MAHARASHTRA

The has decided to set up a Backward Classes Commission to collectempirical dataon other backward classes (OBC) Population andreservation.

The state government has decided to set up an independent backward class commission to collect empirical data on the OBCs.

The Supreme Court rejected thestate governmentsreview petition concerningpolitical reservationto the OBCs in local body Elections. It has ruled that reservation in favour of the OBC in local bodies should not exceed the 50% cap determined by it.

The share of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) allocated by Maharashtra government to healthcare has grown only marginally over the past few years, underlining how political regimes have failed to make it a priority.

Data fromthe NationalHealth Accounts (NHA) Estimates for India 2019-20 indicates Maharashtra’s spending on healthcare was barely 0.8% of its GSDP, a slight increase from the previous four-year Average of 0.7%. Data showed total healthcare expenditure was Rs 77,501 crore of which government’s contribution was just 27% (Rs 20,606 crore).

The state has done poorly compared to the national average, which showed an upward trend in government expenditure as a proportion of total Health expenditurefrom 29% in 2014-2015 to 41.4% in 2019-20. The Centre is spending 1.35% of the GDP on health.

The data shows that bigger states like Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat are all spending in the range of 0.8-0.9% of their GDP on health, whereas smaller ones like Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim have managed to take it to around 1.2-1.4%. Northeastern statesMizoramand Arunachal Pradesh spend the most, almost 3.4% of their GSDP in health. Dr Abhay Shukla of the public health movement Jan Arogya Abhiyan said despite being ranked seventh on per capita income among states, Maharashtra is at the bottom in terms of state spending on healthcare. “Hence, the high degree of privatisation and out-of-pocket expenses remain, he said.

As per the NHA report, the state spent Rs 1,675 per capita on healthcare in 2019-20, only a slight increase from the Rs 1,120 spent in 2015-2016. By comparison, Himachal Pradesh spent Rs 3,829, Kerala Rs 2,590, Uttarakhand Rs 2,273 and Tamil Nadu Rs 2039.Biharand UP were among the poorest spenders, allocating Rs 701 and 951 per capita.

Encouraged by successful production ofoxygenby making slight alteration to theethanolmanufacturing unit inOsmanabad, a total of 20 distilleries from different parts ofMaharashtrahave expressed their interest in setting up Oxygen generation Plants on similar lines.
Impressed by the idea, the Uttar Pradesh government is also implementing the Osmanabad pattern at 15 ethanol plants for increasing the oxygen generation capacity ahead of third wave of Covid-19.
Already orders have even placed for getting the required equipment, including compressors, that are to be imported from Taiwan, Korea and the USA for two plants. There are 195 sugar factories out of which 137 have ethanol plants in the state. In addition to this, there are over a dozen standalone ethanol plants across the state.

Bombay on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to come back by June 7 with a policy on reservations for transpersons in EMPLOYMENT and Education.
Earlier this month, state Advocate General Birendra Saraf submitted the state was taking steps to issue a government resolution (GR) in a week to provide for a third window for transgender persons in all public employment and education enrolment, in addition to those for male and female candidates.

The HC was hearing a 2022 petition byVinayak Kashidfor the state’s compliance to a 2014 Supreme Court oder directing all states to issue pro-transgender policies. Kashid’s lawyer Kranti L C said Karnataka provides 1% reservation in all categories, and sought such a policy in Maharashtra.

The state cabinet approved setting up of theMaharashtra Medical Purchase Authoritythrough an Act and allowing purchase of medicines and medical equipment through a high-level committee headed by the chief secretary.
Officials said the chief minister will be the chairman of the regulatory board. This authority will have 14 posts.

In December, with extensive delays in purchase of medicine, medical and surgical equipment for state-run medical colleges and hospitals through the Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation, the had said it would set up a newMaharashtraMedical Authority on the lines of MMRDA for buying medicines, medical equipment and surgical items. Medical Education minister Girish Mahajan had said this in the state legislative council while replying to a Calling Attention Motion by MLCs Praveen Datke, Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Nago Ganar.

In a crucial exercise, the will be carrying out the reassessment of replenishable groundwater sources acrossMaharashtra. A special panel has been formed to carry out the task, which is expected to submit its report by February 2023.

While the reassessment will be done in accordance with the directives received from the Centres Ministry of Jalshakti,Resources“>Water Resources,River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, the National Water Policy, 2012, has also recommended that the groundwater resources of the country should be reassessed periodically.

The aforementioned panel formed has 16 members from different government departments and state agencies and is headed by a secretary-level official from the Water supply and sanitation department. Besides reassessing the annual replenishable groundwater resources, the panel will also estimate the status of utilisation of the annual replenishable groundwater resource.

Days after the Karnataka legislature cleared a resolution on the inter-state border dispute saying it would not give an inch of land to Maharashtra, both houses of Maharashtra legislature on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution to legally pursue inclusion of 865 Marathi-speaking villages and its citizens into the state and make all-out efforts to contest the ongoing case in Supreme Court. Among the villages to be included in Maharashtra are Belagavi (earlier Belgaum), Karwar, Bidar, Balki and Nipani.

The resolution, tabled by CM Shinde in the assembly, spoke about firmly standing behind the Marathi-speaking people of the 865 villages. The CM informed the House the government has roped in noted lawyer Harish Salve to represent Maharashtra in the SC.

In a boost for the organ donation movement in the state,Maharashtras State Organ andTissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) on Saturday won the award for the best transplant programme in the country.

Although the states 88 cadaver donations is second to , its SOTTO earned the best tag for its all-round performance, which included awareness drives, introduction of a system to share information about availability of organs, and online presence. The Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) for the western region, which functions out of Mumbai, was also recognised for best performance.

Maharashtras SOTTO comprises four zonal transplant coordination centres at Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad and Nagpur.