A scheme to provide free treatment to road accident victims for the first 48 hours in the nearest government or private hospital was launched by Karnataka government here today.
The scheme, 'Mukhyamantri Santwana Harish Yojana,' has been named after Harish Nanjappa who donated his eyes moments before his death even as he lay severely injured seeking help after a mishap in the city last month.
Under the scheme, immediate medical relief would be provided to the victim during the "Golden Hour" with financial aid up to Rs 25,000 during the first 48 hours of treatment.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who launched the scheme, said whenever accident happens, people should show at least basic sense of humaneness of calling ambulance, informing police and comforting the affected person.
He said in many accident cases involving two wheelers, bicycles or pedestrians, it was the poor and middle class who suffer and it was therefore incumbent on the government to come to their help.
Siddaramaiah paid tributes to 23-year old Nanjappa, whose body was cut in half after a truck hit his motorcycle and ran over him here and who in dying moments told paramedics shifting him to hospital to harvest his organs and donate them to the needy.
Grief-stricken mother of Nanjappa Geetha said nobody should suffer the fate his son did and thanked government for naming the scheme after him.
About 200 hospitals have been empanelled for the scheme for which Rs 10 crore had been earmarked in 2015-16.
The Health Department has requested the Chief Minister to provide Rs 75 crore in the 2016-17 Budget, according to Health Minister U T Khader.
Besides, Rudy said the Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship will shortly sign MoUs with Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation to harness the existing infrastructure of Airports Authority of India and other bodies.
The minister said the government is looking to introduce a Bill to provide statutory status to the National Skills Qualification Framework in the monsoon session of Parliament.
"In the next session of Parliament hopefully we will be able to bring in a legislation to provide statutory status to National Skills Qualification Framework," Rudy said.
He stated that 18 lakh youths have already enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in last eight months.
Rudy added that the government has partnered with World Bank to upgrade industrial training in the country.
This entails Skill Training for Employability Leveraging Public Private Partnership (STELPPP) with the proposed assistance of USD 1 billion from World Bank and Skill Training for Industries Value Enhancement (STRIVE) with an estimated cost of USD 537.50 million.
The minister said the formation of the National Skill Certification Board is another big step in further strengthening the skill ecosystem. It will see representation from both government and industry, which will collectively enable a joint framework for quality skill assessment.
He said with the implementation of common norms with effect from April 1, 2016, there will be more synergies that will be seen across ministries, departments and states on skill development.
