Nod to Ayush wellness centre

New Delhi, March 21

The Union Cabinet has approved the inclusion of AYUSH health and wellness centre component of Ayushman Bharat in National AYUSH Mission, which the government said would provide enhanced accessibility to achieve universal health coverage for affordable treatment.

The proposal entails an expenditure of Rs 3399.35 crore, including a central share of Rs 2209.58 crore and Rs 1189.77 crore as state share.

The wellness centre will be operationalised within a period of five years an official statement said.

The implementation of the proposal, the statement said, would establish a holistic wellness model based on AYUSH principles and practices focusing on preventive promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative healthcare by integration with the existing public health care system.

A total of 12,500 AYUSH health and wellness centres throughout the country would be operationalised. PTI

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Extradition treaty between India, Belgium okayed

New Delhi, March 21

The Union Cabinet has approved the signing and ratification of an extradition treaty between India and Belgium that will enable the two countries to repatriate any person accused of or convicted in an offence which is punishable under the laws of both countries with imprisonment for one year or more.

Under the treaty, extradition shall be refused if the offence involved is political in nature. However, the treaty specifies certain offences which will not be considered as political offences, an official statement said.

The treaty would provide a legal framework for seeking extradition of terrorists, economic offenders, and other criminals from and to Belgium. After ratification, the treaty would come into force from the date of exchange of instruments of ratification between India and Belgium.

The new treaty will replace the pre-Independence extradition treaty between Great Britain and Belgium of 1901 that was made applicable to India through the exchange of letters in 1958. “Due to the present procedural requirements and the fact that only limited number of offences are listed under the pre-Independence treaty, the same has become obsolete in today’s context,” an official statement read. PTI