CHENNAI :Two days after the Kerala government hosted a meeting of Finance ministers from Karnataka, Andhra and Puducherry to discuss the terms of reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai on Thursday said the Centre had recommended to the commission that states such as Tamil Nadu, which had devoted a lot of effort towards population control, be incentivised.
“The Union Government has suggested to the Finance Commission to consider incentivising States which have worked on population control. Thus, a State like Tamil Nadu, which has devoted a lot of effort, energy and resources towards population control would certainly benefit,” assured Modi.
He said it was baseless to say the ToR was biased against certain States or a particular region. His statement, at the inauguration of a Palliative Care Centre at the Adyar Cancer Institute, was seen as a response to the charges levelled against the Centre at the southern Finance Ministers’ conclave at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
The conclave had been called to discuss the loss of revenue that southern states might face if the 15th Finance Commission were to base the devolution of central funds on the data from the 2011 census rather than on the 1971 census, as had been done previously.
All southern states have raised concerns, arguing they were being penalised for their successful population control efforts.
Tamil Nadu and Telangana skipped the meeting although TN wrote to the Centre on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, who had earlier inaugurated the defence expo in the outskirts of the city, did not speak about the Cauvery issue, despite the protests raging across the state for the past week against the Centre’s failure to form the Cauvery Management Board.
The Centre is planning to set up 20 State Cancer Institutes and 50 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres in different parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday while speaking at the inauguration of new facilities at the Adyar Cancer Institute.
“Eligible institutions will get up to Rs 45 crore for setting up of Tertiary Care Cancer Centre and up to Rs 120 crore for setting up of State Cancer Institute”.
Proposals for setting up 15 State Cancer Institutes and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres have been approved so far, he said.
“Fourteen new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences are being set up, with focus on oncology in its various aspects.” he added.He said under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, eight existing institutions were being upgraded with the provision of oncology services.
“Under the Comprehensive Primary Health Care aspect of Ayushman Bharat, we will provide preventive and curative services at primary care level to people near their homes,” Modi said.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who were also present, recalled the contribution and efforts by Adyar Cancer Institute (WIA) in serving the poor for more than 60 years. Cancer Institute (WIA) chairperson V Shanta attended.
EPS gives PM memorandum on CMB
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday made use of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to submit a memorandum urging him to form the Cauvery Management Board immediately.