Army Research And Referral Hospital retrogrades ESM healthcare

Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal, PVSM, AVSM*, VSM
The Adjutant General
Adjutant General’s Branch
Integrated HQ of MoD (Army)
Room 280, South BlockDHQ PO, New Delhi -110011
Sub: HEALTHCARE DEFENCE VETERANS

Dear General Sabharwal,
1. On 03 May 2011, I had an opportunity to visit RR Hospital Oncology Department with a relative patient. While waiting for our turn to be seen by the doctor, I happened to read a Notice Board put up in the corridor which has compelled me to write their letter.
2. All along our Military Career, (the post retirement being part of it as the last stage), we were told that Health Care of the Defence Veteran and his/ her spouse would be taken care of by the Govt. We were told that DSSR also mentions so. The ECHS was introduced to further improve the healthcare of defence Veterans. But what is written on the Notice Board referred above, one can safely deduce that any Defence Veteran or his/ her ECHS dependent inflicted with the Cancer will find it most difficult to get the treatment and he is sure to die most probably due to harassment and exhaustion rather than by cancer. I borrowed a paper from the reception counter and copied what was written on the Notice Board. The same is as follows:

All Ex Servicemen to be registered under ECHS for treatment of cancer.

All ECHS members to come to Oncology OPD with reference for ECHS Policlinic.

ECHS members to come to OPD Days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) for consultation between 0900 – 1400hrs.

All patient coming for initial or subsequent visit should get then registered in OPD.

All special investigation or Radiological investigation will be done from civil hospital through ECHS Cell.

Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy will not be provided at this hospital.

Surgery may be offered depending on availability of beds and OT slot, after permission from Commandant.

Medicines and disposable for ECHS members to be collected from ECHS policlinic.

Only patients operated at this hospital will be reviewed here. Others, who have received treatment in civil are to be followed up at the respective hospitals.
3. The analysis
(a) The individual first reports to ECHS, collects the investigation forms, goes to
investigation empanelled hospitals which is difficult to find, gets back to ECHS, collects referral form for RR, reports to RR gets registered and then reports to Oncology department. (The patient and his/her relatives are already exhausted).
(b) ECHS members can visit RR only on OPD Days ie Tuesday, Thursday,
Saturday for consultation between 0900 – 1400hrs. Coming from 50 – 60 Kms away he is late at the reception and may not get his turn that day. This is what a few in the corridor had to tell me.
(c) The notice says that all special investigations or Radiological investigations will
be carried out in civil Hospital through ECHS Cell and not in RR Hospital. The patient returns to ECHS polyclinic which has already been closed for the day. He comes to ECHS, the next day and gets referral forms for investigations, goes to civil hospitals and gets the investigation done. After a few days collects investigation reports from the civil hospital and returns to ECHS Polyclinic. Again waits for his turn, gets referral to RR Hospital and then on OPD day reports to Oncology Dept.
(d) He is seen by the specialist doctor but his ordeal does not end. If Radiotherapy and
Chemotherapy are required to be don, the Notice Board says that these will not be provided at RR Hospital. He then goes back to ECHS polyclinic, is seen by the doctor who then prepares referral for civil hospital.
(e) He then goes to the civil hospital and waits for his turn to be given future date for
the therapy.
(f) The Notice Board also says that surgery if required may be offered depending on
availability of beds and OT Slot that too after permission from Commandant. The individual then starts his journey to reach upto the Commandant to get permission. If he is lucky, to get permission, he returns to oncology department and gets the date for surgery.
(g) The problem is further compounded, the Notice Body says, Medicines and
disposables for ECHS members to be collected from ECHS polyclinic. The patient returns to his dependent ECHS Polyclinic and asks for Medicines and disposables. More often, the local purchase funds would not be available, and the individual is harassed further. He is now at the breaking point.
(h) If he is lucky to get his surgery done at RR, only then he can get himself reviewed at RR. But if he has been operated in any civil hospital, he would have to follow the same tedious procedure to get himself reviewed at the Civil Hospital since RR will not entertain him for any future complications.
5. After reading the Notice Board I looked up and prayed to the God that No defence veteran should ever get Cancer since he is sure to die due to the bureaucratic tedious system of provision of Health Care. Soldier took the oath that Nation comes first then come his comrades and his own comfort the last and accepted to sacrifice his life. But he was assured that the Nation will lookafter his needs. Alas! if the instructions on the Notice Board are any indication, a defence veteran has been left at the VILLAGE WELL AS FIRED CARTRIDGE TO DIE. Dear General Sabharwal, I must admit that my emotions over took and tears rolled down.
6. May we request you to please take up the case at the highest levels and get the system set right to ensure that super specialty care to the Defence Veterans for all type of health problems is provided through single Widow concept. Please treat this MOST URGENT.
With Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement

NDC Creates History

National Defence College, New Delhi, which is affiliated to University of Madras, recently conducted a Viva-Voce for Ph.D Degree on Defence related topic. It is for the first time a public Viva-Voce for Ph.D in Defence and Strategic Studies was conducted at any Defence institute. It was also an historic occasion for University of Madras when it conducted a Viva-Voce outside the geographical boundaries of its Jurisdiction.
National Defence College, New Delhi conducts M.Phil course under autonomous pattern and was also recognised as a research institution in 2009. Since then various research activities at NDC have been initiated. Maj Gen (Retd) GD Bakshi who was a Senior Directing Staff at National Defence College from 01 Aug 2006 to 31 May 2008, registered for his Ph.D Degree with department of Defence and Strategic Studies, University of Madras. He defended his research work publically on "Limited War Under conditions of Nuclear Symmetry: The Urgent Need for an Indian doctrine" on 09 Feb 2011 at NDC. The aspect enunciated by Gen Bakshi was debated by senior serving, retired Defence officers and experts in this field in an open Viva-Voce.
Air Marshal PK Roy, Commandant, National Defence College while congratulating Maj Gen (Retd) Bakshi exhorted the course officers to emulate Gen Bakshi's achievement. HH/Raman (Release ID :69816)
NDC Creates History

How Indian Entrepreneurs have circumnavigated Government hurdles to IT Development

The innovation revolution livemint.com The Wall Street Journal
Emerging India has evolved from the world’s back office into a knowledge and innovation hub. In the next decade, expect benefits for not just the nation but the global economy by Vivek Wadhwa
The ability of Indian entrepreneurs to rise above all the hurdles the government and society throw at them. Just as India’s companies install their own power generators to deal with supply problems and purification plants to provide clean water, they have built their own surrogate education system. And herein lies India’s greatest innovation: Its companies have developed the ability to take the output of a weak education system and turn these workers into R&D specialists who can compete in the global arena.

Faced with severe talent shortages, escalating salaries and a lagging education system, Indian industry had to rethink the way it recruited, trained, developed and retained its workforce. It started by adapting the best practices of companies that were outsourcing R&D to India. Then, leading companies in diverse industries started improving on these techniques and methods; refining and integrating them into a unified system.

With the economic slowdown, Indian talent supply has been able to catch up with demand. And Western companies are more desperate than ever to cut costs.

To achieve the 30-40% cost savings that Indian outsourcers can offer, they are now outsourcing their most strategic internal systems. Additionally, thanks to a combination of the recession in the US and that country’s flawed immigration policies, there is a flood of highly educated and skilled talent returning home to India.

They see more opportunity in India than abroad, and want to be near family and friends. They are returning with the latest skills and an understanding of foreign markets.

So the stars are lining up for Indian outsourcing, and this industry is gaining a second wind.

Within a decade, India is likely to become the world’s second-largest R&D centre after the US. Its innovations will likely benefit not only India, but also the world.

Vivek Wadhwa is executive in residence/adjunct professor at the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and a senior research associate with the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.
Read the full article on how Government hurdles have been bypassed:
The innovation revolution

DRDO fires `swadeshi missile' at armed forces

27/05/2010
New Delhi: The head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India’s premier defence research organisation, said that responsibility for the low-level of self reliance in defence systems should not be borne by it alone.

"DRDO has long been held responsible for the level of self reliance in defence systems, but it must be understood that the responsibility for self reliance should be shared by all stake-holders of MoD and cannot be placed on DRDO alone, which neither has the power to impose its products on its customer nor the mandate or capacity to produce the developed systems all by themselves," Saraswat said.
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DRDO: Delayed Research Derailed Organisation to be revamped

Finally, Govt Orders Full Revamp Of DRDO, Formally Sanctions Mark-II Versions Of MBT Arjun & Akash SAM
by Shiv Aroor on Thursday, May 13th 2010

More than three years after the Indian Express special series on the woeful state of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) by me and Express senior editor Amitav Ranjan, the government has finally managed to order a comprehensive restructuring plan for the beleaguered organization with immediate effect. It was our 8-part special front-page series, titled Delayed Research Derailed Organisation in late 2006 which set the ball rolling. For starters, it compelled the government to set up a committee in February 2007, chaired by Former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Dr. P Rama Rao to review and suggest measures to improve the functioning of DRDO. After years of stiff resistance from some quarters in DRDO, the revamp plan has finally been pushed through.

A statement from the MoD today said, "To give a major boost to Defence Research in the country and to ensure effective participation of the private sector in Defence technology, the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today approved a series of measures that will transform and revitalise the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – in form and substance."
Read more:
Finally, Govt Orders Full Revamp Of DRDO, Formally Sanctions Mark-II Versions Of MBT Arjun & Akash SAM by Shiv Aroor
Thursday 13 May, 2010. Govt to set up new Defence Technology Commission- DD News

DRDO slippages are they frustrating Modernisation of the Armed Forces?

The following steps have been taken to strengthen the organisation:

Consortium approach has been used for design, development and fabrication of critical components.

Three-tier project monitoring approach is being followed in the major projects / programmes.

Project Monitoring Review Committee (PMRC); and Project Appraisal and Review Committee (PARC) meetings are held regularly to monitor the progress of the ongoing projects.

Concurrent engineering approach has been adopted in technology intensive projects to minimize time-lag between development and productionisation of the systems, and Information Technology and modern management techniques have been applied.

Participation of Services in all major programmes right from the beginning of the projects, etc.

Large number of R&D projects and research initiatives taken up with nearly 100 academic and other scientific establishments.

There are also international collaboration to fortify DRDO’s strength.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Mangani Lal Mandal and others in Lok Sabha today. Samir / RAJ
Restructuring Of DRDO: Major DRDO Projects / Programmes which are yet to be completed
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