Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 176/22

PM INTERACTS WITH BENEFICIARIES OF CENTRAL SCHEMES ON 31.05.2022

As part of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebration, a nation -wide programme on the interaction of the Prime Minister with beneficiaries of Central Schemes was held today. The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi virtually interacted with the rest of the nation from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

The objectives of the programme is to discuss how the left outs can be saturated, to understand the ease of living brought by various schemes, to seek ideas for improvement of these schemes, to explore the possibilities for convergence and to discuss citizen’s aspiration at 2047 ( 100 years of India’s independence).

The programme in Meghalaya was held at the State Convention Centre Auditorium, Shillong which was attended by Shi Prestone Tynsong, Deputy Chief Minister as Chief Guest, Shri Hamletson Dohling, Minister C&RD and Shri B L Verma, Union MoS, DoNER.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Prestone Tynsong highlighted the various initiatives of the central government which benefitted the masses mostly the poor and marginalized society. With the untiring support from the central government, we have seen a lot of developmental activities and transformations in the state in these past few years. I express my sincere gratitude on behalf of the state of Meghalaya and look forward for various other schemes in the coming years, he stated.

During the programme, Union MoS, Shri B L Verma interacted with the state beneficiaries who availed the various central government schemes.

Press Release No. 177/22

INTERNATIONAL AIDS CANDLELIGHT MEMORIAL OBSERVED IN KHLIEHRIAT ON 31.05.2022

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2022 was observed today at Khliehriat West Community Hall, East Jaintia Hills District on the theme “We Remember- We take action- We live beyond HIV ''. Organized by the Meghalaya State Network of Positive People (MSNP plus), in collaboration with the Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram(RKSK), East Jaintia Hills District, Shri. A. Baranwal, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat attended the programme as the Chief Guest, and Dr(Mrs) N.P. Suchiang, District Immunization Officer, I/C, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat as the Guest of Honour.

Addressing the gathering, Shri. A. Baranwal, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat said that IEC materials, posters, and hoarding related to HIV/AIDS will be put up across the district and, he urged all the stakeholders, line departments to join hands in conducting an awareness campaign on HIV/ AIDS to raise more awareness among the public, especially the youth. The Deputy Commissioner also stressed on the need to prevent stigmatization and discrimination against people with HIV. He also informed that a law has been passed to empower the people living with HIV/AIDS, which makes confidentiality a legal requirement and criminalizes discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS while also stating that the District Administration along with the Police Department will ensure that this law is implemented in the district.

Dr (Mrs). N. P. Suchiang , DIO, I/C, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat in her speech said that the main aim of the Meghalaya State Network of Positive People (MSNP+) is to mobilize more people infected and affected by HIV by working together with all the line departments like the District Authority, Law enforcement agencies, health department, NGOs, students community and the general public as a whole. She informed the gathering that in all health facilities there are three diagnostic centres and in the East Jaintia Hills District there are 8 (Eight) facilities, and two ICTC centres that is Khliehriat Civil Hospital and Sutnga CHC providing free diagnostic and treatment. “Apart from these, there is also an early infant diagnosis for the infants who are born to HIV pregnant mothers which can be done at Khliehriat Civil Hospital, Sutnga CHC”, she added. She also informed that a link ART will also be set up at Khliehriat soon. Dr (Mrs). N. P. Suchiang urged the people with HIV who are aware of their status to come forward for confirmation and seek treatment.

Shri. Ajoy. M. Lanong, Assistant Director, Main Streaming Meghalaya Aids Control Society said that the observation of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial has brought together people in every region of the world to honour those who lost their lives to AIDS, support people living with HIV and demonstrate the importance of civil society which plays a central role in HIV treatment, prevention, care and support. Speaking on the HIV and AIDS ACT 2017, he stated that the bill has been drafted to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV and under this Act, an HIV positive person being discriminated in public or private sector can take legal recourse against such acts of discrimination. The provisions of the Act also seek to address HIV-related discrimination, strengthen the existing programme by bringing legal accountability, and establishing a formal mechanism to enquire into complaints and redressing grievances.

Shri. Barry. L. Kharmalki, General Secretary Meghalaya State Network of Positive People in his speech said that HIV related death is preventable and he stressed on the need for all line departments to work in tandem with each other in addressing HIV and other types of comorbidities such HIV, Tuberculosis(TB) or hepatitis C that are associated with HIV deaths. He also stated that with the advancement in the field of medical science we need to start bringing in newer and superior drugs for treatment of TB and MDR-TB as most of the people in the state and the country are dying due to Tuberculosis(TB).

Earlier, Shri. A. Baranwal, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District, Khliehriat led the candle lighting which also saw participation from all the attendees in the programme, followed by a one-minute silence and a special prayer for the infected and affected families. During the programme, testimonials were also shared by Smti. Agui Daimei and Smti. Virgil Suchiang.

The programme was also attended by Smti. R. Passah, District Social Welfare Officer, East Jaintia Hills District, Shri. Teibor Kyndiah, District Child Protection Officer, East Jaintia Hills District, Dr. P. Nongtdu, Principal Jaintia Eastern College, Smti. Daphihi Passah, Adolescent Health Counsellor, Khliehriat Civil Hospital.

Press Release No. 178/22

WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 2022 OBSERVED ON 31.05.2022

With the aim of highlighting the negative impact of tobacco use on the environment, the concluding function of World No Tobacco Day on the theme “Tobacco – Threat to our Environment”, was held at the State Convention Centre, Shillong. The programme was organized by National Health Mission, Meghalaya in collaboration with the Education Department, Meghalaya and Samagra Shiksha.

Speaking as the chief guest, Shri. D. P. Wahlang, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya lauded the convergence and joined efforts of the Health Department, the Education Department and Sambandh Health Foundation for the strong anti-tobacco campaign in the State, reaching out and engaging the involvement of over 8,400 schools. Reminding the gathering about the detrimental effects of smoke and smokeless tobacco, both on the environment and health, he urged the students not to fall into the ills of consuming tobacco and asked them to be ambassadors of the anti-tobacco campaign by spreading the message starting in their homes, schools and society at large.

In his address, Shri. Ram Kumar. S, Additional Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Meghalaya highlighted the fact that Meghalaya is the cancer capital of India as far as esophagus, lungs, nose and throat cancers are concerned. Reiterating the need for early screening and change in lifestyle habits, he said that the involvement of schools at the districts and blocks level has played an important role in creating awareness on the impact of tobacco on our health, community and environment. The village headmen, parents, MLAs, and religious leaders have also supported this campaign. If similar programs are conducted every 6 months, we will surely see behavioral changes in the community towards tobacco, he added. Shri. Kumar also lauded the Police department for initiating a special drive on COTPA implementation to conclude the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2022 campaign.

An in-depth presentation was made on the World No Tobacco Day activities by Dr. Lana E. Lyngdoh Nongbri, Sr. Dental Surgeon, SNO, National Tobacco Control Programme who highlighted the active involvement of schools in the campaign at the State, District and Block level where a total of 8,405 schools participated with 7,677 rallies and 7,464 schools doing the signature campaign.

The campaign to create awareness on the WNTD theme in the State was rolled out through the SHF WNTD App from 18th April to 20th May 2022. In this, every school had to complete two activities, i.e., Rally against tobacco and a Signature campaign with maximum student participation.

On the day Prizes were awarded to schools who won the Rally and Signature campaign competitions and officials/staff of the Education Department were felicitated for their role and support in the implementation of the Tobacco Free Education Institution (ToFEI).

Press Release No. 179/22

MEGHALAYA ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE RECEIVES THE BEST PROJECT AWARD IN THE WSIS FORUM PRIZES 2022

In the United Nation’s World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2022, Government of Meghalaya’s initiative of Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture received the best project award (Winner Award) in the category of “the role of governments in the promotion of ICTs for development”. Mr. Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of ITU presented the winner award to Shri Conrad K Sangma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya in the WSIS Forum Prizes 2022, held at Geneva, Switzerland today. A total of 360 projects nominated from different countries passed the test of the UN jury. Post this there was voting to select the best 90 projects which were invited in Geneva, Switzerland for the final award. Meghalaya had to contest with projects from Australia, China, Argentina and Tanzania. Today at the forum, Meghalaya was declared as the best project in the category. Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture is the only project from India to win the Winner Award this year.

Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture (MeghEA) Project is being implemented by Planning Department, Government of Meghalaya. The project has several components such as Government to Citizen or Business services, Government to Employee services and Government to Government services.E-Proposal system, part of the Government-to-Government component, enables faster processing and tracking of schemes. The system transforms the entire administrative approvals and sanctions of citizen’s schemes. Through the use of modern technology, the system integrates multiple departments, directorates and other Government agencies. In merely two months, close to 1600 proposals have been submitted through this e-Proposal system and an amount of Rs.790 crores have been sanctioned. The transformation has led to processing in days which used to take months in the previous process.

Government of Meghalaya is also progressing towards enabling Government to Citizen and employee services where citizens would be able to view their benefits and apply from anytime, anywhere and through multiple channels. MeghEA is a transformation from department centric service delivery to citizen centric service delivery.

Speaking at the award ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Conrad K Sangma congratulated the people of Meghalaya for winning a prestigious award in the WSIS summit and making the nation proud of Meghalaya. He also thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister for believing in Meghalaya to implement India’s 1st Enterprise Architecture initiative.

Hon’ble Chief Minister further added that Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture is about delivering citizen centric services and transforming internal processing of schemes with maximum efficiency. He said that the Government’s effort is to provide services digitally to even the citizens of the remotest villages.

In addition to the Enterprise Architecture Project, the State Government is also implementing digitally enabled solutions for supporting pregnant women, for supplying medicines using drones and for digitizing agriculture. Through ICT, the Government wants to bridge the geographic disadvantage of difficult terrain and dispersed habitations.

Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture was initiated under the guidance of NeGD (National e-Governance Division). Collaborative effort of several Government Departments and support of external agencies have led to the success of the project. Government of Meghalaya has recently submitted a proposal to the World Bank for upscaling the project.