The Spis News: 1/8/12

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Dentist Plays Vital Role in Afghanistan

By Air Force Airman 1st Class Tom Brading
American Forces Press Service
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 12, 2012 - In a remote valley of war-torn Afghanistan, an airman home- based here is playing a vital role enhancing the country's practice of dentistry.

Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Courtney Schapira poses with, from left, dental technician Nasir, dental clinic chief Dost Muhammad and dentist Janat at Forward Operating Base Lightning, Afghanistan, Dec. 1, 2011. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sarah Martinez

Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Courtney Schapira is deployed to the medical embedded training team at Forward Operating Base Lightning as the chief dental advisor at Paktia Regional Military Hospital in Gardez, Afghanistan."Our team is made up of 21 medical advisers from different NATO countries," Schapira said. "We each have our own areas of expertise, such as internal medicine, nursing, pharmacy, etc."
Schapira deployed to Afghanistan in November and is the first and only dental adviser assigned there.
"The Afghan dentists that I work with are excited to have a U.S. dental advisor and are eager to learn from me," she said. "They are asking questions and taking the initiative to do things on their own."
Paktia Regional Military Hospital is an Afghan army facility that treats only Afghan soldiers, police and civilians with combat-related injuries. The standard of dental care in Afghanistan is much different from that in the United States, Schapira said, noting the clinic is not current with modern preventive dentistry.
Though the Afghan dentists are skilled and adequate at their profession, Schapira said, their techniques and materials and the thought processes behind their treatments are outdated.
"The dentists here used to rarely make patients numb prior to treatment," she said. "This is both painful for the patients and can turn what may be a single appointment in the U.S. into two or three appointments here, simply because the patients can only tolerate so much pain. Since my arrival, they now numb patients prior to any surgical procedure."
During her first few weeks in Afghanistan, Schapira said, she felt overwhelmed by the challenges facing her. Her efforts were divided in multiple directions. Supplies, broken equipment, outdated techniques, infection control and patient administration all needed her attention.
"I realized I couldn't improve everything at once," she said. "So I set goals for myself and for the clinic. After most of the equipment was modernized, I turned my focus to the supply inventory."
The 6-by-10-foot supply closet was full of unlabeled boxes filled with assorted dental supplies, Schapira said. It was overflowing with supplies, she added, and it was difficult for anyone to even walk in.
In addition, she said, she found the Afghans lacked a tracking system to monitor expiration dates or maintain inventories. "The disorganization made it very difficult to find any materials they actually have," she added.
Most of the supplies on hand were donated by various hospitals before Schapira arrived, but because the Afghans never had a dental advisor in the past, she said, the staff never was taught how to stock and inventory the materials.
Once she organizes the supplies, Schapira said, she'll be able to more accurately assess the clinic's real capabilities and needs.
"Organization has been our top priority," she said. "It has created a foundation for the clinic to grow. Now that everything is in order, training will become our top priority."
With most of the equipment now working properly and with the supply closet organized, Schapira said, she can start working more on infection control procedures, new dental techniques and patient administration.
"I've set the Afghan dental clinic up for success," she said. "I'm getting the clinic to reach its fullest potential. I have complete confidence in their capabilities."

Related Sites:
NATO International Security Assistance Force

Conference of Tourism Ministers

The Union Tourism Minister, Shri Subodh Kant Sahai at the conference of Tourism Ministers of ASEAN countries, at Manado, Indonesia on January 12, 2012.

Voice of Voiceless: Community Radio Mattoli

Radio Mattolli has a saga of success
A special feature by Sudha S. Namboothiry*

For the past two and a half years most of the people of backward Wayanad in Kerala wake to the echo of their lone Community Radio- Radio Mattolli . If you are in Wayanad you can tune in to Radio Mattolli at 90.4 MHz frequency from 6 am to 10 pm. Located at Dwaraka, Mananthavady in Wayanad District, this Community Radio is administered by Wayanad Social Service Society , an NGO with 36 years of experience in development interventions in Wayanad District.
Radio Mattolli which was launched in 2009 has a saga of success and need not say Fr. Thomas Joseph Therakam , Director of the Radio has reasons to be happy. Latest survey show that number of daily listeners come to 24.05% of the population. In demographic figures of the district (as per 2011 census) it comes to 2,00,056 people. But if weekly and occasional listeners of the Radio Mattoli are included, the figures will be 74.05% (6,10,539). Another interesting factor is 56% depends on Radio Set for listening to community radio program, whereas 40% use their mobile phones to tune into Mattoli.

According to Fr. Therakam, Community Radio is the perfect tool to provide comprehensive knowledge, technology, awareness, and empowerment etc. to a targeted audience. Radio always had upper hand over other media like newspaper and television since a literate can only read newspaper or pamphlets and viewing television means dedicating time for that and there is a need for electricity in the area too. But anyone can listen to a radio and do other work simultaneously. This is to be noted that about 30,000 families in Wayanad do not have electricity connection.

Radio Mattoli is the first Community Radio service in Kerala and the only electronic media in the State to broadcast programme in tribal dialects daily. The programme which is all comprising of education, information health etc. is daily aired at 2.30 PM and at 8.05 PM. Radio Mattoli has also launched “Namma Sasthra” – A Special Science Popularization Program supported by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment. This is broadcasted in local dialect also. Apart from this there are the regular features like reflections on Gandhian thoughts, Interaction between officials and public, programmes for women prepared by women, introducing various books and local libraries, health programmes, programmes on job oriented training , new courses etc. Well the Radio is living upto its mission of providing an avenue for the free flow of beneficial information aimed at bringing socio economic changes in the society. As the programmes aired are mostly presented by local people, listeners have an immediate emotional attachment with the presenter and the message is effectively received. The target groups consist of marginal farmers, indigenous people, dalits, agricultural labourers women and children. Hence such an emotional bonding is much required says Fr. Therakam. These people need to have the sense of belonging in order to trust .

Radio Mattoli has even formed Mattoli clubs in schools. Out of the 288 schools in the district 91 schools have Mattoli clubs. Members of these clubs get a chance to broadcast their programmes over Mattoli. This inculcates leadership quality, creativity, presentation capability and awareness in children. They get a wonderful exposure to the world of electronic media.

Started with an initial investment of Rs. 58 lakh, which was used for infrastructure and one year functioning of Radio Mattoli, today it has the support of NABARD, Coffee Board, Kerala State Agricultural Department and the limited commercial spots permitted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Need not say Radio Mattoli is here to give voice to the voiceless and help them express themselves socially, economically, culturally and spiritually in order to make them masters of their own destinies. ***

*Media & Communication Officer (PIB, Cochin)

National Youth Day Celebrated at Ludhiana also

Dr.Sapna Kiran addressed the students

Karma Hospital being run by Dream & Beauty Charitable Trust organized a seminar on Public Health at BCM Sr. Sec. School, Focal Point, Ludhiana on the occasion of National Youth Day. Dr Sapna Kiran (MPH, University of Western Sydney, Australia) addressed the students about the health and hygiene. She also presented the national and international career avenues in public health. Karma Hospital is organizing Free Medical checkup camps and informative seminars in various industries and schools under CSR

Friday, January 13, 2012

Ludhiana:D.P.Maur launches door to door campaign

Noveliest Mitter Sen Meet and Dr. Mitra also joined

Mr Dharam Pal Maur SANJHA MORCHA Candidate from Ludhiana West launched door to door campaign today. He went door to door in E & F Block of Kitchlu Nagar and appealed to the people to vote, support and elect him as the SANJHA MORCHA is committed for rule of law, corruption free government, industrial development, regular employment, security of women and education & health for all. He was accompanied by Dr Arun Mitra–Former President IMA Ludhiana, Sh.Ramesh Rattan–Chairman Small Scale Industries and Traders Association, Sh.Rajesh Gandhi-Member State Committee PPP, Sh.Surinder Singh, Sh.Sumit Sareen, Sh.Vipan Dawar, Sh.Sudesh Kumar–Chairman Punjab Bank Employees Federation, Sh.Mitter Sen Meet–Noveliest and several other prominent citizens of the area.

India as a Growing Vaccine Hub

Science & Technology feature by Richa Dubey*

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I would extrapolate a bit: it is also possible to do the same thing differently – we call this innovation.

The meaning of innovation differs: to some, it means idea generation; for some others, it is a process by which an idea or invention is translated into a good or service for which people will pay. In the context of life-sciences, product innovation has great complexity because of the need for regulatory and ethical rigour in developing and testing new drugs, vaccines or devices, and in ensuring that they are affordable and relevant to public health.

Vaccines are an interesting case study of India’s growing experience and role in affordable product innovation. They are also hugely important to the world because we have the means to carry them to every child: rich or poor, rural or urban. They prevent disease – an important consideration – because treatment in remote locations is difficult.

In terms of achievements, the vaccine industry has not lacked for laurels. In fact, right from the basic science required in the initial stage of research up to affordable, bulk manufacture of high-quality products, the Indian vaccine industry has established a firm hold over the entire chain of vaccine development.

Indian vaccines are known for world-class manufacturing and have been stamped with one of the surest seals of quality in any health product: the WHO “pre-qualified” tag for production. India has also emerged as a key bulk vaccine manufacturer in recent times and already produces 60 percent of the world’s vaccines. Viewed another way, one in every 3 doses of vaccines used in the world are produced in India. Indian firms are big suppliers to the UN agencies, accounting for between 60% and 80% of the vaccines it buys every year. Besides mass-manufacture of vaccines, we have also been successful in creating or modifying a whole new range of vaccines indigenously.

Vaccine development is an arduous and lengthy process, however, speedy development has been a hallmark of the new vaccine industry in India, where both: response to a crisis (as in response to Japanese Encephalitis and H1N1 flu – with the latter taking just a couple of years to develop) as well as regular development of vaccines have been speeded up to the extent that a matter of a decade or so has been compressed into a few years. The H1N1 flu vaccine in fact, just took a couple of years to develop.

Development of vaccines is an essential stage of the process but by no means the ultimate one. Vaccine candidates need to be rigorously tested with every possible safeguard in place for clinical trial volunteers. This again, has seen a remarkable improvement. The rotavirus (which combats childhood diarrhoea) Phase III clinical trial supported by the Department of Biotechnology(DBT), Ministry of Science and technology, has been a model of an ethical and patient-friendly trial. Full insurance for the family of trial participants as well as coverage of all hospital treatment costs, if required was provided.

Similarly, an expensive vaccine has little meaning in the public health sector, particularly in a country like ours where the bulk of our population: millions of people cannot afford expensive health-care. India has proved to be a low-cost product manufacturer and service provider and benefits in many industries. It is far tougher to do so in scientific product development. But we have achieved this by dint of pure innovation.

India’s growing capacity in this field also augurs well for the fulfilment of the needs of the developing world. This capacity has been acknowledged by UNICEF through the very fact of India being its major supplier of vaccines. We are today preparing to take on the larger mantle of scientific development to fulfil the health needs of the developing world. In accordance with Gandhiji’s commandment to practice science with humanism, we must now learn to deliver vaccines to the 24 million children born every year in India and to millions born in other developing countries. India already produces 60 percent of the world’s vaccines.

This is evident from the rapid development and commercialization of several influenza vaccines as a response to influenza pandemic, new combination vaccines and development of low cost Meningococcal B Vaccine for Africa, by our researchers and industry. India is a destination for affordable products for the entire developing world now. The key drivers of the emergence of India as a vaccine hub are a large pool of scientific talent, relatively lower costs in manufacturing, research and development capacity, availability of GMP requirements on par with all international standards, lower costs of clinical trials and a high potential for contract services by vaccine manufacturers.

The current Indian vaccine market is estimated to be around $ 900 million (in 2011). It is poised to grow at the rate of 23% during 2011-2012 and by 10-13% CAGR over the next five years registering revenues and around $2 billion in 2011-2012, $4.6 billion by 2017. With a number of important vaccines in the pipeline, the market is expected to explode globally in future with vaccines expected to grow faster than any other therapy area at around 13 percent during 2009-12.

India has been building capacity in the area of human resources by investments in science and education – both qualitative and quantitative. The figures speak for themselves. In 1981, more than 95 percent of Thomson Reuters-indexed papers from India named authors exclusively at India-based institutions. By 2007, however, the percentage of such papers had fallen to 80 percent, indicating that the nation is gradually participating more in internationally collaborative research. Further, between 1985 and 2007, publications co-authored by scientists in India have more than doubled in volume—and those papers were in general more heavily cited than in previous years. Not only has the volume of India’s scientific output risen, so has its quality. In fact, a recent media report indicated that placement of India’s top universities on the H-index, which measures citation impact, has gone up significantly in the past two years. Better funding has certainly helped. A recent report indicates that the only significant percentage increase in spending on Science and Engineering Research and development between 1996 and 2007 has come from the Asia Pacific region, led by India, China and other developing countries. The prime driver for this has been increased capacity for research.

Additionally, there have been a number of scientists who have returned to our shores or are in the process of doing so, thanks in no small part to government efforts like the Ramalingaswami Fellowships announced by the Department of Biotechnology which are 5-year fellowships for re-entries.

However, while the base may come from the focus on education and retaining our best brains, it is true that vaccinology is a specialised science and without a focus on infectious diseases, it is not possible to build a robust talent pool or infrastructure. Developed countries which have largely eradicated infectious diseases are understandably less interested in focussing on them, and prefer to focus on chronic diseases. India by virtue of its unique position as an emerging economy with the disease burden of a developing country needs to tackle the problem of infectious diseases internally. We have managed to focus on our own solutions to our problems with a high level of success, particularly in terms of developing the scientific community in this regard. It is no exaggeration to say that some of the best brains in the infectious disease space come from India today.

Brains and talent, crucial as they are, cannot deliver outside of a nurturing and enabling environment. There are several elements this environment, not least of which is funding. Vaccine development is a risky venture, particularly in terms of financing it. We are dealing with the fear of the unknown and the ever-present risk of failure. Few private companies want to take that kind of risk without assured success. This is where the balance between the public and private sector comes into play. The government undertakes the high-risk funding role and guides the private sector, which in turn, builds and utilises capacity for product development. The Indian private companies in the vaccine field have been remarkably open to innovation and it is this combination that has contributed largely to our success in vaccine development.

Collaboration is another element of this environment. It enables healthy knowledge and experience sharing in a mutually beneficial manner, while building and strengthening linkages across geo-political divides. Both North-South and South-South country-to-country collaborations have had a significant role to play in this success story. Multilateral partners too, have provided significant aid. The systematisation of demand and procurement of vaccines through UNICEF provided a crucial safety net for vaccine development. Similarly the knowledge-sharing achieved through collaborations like Indo-South Africa and organisations like the International AIDS Vaccine initiative is headed towards a promising turning point.

Moving up the chain, what is done with a vaccine once it is ready? Or, looking at it another way, will this entire process actually take place if there is no demand for it? Vaccine innovation, like everything else in a market economy, requires a spur to kick-start it. That spur is demand and demand generation is the crucial spark. It was the demand put forth by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that resulted in the successful development of an inexpensive Rotavirus vaccine. Similarly the crisis engendered by H1N1 flu and Japanese Encephalitis created a demand pressure to develop these vaccines. However, there is a clear difference between the two. The former was a proactive demand whereas the latter was a reactive one. Obviously, the need is to create demand for sustainable and positive vaccine development for the greater good.

Therefore it is important to sustain efforts in the field, particularly those directed at difficult-to-make vaccines for major killers like HIV, dengue, malaria etc. The stakes are higher here because it is not possible to predict a definite positive outcome by a definite date due to the nature of the disease we are battling. Therefore it becomes even more important for the government to play an anchoring role here.

In the case of dengue, Indian players have licensed live dengue virus-based vaccine technologies from different US developers. In accordance with the WHO and Dengue Vaccine Initiative directive, the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB, New Delhi) is currently developing a non-infectious dengue vaccine based on the well-established Hepatitis B vaccine technology. The Hepatitis B vaccine strategy will not only maximize potency, but will also minimize cost.

The malaria vaccine candidate, after one unsuccessful attempt, is being tested after modifications (a combination of Plasmodium Vivax and Falciparum) in a Phase I trial for safety evaluation in Pune.

For HIV/AIDS, the DBT has set up a joint laboratory with IAVI: the THSTI (Translational Health Science and Technology Institute) which will both, speed up the process of assaying HIV vaccine candidates, as well as boost the research on antibodies that neutralize the HIV virus.

There are several lessons to be learnt from the vaccine success story however, I would like to focus on two of them as key innovation enablers. It is crucial to develop the entire value chain. An innovation system means a chain linking all the way from idea to customer service and this means ensuring that the entire system, from the capacity – be it human resource, funding or physical infrastructure – to the relevant regulatory policies and subsequent distribution is in place. It is only with the balanced development of the entire value chain, right from procurement of samples to robust cold chains that we can achieve success.

It is also essential to ensure that demand generation continues apace. No form of innovation can occur without an impetus in the form of demand. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but demand is the mother of innovation. If there is no demand for it, no innovation can happen. Demand generation for the greater public good is something that needs to be undertaken by the government and the private sector alike.

We do have challenges in the case of the vaccine industry and indeed, every industry that thrives on innovation. The vaccine story in India is hardly a fairy tale. Despite its phenomenal success, the industry faces tremendous challenges not the least of which is the openness of society. It is a truism that there is little resistance to any technological improvement for the benefit of the individual – mobile phones are a case in point. However, when it comes to the greater good, where benefits to the more vulnerable sections of society, like children, are seen, there is little eagerness to implement these improvements.

Vaccines have seen an improvement in this direction, particularly with the NRHM network of ASHAs, but a lot more needs to be done – both in terms of shifting to a positive mindset as well as following up on it by reaching high-quality, low-cost vaccines to everyone who needs them. We must remember that the numerous new health benefits that are available to the economically advantaged classes don’t necessarily reach the masses. Public policy needs to even this gap.

In the case of vaccines, we require political will and public funding; prioritisation of public health; a robust regulatory system; a strong private sector focus on public goods; public-private partnerships and social venture capital; capacity to innovate and deliver at scale; participation of all stakeholders; and the strengthening of systems through product introduction.

With the government declaring 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Innovation” and the establishment of the National Innovation Council in 2010, India is certainly receiving a strong top down impetus for innovation. Now we need to see how that can translate into tangible benefits for the country’s public and economic health.

Table detailing vaccine development currently underway in the country

VACCINES UNDER DEVELOPMENT	INSTITUTES	CURRENT PHASE

ROTAVIRUS VACCINE	First rotavirus vaccine 116E developed in India at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in collaboration with Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA	Rotavirus vaccine 116E is undergoing phase III clinical trial at three sites: Society for Applied Studies (SAS), Delhi; Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore; KEM Hospital Pune.
CHOLERA VACCINE	Live oral cholera vaccine candidate VA1.4 developed at Institute of Microbial Technology (MTECH), Chandigarh & National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata	The candidate vaccine strain VA1.4 will be undergoing Phase II Studies
MALARIA VACCINE	Malaria vaccine candidates JAIVAC-1 forP.falciparum & PvDBPII for P.vivaxdeveloped at International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB), N. Delhi	JAIVAC-1 vaccine for P.falciparumhave been developed and transferred to Bharat Biotech India Ltd (BBIL), Hyderabad. Phase I clinical trials completed
TYPHOID VACCINE	A vi-conjugate typhoid vaccine developed at AIIMS , N. Delhi	Technology has been transferred to USV Ltd. Mumbai
DENGUE VACCINE	Dengue vaccine candidate being developed at ICGEB N. Delhi	Efforts on the possibility of developing safe, efficacious and inexpensive tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate are underway.
TUBERCULOSIS VACCINE	Collaborative efforts are underway between University of Delhi South Campus (UDSC) & Vaccine and Infectious Disease Research Centre (VIDRC) of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI): and autonomous institution of DBT, for the development of recombinant BCG.	Several candidates for tuberculosis have been developed at DUSC with promising results in animal models, (rBCG85c) is being developed as an effective vaccine for tuberculosis.
INFLUENZ A VACCINE	Vaccine development support given to Panacea Biotec Ltd. New Delhi under Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP)	The Project has been successfully completed by Panacea Biotec Ltd. Leading to the development ofPandyflu TM (H1N1 vaccine)
PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE	Vaccine development support given toTergene Biotech Pvt Ltd Hyderabad under BIPP	Efforts for Development of an Affordable, Asia specific 15 valentPneumococcal polysaccharide-CRM 197 Protein co
HIV VACCINE	Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI): an autonomous institution of DBT and International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have forged a partnership to develop “Next Generation” HIV vaccine candidates	Efforts are underway towards design of candidate vaccines to elicit neutralizing antibodies against HIV.
CANCER (HPV) VACCINE	Development of HPV Vaccine by Serum Institute of India Ltd. Pune; is being supported under BIPP	Efforts are underway towards design of an affordable vaccine.
JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS VACCINE	Vero cell derived inactivated JEV vaccine developed at National Institute of Immunology (NII), N. Delhi. Development of JE Vaccine by Biological E Ltd., Hyderabad

***

Disclaimer: The writer is a freelance journalist and the views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of PIB.

*Freelance journalist

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Comrade Amarjeet Kaur called upon the CPI cadre

Devote full time and energy in support of D P Maur

City unit of the Communist Party of India held a cadre meeting in support of Com Dharam Pal Maur who is contesting as a SANJHA MORCHA candidate of CPI from Ludhiana West. Mrs Amarjeet Kaur National Secretary CPI called upon the CPI cadre to devote full time and energy in support of Dharam Pal Maur.
Today there are three main contending parties to form government in our state. Please do remember the state assembly is the august body which frames policies for all walks of life and decides about revenue collection, budgeting and allocations to social sector as well as other fields.
On the one hand side, she said, is the Congress party during whose regime the infamous City Centre scam in the city of Ludhiana and the scams like 2G Spectrum, Common Wealth Games, Adarsh Housing society etc. happened at the national level. Prices of essential commodities rose to sky high and recently we witnessed how they scuttled the passing of Lok Pal Bill in Rajya Sabha.
The other contender Akali-BJP alliance has ruined the law and order situation in the state, brought the state to the verge economic indebtedness to the tune of Rs.1,38,000 crores, the alliance partners were busy capturing transport and TV channels through all corrupt means for their own benefits, the government adopted the methods of oppression and beating towards agitating unemployed girls and boys. Corruption has risen to unprecedented levels in the state.
She reiterated that for the first time there is a ray of hope for the people of Punjab as an alternative in the form of SANJHA MORCHA of People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI M), Akali Dal Longowal to both these contenders who have been ruling the state of Punjab all these years turn by turn. The Sanjha Morcha is committed for development, for maintaining rule of law, to defend the interests of workers and employees, for defence of home based, small and medium industries, defending the small traders and shop keepers, for expansion of quality education and health care in the state sector and extending help to the small scale sector in these fields. This Morcha can fulfill the dreams of developing Punjab as a prosperous state with its people having sense of justice and involvement.
Sh.Rajesh Gandhi – Member State Committee PPP in his address assured of active support of PPP cadre.
Others who addressed the meeting include Comrades Kartar Singh Bowani – Distt. Secretary CPI, Ramesh Rattan – City Secretary, Dr Arun Mitra – Asstt. Secretary, O.P.Mehta, Gulzar Goria and Gurnam Gill.
Earlier in the day Mr.Maur addressed several meetings and he went door to door in Agar Nagar where he got rousing welcome from the residents and full support.

Broadcast/Telecast time to Political Parties

General Election to Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa 2012 - Allotment of Broadcast/Telecast time to Political Parties

copy of the Order No.437/TVs/2012/Media, dated 11^th January 2012 issued by the Election Commission of India regarding allotment of broadcast/telecast time to political parties in the General Election to Legislative Assemblies of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa- 2012 is enclosed for the information of the general public.

ORDER

At the time of General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1998 a new initiative for State funding of recognized political parties through free use of the State owned Television and Radio was introduced under directions of the Commission vide its Order, dated 16^thJanuary, 1998. The said scheme was subsequently extended in all the General Elections to the State Assemblies held after 1998 and General Elections to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004 and 2009.

With the amendments to the Representation of People Act, 1951 vide "Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003" and the rules notified thereunder, equitable time sharing for campaigning by recognized political parties on electronic media now has statutory basis. In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of the Explanation below section 39A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Central Government has notified all such broadcasting media which are owned or controlled or financed wholly or substantially by funds provided to them by the Central Government as the electronic media for the purposes of that section. Therefore, the Commission has decided to extend the said scheme of equitable time sharing on electronic media through Prasar BharatiCorporation to the ensuing General Election to the State Legislative Assemblies of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa 2012 .

The facilities of use of broadcast time and telecast time will be available only to National Parties and Recognised State Parties in the State of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE SCHEME ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. The facilities will be available from the Regional Kendra of the All India Radio and Doordarshan and in the headquarters ofUttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa and relayed by other stations within the respective States.

2. A base time of 45 minutes will be given to each National Party and Recognized State Party (recognized in the respective State) uniformly on the Regional Kendra of Doordarshan network and All India Radio network in the State of Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

3. The National and the State Parties will be treated at par for the Assembly elections.

4. The additional time to be allotted to the parties has been decided on the basis of the poll performance of the parties in the last Assembly election, as required under rule 85C (3) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 from the State of Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

5. In a single session of broadcast, no party will be allocated more than 15 minutes.

6. The period of broadcast and telecast will be between the last date of filing the nominations and will end two days before the date of poll in the State of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. However, there will be no telecast or broadcast during the 48 hours preceding the close of polls as per specific provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

7. The Prasar Bharati Corporation in consultation with the Commission will decide the actual date and time for broadcast and telecast. This will be subject to the broad technical constraints governing the actual time of transmission available with theDoordarshan and All India Radio.

8. The guidelines prescribed by the Commission for telecast and broadcast will be strictly followed. The parties will be required to submit transcripts and recording in advance. The parties can get this recorded at their own cost in studios, which meet the technical standards prescribed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation or at the Doordarshan/All India Radio Kendras. They can, in the alternative, have these recorded in the studios of Doordarshan and All India Radio by advance requests. In such cases, the recordings may be done at the State Capital and at timings indicated by Doordarshan/All India Radio in advance.

9. In addition to the broadcast by parties, the Prasar Bharati Corporation will organise a maximum of two panel discussions and/or debates on the Kendra/Station of Doordarshan/All India Radio. Each eligible party can nominate one representative to such aprogramme.

10. The Election Commission of India will approve the names of coordinators for such panel discussions and debates in consultation with the Prasar Bharati Corporation.

11. Time Vouchers will be available in the denomination of 1 to 5 minutes with one voucher having time allotment from 1 to 4 minutes and the parties will be free to combine them suitably. The allotment of time to different political parties is given in a statement enclosed herewith.

12. Based upon the Commission’s order dated 27^th December 2011, the time that would have been allotted onDoordarshan and All India Radio for broadcast for recognized parties for the “Uttrakahand Kranti Dal” (UKD) as per the existing policy, shall now be divided equally between the “Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P) and “Jantantrik Uttarakhand Kranti Dal” for the ensuing general election to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly.

GENERAL ELECTION TO

THE STATE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF GOA 2012