Deepak Dwivedi
Having faced widespread criticism over its role and functioning all through the Covid-19 crisis, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided yet another proof of its ineptitude. Shunning all empirical evidence and resorting to pure statistical jugglery, the world body has claimed that India grossly underreported Covid-19 deaths, a claim which is nothing but preposterous, explains Blitz India’s Cover Story this week. The Modi Government, which led the global fight against the pandemic from the front and even won plaudits for it from several multilateral organisations and top world leaders, is absolutely justified in rejecting the report and questioning its methodology, says our story. Citing facts and figures and forwarding some powerful arguments, the story smashes the WHO claims to smithereens. A related story focuses on the WHO failure to exercise global health leadership and the balance-of-power politics that is guiding its functioning and makes a strong case for reforms to the world body.
The subject matter for the Centerspread is the Ayushman Bharat National Health Mission, which is the result of the holistic approach toward healthcare adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ever since he took the oath of office eight years ago. It is by far the most serious attempt by any government to move from a selective approach to healthcare to delivering a comprehensive range of services spanning preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative care. Our story goes into the details of the four major components of the program and explains how they stand out as examples of excellence in the planning and implementation of the healthcare system anywhere in the world.
France, the last leg of PM Modi’s recent three-nation visit, is the focus country in Globetrotting this week. The two countries share a common belief in the importance of multilateralism and hold deep respect for international rules and regulations. These shared values formed the basis for a cooperation agenda that was broadened during the Prime Minister’s talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. The relations, says our story, have acquired a strategic significance in the context of the war in Ukraine. A related story elucidates how the EU presidency for France is of critical significance to India.
The week saw the birth of the 100th unicorn in India, yet another manifestation of the fact that PM Modi’s policies since 2014 have been giving a massive boost to the entrepreneurship culture in rising India. We have two stories on the subject in the current edition. Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, who lifted santoor from the folk circuit of Jammu and Kashmir and placed it on the center stage of classical music, not just in India but at the global level, passed away this week. Blitz India pays tributes to the legend, in a special story on one of the news pages.
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