💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

GS Paper: GS2

  • Caste Census and associated issues

    The Tamil Nadu government has decided to appoint a commission to formulate a methodology to collect caste-wise particulars of its population and use that to come up with a report.

    Q.India’s caste system is perhaps the world’s longest surviving social hierarchy. Critically analyse.

    The issue

    • The Centre conducted a ‘Socio-Economic Caste Census’ (SECC) in 2011 throughout the country, but it did not make public the caste component of the findings.
    • In Karnataka, the outcome of a similar exercise has not been disclosed to the public.

    Caste details as a part of the census

    • Caste was among the details collected by enumerators during the decennial Census of India until 1931.
    • It was given up in 1941, a year in which the census operation was partially affected by World War II.
    • In his report on the 1941 exercise, then Census Commissioner of India, M.W.M. Yeatts, indicated that tabulation of caste details separately involved additional costs.
    • However, at the time of sorting the details, some provinces or States that wanted a caste record for administrative reasons were given some data on payment.

    Issues with caste in the census

    • H. Hutton, the Census Commissioner in 1931, notes that on the occasion of each successive census since 1901, some criticism had been raised about taking any note of the fact of caste.
    • It has been alleged that the mere act of labelling persons as belonging to a caste tends to perpetuate the system.
    • Some argue that there is nothing wrong in recording a fact and ignoring its existence.

    View after Independence

    • The 1951 census did not concern itself with questions regarding castes, races and tribes, except insofar as the necessary statistical material related to ‘special groups’.
    • It created certain other material relating to backward classes collected and made over to the Backward Classes Commission.
    • ‘Special Groups’ has been explained as referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Anglo-Indians and certain castes treated provisionally as ‘backward’ for the purposes of the census.
    • This implies that BC data were collected, but not compiled or published.

    How have caste details been collected so far?

    • While SC/ST details are collected as part of the census, details of other castes are not collected by the enumerators.
    • The main method is by self-declaration to the enumerator.
    • So far, backward classes commissions in various States have been conducting their own counts to ascertain the population of backward castes.
    • The methodology may vary from State to State.

    What about SECC 2011?

    • The Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011 was a major exercise to obtain data about the socio-economic status of various communities.
    • It had two components: a survey of the rural and urban households and ranking of these households based on pre-set parameters, and a caste census.
    • However, only the details of the economic conditions of the people in rural and urban households were released. The caste data have not been released till now.
    • While a precise reason is yet to be disclosed, it is surmised that the data were considered too politically sensitive.
    • Fear of antagonizing dominant and powerful castes that may find that their projected strength in the population is not as high as claimed may be an important reason.

    Legal imperative for a caste count

    • The Supreme Court has been raising questions about the basis for reservation levels being high in various States.
    • In particular, it has laid down that there should be quantifiable data to justify the presence of a caste in the backward class list, as well as evidence of its under-representation in services.
    • It has also called for periodical review of community-wise lists so that the benefits do not perpetually go in favour of a few castes.

    Caste data for reservations

    • Legislators argue that knowing the precise number of the population of each caste would help tailor the reservation policy to ensure equitable representation of all of them.
    • While obtaining relevant and accurate data may be the major gain from a caste census, the possibility that it will lead to heartburn among some sections and spawn demands for larger or separate quotas.

  • New Parliament Building

    PM would on December 10 lay the foundation stone for the new Parliament building, which would be a symbol of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and a “temple of democracy” for Independent India.

    Try this MCQ first:

    Q.The architecture of the present Parliament House of India is inspired from:

    a) Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple

    b) Virupaksa Temple

    c) Dilwara Temples

    d) Brihaddeswara Temple

    The new Parliament Building

    • The building, to be constructed by Tata Projects Ltd. would have a built-up area of 64,500 square metres over four floors and would be built adjacent to the existing building over 22 months.
    • Artisans and sculptors from across the country would contribute to the new building, showcasing the diversity and making it a symbol of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
    • The building would have modern equipment, be earthquake-safe and accommodate up to 1,224 MPs during joint sessions in the Lok Sabha chamber.
    • The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers themselves would accommodate 888 and 384 MPs respectively.

    Issues with the old building

    • The existing British-built Parliament building, built in the 1920s, was designed for the Imperial Legislative Council and not for a bicameral Parliament.
    • The building has been modified over the years, including in 1956 when two floors were added.
    • While the number of Lok Sabha seats has remained 545 based on delimitation carried out on the basis of the 1971 Census, it is likely to increase after 2026 as the number of seats has been frozen till then.
    • The sources said the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha halls are packed and would not be able to accommodate additional seats when the number of seats goes up.

    Back2Basics: Parliament House (Sansad Bhavan)

    • The Sansad Bhavan is the seat of the Parliament of India. It houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha which represent lower and upper houses respectively in India’s bicameral parliament.
    • The existing building draws inspiration from Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple (in M.P.) and was built under the British empire for its Imperial Legislative Council in 1927.
    • The opening ceremony, which then housed the Imperial Legislative Council, was performed on 18 January 1927 by Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India.
    • Following the end of British rule in India, it was taken over by Constituent Assembly of India which was succeeded by the parliament of India once Constitution of India came into force in 1950.
    • In the 2010s, a proposal was introduced to revamp Central Vista and re-build or relocate a number of administrative buildings which initiated a program expecting completion in 2024.

    Architectural details:

    • Originally called the House of Parliament, it was designed by the British architects’ Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912-1913.
    • It was held as part of their wider mandate to construct a new administrative capital city for British India.
    • The perimeter of the building is circular, with 144 columns on the outside.
    • The building is surrounded by large gardens and the perimeter is fenced off by sandstone railings (jali).
    • Construction of the House began in 1921 and it was completed in 1927.

  • UN removes Cannabis from ‘Most Dangerous Drug’ Category

    The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, decades after they were first placed on the list.

    Q. Too much de-regulation of Cannabis could lead to its mass cultivation and a silent economy wreaking havoc through a new culture of substance abuse in India. Critically analyse.

    What is Cannabis?

    • Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used primarily for medical or recreational purposes.
    • The main psychoactive component of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD).
    • It is used by smoking, vaporizing, within the food, or as an extract.

    UN’s decision and India

    • Currently in India, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, illegalizes any mixture with or without any neutral material, of any of the two forms of cannabis – charas and ganja — or any drink prepared from it.
    • The WHO says that cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug in the world. But the UN decision could influence the global use of medicinal marijuana,
    • India was part of the voting majority, along with the US and most European nations.
    • China, Pakistan and Russia were among those who voted against, and Ukraine abstained.

    Cannabis in India

    In India, cannabis, also known as bhang, ganja, charas or hashish, is typically eaten (bhang golis, thandai, pakoras, lassi, etc.) or smoked (chillum or cigarette).

    Under international law

    • The Vienna-based CND, founded in 1946, is the UN agency mandated to decide on the scope of control of substances by placing them in the schedules of global drug control conventions.
    • Cannabis has been on Schedule IV–the most dangerous category– of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs for as long as the international treaty has existed.

    Fuss over Cannabis

    • Cannabis has various mental and physical effects, which include euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory and body movement, relaxation, and an increase in appetite.
    • But global attitudes towards cannabis have changed dramatically, with many jurisdictions permitting cannabis use for recreation, medication or both, despite it remaining on Schedule IV of the UN list.
    • Currently, over 50 countries allow medicinal cannabis programs, and its recreational use has been legalized in Canada, Uruguay and 15 US states.

    Impact of the decision

    • The reclassification of cannabis by the UN agency, although significant, would not immediately change its status worldwide as long as individual countries continue with existing regulations.
    • The decision would add momentum to efforts for decriminalizing cannabis in countries where its use is most restricted, while further legalizing the substance in others.
    • Scientific research into marijuana’s medicinal properties is also expected to grow.
    • Legalising and regulating cannabis will “undermine criminal markets” as well as its smuggling and cultivation.

    Risks of Legalizing Cannabis

    (1) Health risks continue to persist

    • There are many misconceptions about cannabis. First, it is not accurate that cannabis is harmless.
    • Its immediate effects include impairments in memory and in mental processes, including ones that are critical for driving.
    • Long-term use of cannabis may lead to the development of addiction of the substance, persistent cognitive deficits, and of mental health problems like schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
    • Exposure to cannabis in adolescence can alter brain development.

    (2) A new ‘tobacco’ under casualization

    • A second myth is that if cannabis is legalized and regulated, its harms can be minimized.
    • With legalization comes commercialization. Cannabis is often incorrectly advertised as being “natural” and “healthier than alcohol and tobacco”.
    • Tobacco, too, was initially touted as a natural and harmless plant that had been “safely” used in religious ceremonies for centuries.

    Way ahead

    • It’s important to make a distinction between legalization, decriminalization and commercialization.
    • While legalization and decriminalization are mostly used in a legal context, commercialization relates to the business side of things.
    • For India to liberalise its policy on cannabis, it should ensure that there are enough protections for children, the young, and those with severe mental illnesses, who are most vulnerable to its effects.

  • What are Municipal Bonds?

    Bonds issued by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It’s the ninth city in the country to raise capital through municipal bonds.

    Find out the rest eight cities issuing Municipal Bonds in India. Do let us know in the comment box.

    What are Municipal Bonds?

    • A municipal bond or muni bond is a debt instrument issued by municipal corporations or associated bodies.
    • These local governmental bodies utilise the funds raised through these bonds to finance projects for socio-economic development through building bridges, schools, hospitals, providing proper amenities to households, et al.
    • Such bonds come with a maturity period of three years, whereby municipal corporations provide returns on these bonds either from property and professional tax collected or from revenues generated from specific projects or both.
    • The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revised the guidelines related to the issuance of municipal bonds in 2015 in an attempt to enable ULBs or local government bodies to raise finances from such sources.
    • Following this measure, different cities have capitalized on the new guidelines to fund initiatives such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urbanisation Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission.

    Their types

    There are primarily two types of municipal bonds in India, categorised as per their usage. These are –

    (1) General Obligation Bonds

    • These are issued to raise finances for general projects such as improving the infrastructure of a region.
    • Repayment of the bond, along with interest, is processed through revenue generated from different projects and taxes.

    (2) Revenue Bonds

    • These are issued to raise finance for specific projects, such as the construction of a particular building.
    • Repayment of such bonds (principal and accrued interest) shall be paid through revenues explicitly generated from the declared projects.

    Advantages of such Bonds

    There are multiple advantages of investing in municipal bonds which include –

    (1)Transparency

    Municipal bonds that are issued to the public are rated by renowned agencies such as CRISIL, which allows investors transparency regarding the credibility of the investment option.

    (2)Tax benefits

    In India, municipal bonds are exempted from taxation if the investor conforms to certain stipulated rules. In addition to such conformation, interest rates generated on such investment tools are also exempt from taxation policy.

    (3) Minimal risk

    Municipal bonds are issued by municipal authorities, implying involvement of minimal risk with these securities.

    Their limitations

    The disadvantages of municipal bonds are enumerated below –

    (1) Long maturity period

    • Municipal bonds come with a lock-in period of three years, imposing a burden on the liquidity requirements of investors.

    (2) Low-interest rates

    • Even though interest rates on municipal bonds, in some cases, are higher than other debt instruments, these rates are considerably low when compared to returns from market-linked financial instruments such as equity shares.

  • Places in news: Bhashan Char Island

    Bangladesh has transported more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 1,00,000 people.

    Can you see, what the so-called champions of tolerance and human rights doing to the refugees in their own country!

    Bhashan Char Island

    • Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
    • Located 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the mainland, its name in Bengali means “floating island.”
    • The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
    • It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
    • In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
    • The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.

    Extraditing to another hell

    • Bhashan Char is a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.
    • The refugees had been coerced into going to this flood-prone island which is also vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
    • This compact island is too small to occupy and nurture the Rohingya population and there is chronic overcrowding in camps.

  • Personal choices, the Constitution’s endurance

    The order delivered by the Allahabad High Court underlines the most cherished values of our Constitution. The order examines the scope of individual choice and personal liberty on the touchstone of constitutional values.

    Background

    • The Allahabad High Court declared last month that religious conversions, even when made solely for the purposes of marriage, constituted a valid exercise of a person’s liberties.
    • The petitioners had approached the High Court seeking orders to quash a First Information Report (FIR) that was lodged against them.
    • The petitioners claimed that they were both adults competent to contract a marriage, and had, in fact, wedded in August 2019, as per Muslim rites and ceremonies, only after the girl had converted to Islam.
    • The State argued that petitioner’s partnership had no sanctity in the law, because a conversion with a singular aim of getting married was illegitimate.
    • In making this argument, the government relied on a pair of judgments of the Allahabad High Court, in particular on the judgment in Noor Jahan v. State of U.P. (2014).
    • There, the High Court had held that a conversion by an individual to Islam was valid only when it was predicated on a “change of heart” and on an “honest conviction” in the tenets of the newly adopted religion.
    • Additionally, the High Court had ruled that the burden to prove the validity of a conversion was on the party professing the act.

    Major takeaways from the High Court order

    • The Allahabad High Courtruled that the freedom to live with a person of one’s choice is intrinsic to the fundamental right to life and personal liberty.
    • It order recognises that a person’s freedom is not conditional on the caste, creed or religion that her partner might claim to profess.
    • And also that every person had an equal dominion over their own senses of conscience.
    • The High Court’s order makes it clear that it is neither the province of the state nor any other individual to interfere with a person’s choice of partner or faith.
    • By invoking the Supreme Court’s judgment in Puttaswamy, the High Court held that an individual’s ability to control vital aspects of her life inheres in her right to privacy.
    • Term privacy includes the preservation of decisional autonomy, on matters, among other things, of “personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home, and sexual orientation”.
    •  It Court that the judgment in Noor Jahan was incorrectly delivered.
    • Marriage, the High Court said, is a matter of choice, and every adult woman has a fundamental right to choose her own partner. 

    Freedom of conscience under Article 25

    • Article 25 of the Constitution expressly protects the choices that individuals make.
    • In addition to the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion, it guarantees to every person the freedom of conscience.
    • The idea of protecting one’s freedom of conscience goes beyond mere considerations of religious faith.

    Conclusion

    When we fail to acknowledge and respect the most intimate and personal choices that people make — choices of faith and belief, choices of partners — we undermine the most basic principles of dignity. Our Constitution’s endurance depends on our ability to respect these decisions, to grant to every person an equal freedom of conscience.

  • Issues related to disability

    Legal provisions not turning into reality through their implementation adds to the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities. The article deals with the idea of enabling persons with disability to contribute to society.

    Context

    • December 3 is the annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it is also a stark reminder of how far we in India need to go in meeting the needs of the disabled.

    Lack of implementation of provisions

    • The World Bank estimates that there may be well over 40 million Indians living with disabilities.
    • The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was passed in 2016 but our country is still largely devoid of ramps on its footpaths or government buildings.
    • The law promises them equality of opportunity and accessibility. Our practices deny them what the law promises.

    Challenges faced by persons with disabilities

    • Indians with disabilities are far more likely to suffer from poor social and economic development.
    •  45 per cent of this population is illiterate, making it difficult for them to build better, more fulfilled lives.
    • This is compounded by the community’s lack of political representation:
    • In our seven decades of independence, we have had just four parliamentarians and six state assembly members who suffer from visible disabilities.
    • This lack of representation, and these general attitudes, translate directly into policy that undermines the well-being of people with disabilities.
    •  Last year, for example, the government inexplicably decided to depart from convention and render people suffering from cerebral palsy ineligible for the Indian Foreign Service.

    Initiatives and steps taken by the government

    • The government has had some admirable initiatives to improve the lot of Indians with disabilities, such as the ADIP scheme for improving access to disability aids.
    • The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, or Accessible India Campaign, has aimed to make public transport, buildings and websites more accessible.
    • In 2017, the Mental Healthcare Act recognised and respected the agency of persons with mental-health conditions, expanding the presence of mental-health establishments across the country, restricted the harmful use of electroshock therapy, clarified the mental-health responsibilities of state agencies such as the police, and effectively decriminalised attempted suicide.
    •  In 2007, the UN passed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
    • India is a state party to the convention.

    Conclusion

    It is critical that the government work with civil society and individuals with disabilities to craft an India where everyone feels welcome and treated with respect, regardless of their disabilities. Only then can we welcome the next International Day of Persons with Disabilities without a sense of shame.

  • Implications of UP’s ‘love jihad’ ordinance for freedom of conscience

    The U.P. government’s ordinance seeking the prevention of illegal conversion has several provisions that go against the Constitution and restricts the freedom of conscience. 

    Objective of the ordinance

    • The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 seeks to prevent “love jihad” in the state
    • The ordinance makes it a criminal offence for a person to convert another by coercion, misrepresentation, fraud etc, which is unobjectionable.
    • A marriage solemnised for the “sole purpose” of unlawfully converting the bride or the groom is required to be declared void by the competent court.
    • There can be no objection to ordinance’s premise that converting somebody by fraud or misrepresentation is wrong.
    • In fact, though the members of the Constituent Assembly included the right to “propagate” one’s religion they considered it a “rather obvious doctrine” that this would not include forcible conversions.
    • However, the UP ordinance goes beyond this principle and does something quite strange.

    Unconstitutional provisions and issues with the ordinance

    1) Lack of clarity

    • The ordinance makes it a criminal offence to convert a person by offering her an “allurement”.
    • The term “allurement” is defined very broadly, to include even providing a gift to the person who is sought to be converted.
    • The use of the words “or otherwise” in the definition of allurement is puzzling.
    • The essential prerequisite of a criminal law is that it has to be precise.
    • A person cannot be put behind bars for doing something that a penal law does not clearly and unequivocally prohibit.
    • On this touchstone, the definition of “allurement” leaves much to be desired.

    2) Reconversion to a person’s previous religion is not illegal

    • It says that “reconversion” to a person’s previous religion is not illegal, even if it is vitiated by fraud, force, allurement, misrepresentation and so on.
    • In other words, if a person converts from Religion A to Religion B of her own volition, and is then forced to reconvert back to Religion A against her will, this will not constitute “conversion” under the ordinance at all.

    3) Unfairly treating all women in the same way

    • Illegal conversion under the ordinance attracts a punishment of 1-5 years in prison.
    • However, if the victim of the illegal conversion is a minor, a member of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or, strangely, a woman, the punishment is doubled — at 2-10 years behind bars.
    • In other words, it does not matter who the woman is, if somebody converts her against her will, the punishment can go up to 10 years in prison.
    • The ordinance unfairly paints all women with the same brush — assuming that all women are gullible, vulnerable and especially susceptible to illegal conversion.

    4) Buden of proof

    • The burden of proof in criminal cases is on the prosecution, and the presumption is that a person accused of committing an offence is innocent until proven guilty.
    • The Uttar Pradesh ordinance turns this rule on its head.
    • Every religious conversion is presumed to be illegal.
    • The burden is on the person carrying out the conversion to prove that it is not illegal.
    • The offence of illegal conversion is also “cognisable” and “non-bailable”, meaning that a police officer can arrest an accused without a warrant, and the accused may or may not be released on bail, at the discretion of the court.

    Time to revisit the past judgement

    • In Rev Stainislaus v State of Madhya Pradesh (1977), the Supreme Court held that the fundamental right to “propagate” religion does not include the right to convert a person to another religion.
    • In that case, the court had upheld anti-conversion statutes enacted by the states of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.

    Conclusion

    The ordinance puts an incredible chilling effect on the freedom of conscience and state must reconsider it.

  • Representation of Women in Judiciary

    Attorney-General has told the Supreme Court that more women judges in constitutional courts would certainly improve gender sensitivity in the judiciary.

    Q.Women judges could bring a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective of gender sensitivity in the judiciary. Discuss.

    Women in Judiciary: A dismal figure

    • The Supreme Court has only two women judges as against a sanctioned strength of 34 judges.
    • There has never been a female Chief Justice. This figure is consistently low across the higher judiciary.
    • There are only 80 women judges out of the sanctioned strength of 1,113 judges in the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
    • Only two of these 80 women judges are in the Supreme Court and the other 78 are in various High Courts, comprising only 7.2% of the number of judges.
    • There are six High Courts — Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna, Tripura, Telangana, and Uttarakhand — where there are no sitting women judges.

    A short timeline

    • The first female Judge appointed in Supreme Court was Justice M. Fathima Beevi from Kerala in 1987.
    • She was later followed by Justice Sujata V. Manohar from Maharashtra in 1994 and in the year 2000, Justice Ruma Pal was appointed from West Bengal.
    • And in the year 2010, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra from Bihar was appointed.
    • In 2014, Justice Ranjana Desai from Mumbai was appointed and currently, Justice R. Banumathi from Tamil Nadu is the only woman judge in Supreme Court.

    (Note: This data might be useful for State PSCs or other exams. UPSC aspirants need not remember this.)

    What did the A-G say?

    • Improving the representation of women could go a long way towards a more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving sexual violence.
    • Judges need to be trained to place themselves in the shoes of the victim of sexual violence while passing orders, said the AG.
    • There is a dearth of compulsory courses in gender sensitization in law schools.
    • Certain law schools have the subject either as a specialization or as an elective.

    Why need more women in Judiciary?

    • The entry of women judges into spaces from which they had historically been excluded has been a positive step in the direction of judiciaries being perceived as being more transparent, inclusive, and representative.
    • By their mere presence, women judges enhance the legitimacy of courts, sending a powerful signal that they are open and accessible to those who seek recourse to justice.
    • They could contribute far more to justice than improving its appearance: they also contribute significantly to the quality of decision-making, and thus to the quality of justice itself.
    • Women judges bring those lived experiences to their judicial actions, experiences that tend toward a more comprehensive and empathetic perspective.
    • By elucidating how laws and rulings can be based on gender stereotypes, or how they might have a different impact on women and men, a gender perspective enhances the fairness of the adjudication.

  • [pib] E-Sanjeevani Telemedicine Service

    In a landmark achievement, eSanjeevani, Health Ministry’s national telemedicine initiative today completed 9 lakh consultations.

    Although telemedicine brings with it many benefits, there are some downsides to it as well. Discuss.

    What is E-Sanjeevani?

    • Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched two variants of eSanjeevani namely – doctor to doctor (eSanjeevani AB-HWC) in the hub and spoke model and patient to doctor (eSanjeevaniOPD).
    • E-Sanjeevani OPD (out-patient department) is a telemedicine variant for the public to seek health services remotely; it was rolled out on 13th of April 2020 during the first lockdown in the country.
    • It enables virtual meetings between the patients and doctors & specialists from geographically dispersed locations, through video conferencing that occurs in real-time.
    • At the end of these remote consultations, eSanjeevani generates electronic prescriptions which can be used for sourcing medicines.
    • Andhra Pradesh was the first state to roll out eSanjeevani AB-HWC services in November 2019.

    Benefits of telemedicine

    Telemedicine benefits patients in the following ways:

    • Transportation: Patients can avoid spending gas money or wasting time in traffic with video consultations.
    • No missing work: Today, individuals can schedule a consultation during a work break or even after work hours.
    • Childcare/Eldercare Challenges: Those who struggle to find care options can use telemedicine solutions.