also improved significantly albeit at a much more gradual pace. Despite notable gains in improving life expectancy, reducing maternal and child mortality, and addressing other health priorities, our health system needs a lot of improvement judged by the rather modest benchmark of countries with similar levels of economic development. Furthermore, there are huge variations across States in their health outcomes and health systems’ performance. It is unfortunate that by and large, health has not received the kind of political and administrative salience that this vital sector deserves. With the federal compact among the Central and the State Governments having been clearly defined in the Constitution, the key questions that motivated the team involved in the design of Health Index were as
follows:

a. Can we develop a tool to bring health into greater political focus to ensure that what gets measured gets done?

b. Can we benchmark the performance of the health system of various States which can be put forth in the public domain promptly? Is it possible to capture the diversity and yet ensure that high performing states do not get complacent and the low performing States are not discouraged?

c. Can appropriate instrument or incentives be put in place that can nudge the States to try and radically improve their health system performance? Can this be done in a manner that respects the federal compact and allows autonomy to individual State Governments to make policy choices to achieve the specified benchmarks?

d. What are the parameters that could credibly capture the complex story of health system performance? Can those parameters capture outcomes at the system level rather than merely tracking inputs such as budget, number of facilities or outputs such as number of OPDs/IPDs? Is data relating to those parameters available from the third-party source? Is the data of reasonable quality and available at least annually? What is the emphasis (weights) to be provided on each of the individual parameters? The answer to these questions– admittedly imperfect-was to craft a Health Index – a journey which NITI Aayog embarked upon in 2017 in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the World Bank. It is the first-ever systematic exercise for tracking the progress on health outcomes and health systems’ performance across all the States and Union Territories (UTs) in India on an annual basis. The Health Index is a weighted-composite
Index based on select indicators in three domains:

(a) Health Outcomes;
(b) Governance and Information; and
(c) Key Inputs and Processes, with the health outcomes carrying the most weight across the different category of

States/UTs. For the generation of ranks, the States are classified into three categories (Larger States, Smaller States and UTs) to ensure comparability among similar entities.

A range of indicators such as the neonatal mortality rate (deaths occurring in the first 28 days of life), full immunisation coverage, treatment success rate of confirmed tuberculosis cases, stability of tenure of key administrators, vacancy of doctors and specialists in health facilities, and functionality of primary health centres, first referral units and cardiac care units, are included in the Index. In February 2018, the first round of the Health Index report on ranks and scores was released which measured the annual and incremental performance of the States and UTs throughout 2014-15 (base year) to 2015-16 (reference year). This was followed by the second round of Health Index that tracked performance for the period 2015-16 (base year) and 2017-18 (reference year). The same set of indicators and weights were used for the first two rounds.

The Health Index is a useful tool to measure and compare the overall performance and incremental performance across States and UTs over time. It is an important instrument in understanding the variations and complexity of the nation’s performance in health. The critical factors that contributed to the success of the Health Index include a) Timelines of the report so that it stimulates action and not merely academic discussions; b) Provision of financial incentives based on the annual incremental performance of states under the National Health Mission; and; c) Verification of self-reported data by states by a third party, independent verification agency to enhance credibility. However, there are limitations to the Index as no single index can purport to comprehensively capture the complex story of the evolution of the health system. Also, due to constraints of availability of quality data critical areas such as non-communicable diseases, mental health, and private sector service utilisation could not be captured. Thus, the Health Index is a work in progress and continuous refinements will be made as additional quality data becomes available and data systems improve.