Mathur Ritika Passi

transit and trafficking routes. The Indian
government identifies the following as
high-risk groups: Commercial sex workers,
transportation workers, street children, and
people living in the northeastern states/border
areas and opium-growing regions of the
country.
India’s approach to the problem of substance
abuse is collaborative in nature. The Scheme
for Prohibition and Drug Abuse Prevention
under the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment assists close to 400 voluntary
organisations inmaintainingmore than
400 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for
Addicts. The National Centre for Drug Abuse
Prevention under the National Institute of
Social Defence manages training, research
and documentation in the field of drug abuse
prevention. All other concerned ministries are
integrated for supplementing the initiatives
taken by one another. India has also engaged
in international collaborations with, for
instance, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
and the International Labour Organization,
to address for preventive measures and issue
of rehabilitation.
Target 3.6
As per the World Bank, with more than
200,000 annual fatalities, India’s contribution
to global traffic deaths stands at 15%. While
it is in line with India’s proportion to global
population, the numbers are still worrying.
The new draft Road Transport and Safety
Bill, 2014, aims to make Indian roads safer
by increasing penalties for violations and
mandating stringent action against violators.
Additionally, the government is mulling over
constituting a Highway Traffic Regulation
and Protection Force. A motor accident
fund has also been proposed for providing
mandatory insurance to all road users. In
addition to these steps, an all-India road
accident emergency telephone number is
also in the pipeline. With road fatalities and
injuries being included in the SDGs, efforts
in this direction are expected to be intensified
and integrated with other initiatives.
Maintenance of risky roads in urban and
rural areas is likely to be taken more seriously
under the various road building schemes.
Target 3.7
For the twin purpose of tackling the problem
of population growth and sexual and
reproductive health, the Government of
India has established an autonomous body
called Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (National
Population Stabilisation Fund). Its helpline
provides confidential counselling services
and addresses callers’ concerns on sexual and
reproductive health.
Experts have given recommendations
for linking all existing programmes
and initiatives dealing with sexual and
reproductive health, replicating the
HIV, Malaria and TB model, for better
implementation and closer monitoring. 14
Target 3.8
The PMSSY, in three phases, will see
the establishment of eight new All India
Institutes of Medical Sciences-like facilities
and upgradation of 29 existing medical
colleges. This will bring India close to
the target of universal health coverage
by addressing regional and economic
imbalances. Furthermore, mobile healthcare
units in collaboration with private sector/
non-governmental organisations have been
bringing basic medical facilities to the
doorsteps of needy sections of society.
As India gears up to provide affordable and
timely healthcare to its every citizen, another
key initiative helping towards this objective
is the Jan Aushadhi scheme, whose aim is
to provide low-cost generic drugs. During
the first phase of the initiative, 504 essential
medicines will be sold in the retail market
at low prices in a bid to lessen the financial
burden on patients and their families. In
another important policy intervention,
the government provides health insurance
services to each and every citizen of the
country. Insurance initiatives—like Rashtriya
Swasthiya Bima Yojana (which provides
health coverage to Below Poverty Line, or
BPL, families); Employment State Insurance
Scheme for the working population; Central
Government Health Scheme for Central
government employees; Aam Admi Bima
Yojna, a social security scheme for rural
landless households under 46 occupational
groups, including landless farmers; and
the Universal Health Insurance Scheme for
poor families—aim at taking the burden of
treatment off the shoulders of the diseased
and distressed.
Target 3.9
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