Puducherry, June 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said the government is proposing a new National Urban Health Mission to focus on the health challenges of people in towns and cities while it would continue the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) for another five years. Delivering his address at the third convocation of the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) here, Singh said: "Our government has decided to continue the National Rural Health Mission for the next five years. We are now proposing a new National Urban Health Mission in order to focus on the health challenges in our towns and our cities." Referring to NRHM introduced seven years back with the challenges of high mortality rates of infants, pregnant women and where two thirds of health expenditure is met by people, Singh expressed satisfaction that "the scheme has shown that health indicators can be improved with concerted focus on public health systems at primary and secondary levels". "Infant and maternal mortality rates have fallen and institutional deliveries have increased. But much more needs to be done and there is a large unfinished agenda of providing affordable healthcare for all our people," he remarked. According to the prime minister, the challenge for policy makers in India is ensuring the proper development of various segments in the healthcare system. He said in India both public and private sector is present in the health sector and he is hopeful of launching a unified National Health Mission. Citing the shortage of doctors and para medical personnel in the country, he said the shortfall is acute in rural and more particularly in north, central and eastern regions of India. "The centre and the state governments, particularly state governments of the under-served regions, need to put their heads together, prepare strategies and implement urgent measures to remedy the situation," he urged. On the issue of medical education quality, Singh said "the perception of deterioration cannot be allowed to persist and there should be a credible regulatory and institutional mechanism to develop standards". Calling for "a serious look at the medical education curriculum to turn out doctors who look at health in a holistic manner beyond clinical and technology driven approach", he added that the education of health professionals too must be transformed in precept and practice. "Interdisciplinary learning and health system connectivity should,therefore, become the hallmarks of contemporary medical education. Apart from the study of health and disease, knowledge of health economics, ethics, patient rights, behaviour change communication and information technology should inform and influence the design and delivery of our healthcare systems," Singh said. According to him, "medical education should be reconfigured to produce a technically competent, socially sensitive, ethically correct and ready to serve health professional who can respond to the diverse demands of India's growing health needs". He said the Medical Council of India is in the process of revising the MBBS curriculum and incorporating training in Community Medicine at all levels and also rationalised norms for new medical colleges so that new colleges are opened all over the country. "Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, construction of 6 AIIMS-like institutions at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh is in full swing. The medical colleges are expected to be functional from the academic session 2012-13 and the hospitals by 2013-14," Singh said. Extending the centre's help to develop Puducherry into a hub for higher and professional education, Singh urged the Puducherry government to work with the central Tourism Ministry to explore the possibilities of developing responsible and eco-friendly tourism.

Puducherry, June 29 (IANS) The events in the eurozone should not affect the attempts to build a South Asian union although the financial and economic crisis gripping Europe in recent years has important lessons for South Asian countries, said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday at Unesco Madanjeet Singh Institute for South Asia Regional Cooperation in Puducherry. "The events in the eurozone should not cast a shadow over our own efforts at building unity and eventually a South Asian union. If anything, we have not been ambitious enough in working towards building a united South Asia where each of our countries seeks its economic and social salvation through cooperative development within the region and by leveraging each other's strengths," Singh said. Stating that the financial and economic crisis that has gripped Europe in the recent years has important lessons and implications for South Asian nations, Singh said: "The economic and political rise of post-War Europe was in no small measure due to the vision of thinkers like George Marshall and Jean Monnet. They believed that a stable, prosperous and united Europe was good for the world." "That is as true today as it was then. I sincerely hope that the leaders of Europe will find in them the imagination and wisdom to preserve the European project that has served as a guiding light to regional cooperation elsewhere in the world, including South Asia," Singh added. He said creative and talented men and women should pool their wisdom and work to remove the mental and other road blocks that are preventing the people of South Asia from realising their true destiny. Stressing India's commitment to the idea of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Singh said it was a genuine desire among South Asian leaders to write a new chapter in the history of this organisation. Expressing happiness at some of the recent initiatives like the starting of the South Asia University in New Delhi, Singh said the SAARC Development Fund has become operational and has started implementing projects under its social window. Singh called for closer cooperation among South Asian countries to critically understand issues relating to food, energy and water security, disaster management health and education and address them from a holistic and regional perspective. Referring to the lagging connectivity, Singh said India is fully committed to building a better connected SAARC as a strong and effective instrument for regional cooperation.

Pondicherry, May 29 (IANS) Local star Linda Rangarajan with 9.0 points emerged champion in the third KACC International FIDE Rating chess tournament (below 2200) here Tuesday.

Pondicherry, May 28 (IANS) Delhi junior boys roared past Rajasthan 70-53 to enter the quarterfinals of the 63rd National Basketball Championship here Monday. Rakesh with 25 points played the lead role for Delhi who led 34-26 at half time and hung on to the advantage in the face of a spirited fightback by Rajasthan in the second session

Pondicherry, May 28 (IANS) Local star L.

Pondicherry, May 27 (IANS) B Kumaran, a class 9 student of Chennai's Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, overcame S Jayakumar to join the leaders with 4.0 points after the fourth round of the third KACC International FIDE Rating chess tournament (Below 2200) here Sunday.

Puducherry, May 24 (IANS) Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh boys recorded two victories as did Haryana and Jharkhand in the girls section in the preliminary league of the 63rd National basketball championship for juniors here Thursday. The results (preliminary league): BOYS - Group A: Chhattisgarh 75 (Shyam Sunde 15, Ajay Pratap Singh 14) beat Maharashtra 56 (Saleem Malik 14, Melvin Rego 12).

Pondicherry, May 23 (IANS) On a day of mostly one-sided matches, Punjab struggled to beat Madhya Pradesh 56-53 in the boys league of the 63rd National basketball championship for juniors here Wednesday. After trailing 24-38 at half-time, Madhya Pradesh turned in a fighting performance in the second session, but ran out of time as Punjab grimly hung on to their fast depleting lead to emerge victors.