ADDRESS BY PROF. K. V. THOMAS, HON’BLE MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION, GOVT. OF INDIA AS GUEST-OF-HONOUR AT THE 64TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF INDIAN PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY AT COCHIN ON 19TH JANUARY, 2012:
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Shri Vayalar Ravi, Hon’ble Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri K. Babu, Hon’ble Minister for Excise and Ports, Government of Kerala, Dr. A.J. John, Chairperson, Organizing Committee, Dr. M. Thirunavukkarasu, the President of IPS, Dr. Kuruvilla Thomas, Organizing Secretary, Dr. Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, the incoming President of the IPS, Dr. Dinesh Bhugra, President-Elect, World Psychiatric Association, Dr. U.C. Garg, Honorary General Secretary of the IPS, friends from the media and ladies and gentlemen:

I am happy to be here amidst you at the 64th Annual National Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society in this beautiful city of Cochin which is hosting this Conference for the second time after 12 years. Shri Vayalar Ravi, my senior colleague, through his informative and educative inaugural address has brought to our attention the ills afflicting a society that is growing at a great speed but which also leaves back its trial of lifestyle deceases, the most important of them all, the mental illness. The days of ‘psychiatry’ being a subject of mysteries are long over. Psychiatry which at one point used to be in the grip of rituals and black magic based on superstition has come to be known now as a subject with wide ranging branches such as psychology, neuroscience, biochemistry and molecular biology.

Recently, I came across a news item on a study conducted on the elderly population of two Southern States, one of them being Kerala. The statistics that the study threw up made disturbing reading. The percentage of people afflicted with lifestyle diseases, according to the study, has been quite high. Although the diseases under the study were not related to mental illness, I was wondering if not these diseases would one day lead the suffering people to lose their mental balance. The cost involved in the treatment alone would make one go crazy affecting their behavioral, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities. The experts would agree that in addition to genetic dispositions, environmental stressors trigger mental disorders.

I am not an authority on the subject and so I cannot go into the details of the problem. It is for the experts from diverse areas of psychiatry to interact, deliberate and come out with appropriate solutions to the problem of mental illnesses. But as a common man, it concerns me a lot – because of the cost and the loss of manpower involved. The challenges are even greater for a developing country like ours where economic and social changes are occurring at a rapid pace.
It is scary to know that as per W.H.O., mental illnesses are a major problem and out of 10 major illnesses ranked on the basis of disability-adjusted life years, five are mental illnesses. As I said earlier, from a child afflicted with a mental illness which may be genetic, to the middle-aged experiencing depression, to the elderly suffering from dementia, all lead to drain of money and manpower. As a country with an ever increasing population, mental illnesses are tend to grow and surely will be a major health issue in the times to come. While measures of governance may take care of creation of medical infrastructure, both in terms of allocation of sufficient budgets and creation of medical facilities and personnel, increase in research and development in the area of psychiatry is an important area that we all must pay special attention to.

I am sure the Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society will be a challenging platform for the experts in the field to go deeper into the mysterious field of psychiatry through knowledgeable interaction with one another. It is absolutely essential that Psychiatrics keep themselves abreast of the latest developments in their field as they emerge throughout the globe so that as we strive to become one of the tallest nations of the world, we do not create among us a population, young, middle and old, that are bruised and unattended to just because they have been the unintended victims of a fast pace of life.

The task is a sensitive and delicate one; but I am fully confident that organization of conferences such as this one will definitely help us understand the intricacies of psychiatry and come up with cost-effective medical solutions that can be applied for giving relief to the people of the country. I convey my congratulations to the organizers of the Conference and hope the Indian Psychiatric Society will, through their collective efforts, do all that they can in contributing in their own way to the well-being of the society. I have great pleasure in releasing the souvenir of the Indian Psychiatric Society on the occasion.

JAI HIND!

Speech at inauguration of 1st meet of the National Energy Parliament (India) at Priyadarsini Planetarium Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram – 30.12.2011 – 5 PM to 7 PM:


Padmanabhadasa Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja of Travancore, Jagad Guru Swami Isa, Shri V.S. Sivakumar, Hon’ble Minister for Devaswom, Shri Ramesh Chennithala, Shri Binoy Vishwam, social activists and other dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen:

It gives me immense pleasure to be amongst you all on the occasion of the 1st meet of the National Energy Parliament being organized by the Isa Viswa Prajnana Trust (IVPT), where we are going to deliberate on the need for ensuring a self-sustaining, peaceful existence of mankind. There is no doubt, that the IVPT, under the divine leadership of Swami ji Isa, well-known for popularizing a new social philosophy for human action and engaged in community activities for betterment of society is the most ideal organization to undertake this unique exercise. The importance of bringing about a reform in the individual through increased scientific awareness about our most basic nature, which is the motto behind the Global Energy Parliament, needs to be realized now more than ever. We know that all our religious scriptures and philosophers proclaim brotherhood. Our ancient ‘sama veda’ advocates knowing oneself as the ultimate aim of human life. Socrates’ guiding rule was “know thyself.” Jesus Christ said “heal thyself” in Luke 4:23.

Religions, different they may be, lead us to the same Highness. We are moving towards an era of increasingly borderless culture and global concerns. Therefore, it has become all the more important now than ever before that, we as citizens of the global village understand the divinity that resides in each one of us so that no one considers oneself either superior or inferior to others. When this divinity is understood then what pervades the universe will be simple love and nothing else. Where there is love, there will be no hatred; peace ultimately comes to occupy the place full of love and understanding. One can never be unhappy when one identifies oneself as a part of this cosmic dance.

As we gather here, not as persons belonging to different divisions, but simply as brothers and sisters, with just love and understanding to accompany us, we can feel vibrations around here that are soothing.

I am thankful to the organizers of the Meet for having given me this opportunity to feel the peace which only such get-togethers can guarantee. I am sure attempts like this will provide us with an opportunity to know one another well without inhibitions and prejudices. Only then can we be able to pass on the universe as has been given to us by our forefathers to our future generations with the care that it deserves. I congratulate the organizers on the Meet and hope that each one of us will grow richer with the deliberations.

LET PEACE PREVAIL!

JAI HIND

BIS 20th BOARD MEETING IN NEW DELHI

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BY PROF. K. V. THOMAS, HON’BLE MINISTER OF STATE (I/C) CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION, GOVT. OF INDIA AND PRESIDENT OF THE BUREAU INDIAN STANDARDS on 17.1.2012 in New Delhi.
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Members of the BIS and distinguished invitees consisting of Hon’ble Members of Parliament; Ministers of the State Governments and representatives of various stakeholder organizations, Shri Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, Consumer Affairs; Shri Pankaj Agrawala, Additional Secretary, Consumer Affairs; Shri Sharad Gupta, Director General, BIS; senior officials from the Ministry and the BIS, friends from the media and ladies and gentlemen:


I am happy to be here amidst you to preside over the Twentieth meeting of the Bureau. Today, as you are all aware, India is an important player in the global market and Indian industry is a major contributor to India’s visibility on the international trading scene. However, our country has to play a more prominent role in the present world scenario of greater international competitiveness. For this purpose, it is important that all efforts should be made by manufacturers to adhere to the prescribed standards, i.e., national or international standards, as applicable, so that the consumers of Indian products have confidence in the products they purchase. This will not only help in building our national image overseas but also assure quality goods to consumers.


Keeping this in view, the Bureau of Indian Standards, the national standards body of the country, has taken a number of steps to meet the emerging challenges through its manifold activities in the field of standardization and quality certification of goods and services.


BIS is formulating Indian Standards in line with the national priorities in a time bound manner and has formulated over 18,600 Indian standards on diverse subjects, ranging from food, chemicals, engineering, textiles, to high technological areas of electronics etc. These standards are formulated through a network of technical committees comprising different stakeholders like representatives from industry, research and development organizations, consumers, testing and lab experts, government etc. Standards undergo periodic review and up-gradation, keeping in view consumer needs, health and safety aspects, environmental protection and the latest technological developments.


In the present era of the WTO, the national standards play a vital role. As per WTO-TBT agreement, to which India is also a signatory, the technical regulations are normally required to be based on international standards. Therefore, Indian Standards, where feasible, should be harmonized with International Standards. This requires proactive approach on the part of BIS to actively participate in the technical committees of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) so that the interests of Indian industry as well as consumers are well protected during the process of standard setting by these organizations. To enhance participation of experts representing technical/scientific organizations and members of BIS technical committees in international standardization Government of India has provided funds through Plan Scheme on National System of Standardization. Such participation by BIS in the development of International Standards helps in promoting and safeguarding the nation’s interests.


I am happy to inform that BIS is an active and prominent member of ISO. BIS, after a span of 47 years, once again hosted the General Assembly of the ISO at New Delhi in September, 2011, which earned international acclaim. 378 delegates from 125 countries and international organizations participated in the General Assembly. BIS, India got elected as one of the Members of ISO Council, the apex body of ISO, for a two year term, i.e., 2012-13.


BIS is also playing an active role in the activities of IEC. It is also a matter of pride for us that BIS will be hosting the Annual IEC General Meeting in October 2013 in New Delhi. It is expected that representatives from a large number of member-countries of IEC will participate in the meetings.


To have an effective voice in various international standardization fora, it is necessary that BIS also actively participates in regional body meetings on Standardization and Conformity Assessment. In this regard, BIS has participated in the meetings of SAARC Standards Coordination Board (SSCB), including the eighth meeting of SSCB organized at Kathmandu, Nepal in August 2011 and the first meeting of the Governing Board of South Asia Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) in Dhaka in December 2011.


Consumers need quality products and services. BIS is conscious of its role in this regard and is operating certification schemes for products as well as management systems. The Product Certification Scheme is basically voluntary and around 25,000 licenses covering about 1,000 products are in operation. However, in public interest, the Central Government has notified 83 articles for mandatory conformance to the relevant Indian Standard. These products normally relate to health and safety of the consumers and include packaged drinking water, LPG cylinders, clinical thermometers, cement, milk powder, etc.


Another important area, where BIS needs to strengthen its activities, is Hallmarking of Gold and Silver Jewellery / artefacts. We know that Gold has always occupied a special place in the Indian households. For ensuring that the consumer gets value for money, and is not cheated by unscrupulous manufacturers, the Hallmarking Scheme was launched by BIS in April 2000. The Scheme provides third party assurance to consumers on the purity of gold jewellery or its fineness. The Scheme for Hallmarking of Silver Jewellery/ artefacts was launched in October 2005. The Hallmarking Scheme is operated through the network of regional and branch offices of BIS all over the country.


I am happy to note that for giving focused publicity on Hallmarking, “Hallmarking Awareness Weeks” have been organized in different regions of the country. “Hallmarking Awareness Week” has been organized in Kerala in July 2011, in the states covered under Western, Eastern and Northern Regional Offices in September 2011, November 2011 and December 2011, respectively. During these weeks, jewellers’ awareness programmes, training programmes for artisans and training programmes for assaying and hallmarking personnel were organized in different parts of the region and wide publicity in regional languages through regional print and electronic media was made.


BIS also operates Management Systems Certification Schemes for Quality, Environment, Food Safety, Occupational Health and Safety of employees in an organization.


Another major challenge consists of sustaining and improving the quality of services. With the advent of strong consumer movement in India and consumers becoming increasingly aware of their rights, greater need is being felt for more transparency and accountability in the delivery of public services. Keeping this in view, Bureau of Indian Standards has formulated an Indian Standard, namely, IS 15700: 2005 “Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Service quality by Public Service Organizations.”


Many Government departments, including Income Tax department, Central Excise and Custom department, Postal department, Central Schools and various departments of State Governments are in the process of implementing this Indian Standard. With this end in view, BIS, under 11th plan scheme on Consumer Education & Training, HRD and Capacity Building, has conducted over forty training programmes on IS 15700, for officials of various government departments like Customs and Central Excise, Income Tax Department, All India Radio, Doordarshan, etc., in which over 1500 officials of these organizations were trained.


I extend my personal welcome to the members of the Bureau and invite them to actively participate in the deliberations of this Twentieth Bureau Meeting.

JAI HIND!