YK MYK INDIA LOOKS LIKE THE NEXT CHINA FOR GROWTH, RETURNS TO INVESTORS HOCKEY INDIA PICKS 60 PLAYERS FOR NATIONAL CAMP OPINION NATION Morning India Rs. 3 KOLKATA FRIDAY, 31 DEC, 2021 PG- 8, YEAR— 8, ISSUE— 220 (RNI NO: WBENG / 2014 / 56803) Kolkata to feel the chill again in New Year No lockdown in Bengal for now: Mamata Banerjee MI NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said there will be no lockdown-like situation in the state for now. "I would like to tell you that there will not be any lockdown in the state right now. During Covid, everything was stopped and it led to a situation where the common people were the worst sufferer. The government doesn't want to walk on the same path again," the chief minister said. She, however, said the government is carefully considering every possible situation and keeping a close watch on the developments. "There was absolutely no scare of the virus for the last six-eight months and so all the hospitals and safe houses were closed in many places. We will take the decision after carefully considering every possible situation," the chief minister added. Expressing her concern over the people who are coming from Britain, she said: "People who are coming from Britain are tested Omicron West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas on Thursday. positive. They are getting irritated in the testing process but they should cooperate with the government and the health department." Amid the health experts' worries about the New Year celebration, fearing the gath- RBI ALLOWS KYC UPDATION TILL MARCH 2022 AMID OMICRON UNCERTAINTY HISTORIC WIN India beat SA by 113 runs CENTURION: Visitors wasted no time after the lunch break to bowl out hosts for 191 to register a 113-run win and also won their first Test ever here at the SuperSport Park, Centurion on Thursday to take a 1-0 lead in 3-match Test series. Resuming the post-lunch session at 182/7 Mohammed Shami dismissed debutant Marco Jansen caught behind by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant for just 13. Shami got his third wicket in the second innings and his eighth wicket overall in the match. In the very next over Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi to wrap up the Proteas for a paltry 191 and guide India to their first-ever win at Centurion. This is Virat Kohli's second Test win in South Africa the first one came in Johannesburg in 2018. Earlier in the day, the South African team started at 94 for 4 and the team reached the triple-figure mark with skipper Dean Elgar hitting a boundary in the fifth ball of the day to Mohammed Shami. In the 46th over of the South African innings, Shami dropped a caught and bowled chance of well set Dean Elgar on 63. The Protea captain Elgar punished Indian pac- ers Shami and Jasprit Bumrah from there on hitting three boundaries. But India finally got the big wicket as Bumrah dismissed Elgar leg before the wicket for 77. Dean Elgar ering of people might contribute significantly to the spread of the virus, the Chief Minister said: "How can I stop the New Year celebration programme? However, we are keeping a watch on the situation. I ask all the people to be conscious about the situation and behave rationally." She also asked everyone to behave responsibly in the Gangasagar Mela too. "I cannot stop the fair but people should be conscious," she added. On Wednesday, the chief minister had said that the state government was mulling to impose total restrictions again. Speaking at an administrative meeting in South 24 Parganas, Banerjee had dropped broad hints that the state government might impose restrictions on schools and local trains to contain the spread of the virus. During the meeting on Wednesday, she had also said that the cases were increasing and therefore, the state government might declare school holidays for some days and if necessary, the government might even close schools and colleges. was Bumrah's third wicket in 2nd innings and South Africa's fifth wicket with a score of only 130. After the fall of Elgar's wicket Quinton de Kock walked in and along with Temba Bavuma took the hosts total past the 150-run mark. The partnership could not last long as Mohammed Siraj got the prized scalp of de Kock. The southpaw inside-edged Siraj's delivery onto the stumps. In the next over Shami was introduced into the attack and the pacer dismissed Wiaan Mulder for just 1 as India inched closer to victory. Post lunch it was a mere formality for Virat Kohli led side as they registered a convincing 113 run victory to help India win their first Test in Centurion and also take a 1-0 lead in 3-match series. MORE ON PG 12 NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday extended the last date for Know Your Customer (KYC) updation for bank accounts by three months to March 2022. The RBI, through a notification, said it is extending the deadline in view of the "prevalent uncertainty due to new variant of Covid-19". In May 2021, RBI had relaxed the KYC rules due to the pandemic and had said banking services should not be restricted just because the documents have not been updated by the customer. "Keeping in view the current Covid-19 related restrictions in various parts of the country, 'REs' are advised that in respect of the customer accounts where periodic updation of KYC is due and pending as on date, no restrictions on operations of such account shall be imposed till December 31, 2021, for this reason alone, unless warranted under instructions of any regulator or enforcement agency or court of law, etc," it had said. MI NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA: Even in the last week of December, cold weather from Kolkata disappeared. The sky in the city remained cloudy since Thursday morning with sporadic rain at a few places. According to the Meteorological Office, the sky was mainly overcast throughout the day due to the western disturbance. Light to moderate rains followed throughout the day. As a result, the western disturbance is obstructing northerly winds at the end of the year. However, with the advent of New Year, winter is expected to make a comeback. According to the Alipore Meteorological Office, the northerly winds have stopped been blowing in Kolkata for several days due to the western disturbance. As a result, wintry conditions were reduced in the State. Mercury was higher than normal. The minimum temperature in Kolkata on Thursday morning was 16.6 degrees Celsius, which was 3 degrees above normal. On the other hand, the maximum temperature reached 25.7 degrees Celsius. Humidity was 75 per cent. However, meteorologists have expressed hope for the New Year, including the last day of 2021. In the next few days, the city may get a sense of winter again. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Kolkata skies will remain clear on Friday. Besides, the night temperature may decrease in the next three days, the officials said. As a result, the temperature may drop at the beginning of the New Year. States demand GST compensation for another 5 years NEW DELHI: Several states and UTs including Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Delhi on Thursday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to extend GST compensation cess window to states, which is expiring in June 2022, for another five years. State leaders made the demand during a pre-budget consultation meeting held under the chairmanship of Sitharaman in the national capital. The states also asked the Centre to release outstanding funds as their economy has been impacted badly due to COVDI-19 pandemic. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel demanded that the GST compensation to states should be continued for another five years. Baghel said there has been a loss of revenue to the states due to the GST tax system. "The Centre has not made arrangements to compensate the loss of revenue of about Rs.5000 crore to the state in the coming year, so the GST compensation grant should be continued for the next 5 years even after June 2022." Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, said the GST compensation is the biggest problem of states. "If the GST compensation will not be extended the states like Delhi would not be able to make Budget," he said. A WISH FOR TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE IN INDIA MOST HEALTH care in India is presently provided by the private sector, principally funded via outof-pocket payments. The once upon a time ubiquitous 'Family doctor' concept in the country has almost disappeared and has become extinct. Most 'worried well' who are asymptomatic, and equally, those with minor common ailments rush to hospitals. It may be pertinent to point out here that it is all the more important that patients with simple non urgent ailments are kept away from hospitals, which until recently, were stretched to their limits & overwhelmed with managing Covid suspect/Covid positive patients. According to a report published by the Medical Council of India in 2020, around 44,000 Postgraduate seats are available for 55,000 doctors who graduate every year. In other words, the vast majority will become Specialists. Although "Family Medicine" DNB Courses conducted by the National Board of Examinations are available, there are very few applicants because the number of centres accredited to train doctors wishing to pursue a career as a Family Physician, are few and far between. The concept of visiting the 'Family doctor' before a patient sees a Specialist is the standard practice in the UK. In Britain, the General Practitioner (GP) is the principal treating doctor who is able to manage most minor issues sensibly based on evidence and refer patients to Specialist Centres only when needed. The NHS model of providing universal primary health care through public-private partnership (PPP) may be appropriate for adaptation in the Indian context. The three primary elements of primary care that have a bearing on improving healthcare outcomes are: Preventive care (such as vaccination, Screening, measuring blood pressure) Care of chronic disease (Most of the chronic illness can be managed effectively outside hospital) Diagnostic triage and control of hospital referral (effective primary care sorts the serious from the non-serious by speedy and accurate diagnosis, directs hospital referrals to the most appropriate speciality and ensures that expensive hospital resources are expended on those who will benefit most). India has about 8,00,000 medical doctors of which about 6,00,000 are GPs. But more than three quarters of these are in urban centers which make up only about 20 per cent of India's population. Access to a doctor in urban India is about the same as it would be on average in the US. However, the ratio of GPs to patients outside these metro areas is about 1 GP for every 7,500 patients on average and as low as 1 for every 25,000 people in more remote areas. General Practitioners must be "gatekeepers" of our healthcare system. They should be the first point of contact for patients for any sickness or preventive visit. India must invest in training GPs in addition to popularising and sensitising young impressionable students who have joined MBBS Course about the Family Medicine concept. Furthermore, Primary Healthcare infrastructure in rural India (where more than 70 per cent of our population resides) must be strengthened so that more patients are served locally by GPs, thus obviating the arduous & time consuming task of travelling long distances for assessment / treatment. Although India leads the world in digital technologies, that advantage is missing in its clinics, particularly in rural India. It is time we brought technological breakthroughs into primary care. It is my heartfelt desire that the Government of India and powers that be initiate concrete and implementable measures to ensure that the 'Family Doctor' concept is revived. We, as a country, must switch from the doctrine of practising the more aggressive "Americanised Medicine" to "British Medicine", which is far more conservative and evidence-based. An important component of the Hippocratic oath is to "keep the good of the patient as the highest priority" and this landmark step would pave the path in this direction by ensuring well controlled uniform effective healthcare to the citizenry.