Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Monday 14 November 2016

BANMALI is the TOTAL SOLUTION



Following news report appeared in Economic Times ( Nov 05 , 2016 ) :



" Nutrition in Sachets: Minister's Answer to Malnourishment "

Some parts of the report reads :

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Union minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi wants to put an end to children consuming empty calories. Instead, she wants them to consume calories rich in nutrition, and her ministry wants to have sachets containing 600-1000 calories of nutrition for children.

The plan, brainchild of Gandhi, suggests that the central government will supply the nutrients list and the state(s) can have them made. The sachet will bear the Government of India's stamp.

" No monitoring systems have been developed in 40 years and there has been no reporting..production and distribution should be kept separate “, reads the ministry's note

The ministry plans to kick off the Nutrition Mission by December 2016. As for anganwadi women, it suggests that since they will “in effect be irrelevant to the food distribution system“ they can be “moved to government schools for pre-school education which is now severely lacking “.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is one more example of NDA ministers , listening to the suggestions sent by ordinary citizens - and acting upon the same , if found good


Dear  Madam  Maneka  Gandhi :


While congratulating you on this  LIFE SAVING  initiative ( - equal in importance to abolition of Black Money ) , I urge you to consider my following suggestion in its totality ( sent to you and other NDA ministers through email ( ' gandhim@sansad.nic.in' ) on 30 June 2016 :

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saving  1.2  million  Kids


Monday / 27 June :

Shri Amitabh Kant , CEO -NITI Aayog , holds a consultation meeting with experts , Ministries and State departments on ,

" National Nutrition Policy  / India's Malnutrition : A Call for Action "

Tuesday / 28 June :

UNICEF releases a report which says, in India , 1.2 million kids ( under age 5 ) died in 2015 , due to " preventable " causes

Even though the eventual manifestation could well be pneumonia / diarrhea / sepsis etc , the root cause is starvation ( - although , to remain politically correct , UNICEF uses the term " malnutrition " ! )

That is 3288 kids daily - 137 kids per hour !

This need not come as a shock , despite the fact that the Integrated Child Development Scheme - ICDS - was launched in India , as far back as 1975

In 2013 , a CAG report had criticized the Women and Child Development Ministry ( which is piloting the ICDS ), for diverting ICDS funds !

CAG further pointed out that the State Governments had diverted Rs 57.82 crore from ICDS to other activities !

Finding faults will not save these kids !

There are 74 millions of them in the age group of 3-6

 Of these , 54 million go to schools , where , I presume they get some nutrition thru Mid-Day meals , even with all the associated deficiencies and corruption scandals !


That leaves 20 million who do not go to school , hopelessly mal-nourished

How can we ensure that they get some nutritious food every day ?


If there is a will , there is a way - the following way :

FOOD

    India's own " Energy Bar "  ( a Chikki ) , made of a protein-rich mixture of Peanuts + Jagerry ( 50 gms )

    Call it NEUTRA-KID ( - may be our Food Research Institute can come up with a better product )


 #  PACKING

    Eco friendly paper wrapper and paper boxes

  
MANUFACTURERS

    FSSAI  approved units located in  Food Parks  planned by Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal , Minister for Food

     1000 Food Processing Units , each producing 20,000  NEUTRA-KID  bars per day and delivering to 100 nearby post offices ( for 20 million kids )


 
 #  DELIVERY POINTS

    1.45 lakh post offices of India Post . May be they can pick-up / collect their daily consignments from Units

  
TECHNOLOGY

     *  Each NEUTRA-KID bar wrapper will have a bar-code ( till such time inserting RFID sensors become a reality )

      *  Bar code will carry all normal instructions + Delivery Destination ( Post Office )

      *  Each NEUTRA-KID bar will pass thru a Bar Code Reader on the Assembly Line , before dispatch

      *  Info collected thru this reader will get transmitted to the Central Server of concerned Ministries

      *  After taking his / her weight and entering in a online Database , hosted on the Central Server of the concerned Ministries, each targeted child will get registered at the nearest Post Office

      *  Each registered child will be issued a blue tooth enabled Smart phone, duly pre-installed with a Mobile App called " BANMALI " ( Banish Malnutrition in India ) , in which Child's data / Aadhar No will be entered

     *  Every day , the concerned child ( and parent ) will visit the post office to collect the NEUTRA-KID  bar

      *  Before handing over bar, child will be weighed on a weighing machine and the weight entered in BANMALI

         The weight record graph will appear on the screen of the PC located at the Post Office ( Blue Tooth )

      *  This record will also get transmitted ( of course , automatically ) to the COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE where the concerned child is " registered " ( this will be compulsory in order to be eligible for this Scheme )

      *  Every time , a child is taken for his/her monthly HEALTH CHECK UP ( also compulsory in order to receive next month's NEUTRA-KID bars ) , concerned doctor will examine the child and enter his findings in BANMALI

        Doctor will be required to enter medicines prescribed as also , increase / decrease in the QUOTA of NEUTRA- KID bars recommended for the next month

   All of these data will get relayed to the Central Servers of the concerned Ministries



As to the roles to be played by various agencies involved , I conceptualize as follows :

WOMEN  and  CHILD  DEVELOPMENT  MINISTRY :

#   Preparation of overall Policy and Procedures

#   Laying down of targets for each agency

#   Preparing and Monitoring Project Implementation

#   Making available funds to various agencies ( Rs 5 per bar = Rs 10 cr per day for 20 million kids )

#   Creating / hosting IT Infrastructure and disbursement of hardware / software / weighing scales / phones etc

#   Publishing on its web site , " Targets Vs Actual Achievement " graphs , every quarter


FOOD  MINISTRY

#   Laying down Nutrition Specifications for  NEUTRA-KID  bars

#   Selecting / approving Food Processing Units

#   Place purchase orders using Auction process / making payments thru UPI ( Universal Payment Interface )

#   Ensuring timely delivery to 1.45 lakh post offices

#   Ensuring Quality through SGS



POST OFFICES

#   After thorough scrutiny / verification , to register under-nourished kids . Central
    Database will ensure that there is no duplication ( same child registering at more than
    one post office )
   
#   Receive / Store / Distribute the NEUTRA-KID  bars to registered kids , as per direction of
     doctor at Community Health Centre
   

#   Enter all data in BANMALI mobile app of each child and sync it with post office server ,
     connected to Central Servers
   

#   At the end of the day , enter DAILY TRANSACTION DATA ( Receipts / Disbursement /
     Balance ) in server


COMMUNITY  HEALTH  CENTERS

#   Resident doctor to examine each registered ( and eligible ) child , once a month and
     prescribe ( into BANMALI ) medicines / next month's bar-quota

     Medicines to be handed out ( Free ) , on the spot ( no visit to chemist )
  
#    All these data to be entered into BANMALI ( and then synced with server of Health
      Centre )

     In turn , all these data will get transmitted to Central Servers of concerned Ministries

If there is a way to physically move the COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE CENTRES into the premises of nearby Post Office , that would save a lot of hassle to the parents / kids


You will notice that my proposal tightly integrates ALL the concerned Agencies through internet enabled hardware and a SINGLE / COMMON software database , which not only prevents any " Benefit Leakages " but broadcasts actual " Achievements " ( Weight gain / Reduced Mortality ) , instantaneously / automatically / transparently


I hope the concerned Ministers and Secretaries and Shri Amitabh Kant , will debate my proposal

It is quite likely that they may improve upon it


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

15  Nov  2016


www.hemenparekh.in / blogs



No comments:

Post a Comment