Books and Authors - Current Affairs for June, 2017

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Venkaiah Naidu launched a book which explained how emergency is the Darkest Hour of Indian history and there is a need for systematic documentation of the emergency to make younger generation aware of its ill effects on our country.

The book launch was organised as part of the day-long convention organized to mark the anniversary of the Emergency by Megh Nirghosh Media today in Ahmedabad.

The freedom of speech and expression ensured in our Constitution comes with responsibility. He said the real essence of democracy lies in people’s participation.

Gujarat from where the Navnirman Movement emerged during emergency was followed by efforts by Sarvodaya, Rashtriy Swayam Sevak Sangh in restoring the democracy in the country.

Emergency: Know More

• In India, "the Emergency" refers to a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country.
• Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352(1) of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977.
• The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed.
• For much of the Emergency, most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored.
• The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.
• Documents that have surfaced over the past few years indicate that Indira Gandhi had planned to impose the emergency only temporarily for some time till the violence that was erupting in the country had subsided.

The Ministry of Tourism has released the ‘Compendium on Guidelines for Ayush Facilities’ on June 21, 2017.

The National Medical & Wellness Tourism Board under the chairmanship of Minister for Tourism Dr. Mahesh Sharma has been repeatedly stressing on the need for benchmarking of facilities offered by the various service providers in the field of Medical and Wellness Tourism on the basis of globally accepted standards.

The constant endeavour of the Ministry of Tourism has been to promote institutions and processes that have achieved such standards in order to provide excellence in service quality.

On the demand from the industry and stakeholders including Ministry of Tourism; the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has brought out accreditation standards and guidelines for AYUSH facilities in the country including Wellness Centres and Panchkarma clinics that are used by tourists.

The compendium includes accreditation available for the following facilities:

• Ayurveda Hospitals
• Yoga and Naturopathy Hospitals
• Unani Hospitals
• Sidha Hospitals
• Homeopathy Hospitals
• Panchkarma Clinics
• Wellness Centres

The accreditation against globally benchmarked standards would help the industry in providing uniform level of service quality.

The Ministry of Tourism provides Market Development Assistance (MDA) to Wellness Tourism Service Providers like Hospitals accredited by National Accreditation Board of Hospitals (NABH) and Medical Tourism facilitators (Travel Agents/Tour Operators engaged in Medical Tourism and approved by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for participation in events related to promotion of Medical and Wellness Tourism outside India.

The accredited service providers are also listed on the Ministry of Tourism website and in the Incredible India campaign which has a global reach.

This would help potential visitors to have knowledge about the institutions that have been accredited and would follow the quality standards.

The details of the accreditation standard are available on Ministry of Tourism’s website www.incredibleindia.org.

World over, holistic and alternative healthcare systems are gaining popularity due to the fact that many diseases are lifestyle related.

India has a rich heritage of medical wisdom that prevailed as Ayurveda and Siddha coupled the practice of Yoga that provides well-being for the Body, Mind and Soul.

Unani and Homeopathy with their roots outside India have also gained popularity here.

Today, due to advancement in ease and speed of travel, more and more people are travelling in search of better quality, affordable and timely healthcare and wellness options.

The Wellness Tourism industry globally is expected to reach 678 billion US Dollars by 2017 and it is one of the most important tourism products for India.

A book titled Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature authored by Jairam Ramesh was released on 10 June 2017 at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in New Delhi.

The book was launched by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the presence of former ministers, bureaucrats and environmentalists.

The first copy of the book, published by Simon & Schuster, was presented to the Congress President, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former minister Karan Singh and Priyanka Gandhi.

The book talks about Indira Gandhi’s life-long communion with nature and how that defined her very being.

In the book, Ramesh goes on to explain why and how she came to make a private passion a public calling; how her views on the environment remained steadfast even as her political and economic stances changed; how her friendships with conservationists led to far-reaching decisions to preserve India’s biodiversity, among other incidences.

The book offers a lively, conversational narrative of a relatively little known but fascinating aspect of Indira Gandhi’s tumultuous life.

Jairam Ramesh: Know More

• Born on 9 April 1954, Jairam Ramesh is an Indian economist and politician belonging to Indian National Congress.
• He has been serving as a Member of Parliament representing Andhra Pradesh state in the Rajya Sabha since June 2004.
• From May 2009 to July 2011, he served as the Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests.