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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to...

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to ten times higher than prevailing market prices. Basic economics dictates that bulk government procurement ought to secure better rates than private buyers, not worse. During the Covid-19 pandemic, equipment and consumables were procured at five to ten times the market rate, with government audit reports formally flagging these irregularities. Yet accountability has remained elusive. The pattern is illustrated vividly in Kolhapur. The Dean of Rajarshi Shahu Government Medical College announced that a PET scan machine worth Rs 35 crore would soon be installed at Chhatrapati Pramilaraje (CPR) Government Hospital for cancer diagnosis. But a comparable machine is available in the market for around Rs 6.5 crore. A senior cancer surgeon at a major cancer hospital in western Maharashtra, where a similar machine was recently installed, remarked that the gap between what his hospital paid and what the government is reportedly paying was enough to make one ‘feel dizzy’. The label of a ‘turnkey project’ does not adequately explain a price differential of this magnitude. High Costs CPR Hospital recently had a state-of-the-art IVF centre approved at a sanctioned cost of Rs 7.20 crore. Senior fertility specialists across Maharashtra note that even a modern IVF centre with advanced reproductive technology equipment typically costs between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. The state’s outlay is reportedly approaching Rs 15 crore. Equipment arrived in June 2025 and lay idle for months owing to indecision about the site. Similarly, digital X-ray machines approved for CPR Hospital and a government hospital in Nanded; available in the market for roughly Rs 1.5 crore; were reportedly procured at Rs 9.98 crore per unit. Doctors in CPR’s radiology department, apprehensive about being drawn into potential inquiries, reportedly resisted accepting the equipment. One departmental head was transferred amid disagreements over signing off on the proposal. What’s Wrong These cases point to a deeper structural failure: Maharashtra has perfected what might be called the ‘equipment first, infrastructure later’ model. In any public hospital, the administrative sequence ought to be: identify space, create infrastructure, sanction specialist posts, and only then procure equipment. Compounding the procurement paradox is a parallel policy decision. On 20 December 2025, the state government decided to introduce radiology diagnostic services through a Public-Private Partnership model (PPP). Following this, an order issued on 6 February 2026 authorised private operators to provide PET scan, MRI and CT scan services at six government medical college hospitals: in Pune, Kolhapur, Miraj, Sangli, Mumbai and Baramati. CPR already has a 126-slice CT scan machine and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, with another CT scan proposed. If the PPP arrangement proceeds, the hospital could simultaneously run one PET scan machine, two MRI scanners and three CT scan machines. Medical experts warn this could lead to unnecessary diagnostic testing simply to keep machines occupied, thus exposing patients to excess radiation while government-owned equipment gathers dust. A similar pattern was seen during the pandemic, when the Medical Education Department spent hundreds of crores on RT-PCR machines, only to award swab-testing contracts to a private company. Many of those machines remain unused today.

Swanand Shloka: Reviving Sanskrit, Childhood Traditions

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Swanand Shloka: Reviving Sanskrit, Childhood Traditions

Since April 2022, Mangesh Khisty, a resident of Cosmos Horizon Complex, Thane, has been gathering children in the “Radha Krishna Mandir,” located within the housing society premises, every Sunday evening. He has been teaching some well-known and lesser-known Sanskrit shlokas to these young and impressionable minds. What started as a small group of three to four children has increased to about 20 children between the ages of 4 and 12.

The children enjoy this weekly meet and look forward to it, as it is now no longer limited to just shloka recitation alone but also encompasses long-lost childhood games, mythological and religious stories, and activities such as tree plantation drives. As a result, not only children but their parents and grandparents have started regularly joining these sessions.

An important benefit of teaching these shlokas to children would be the preservation of the Sanskrit language, which, despite its profound historical significance, has seen declining use in modern times. Children exposed to Sanskrit develop an appreciation for Indian philosophy, history, and values.

Reciting shlokas offers unique mental benefits. Sanskrit’s precise structure sharpens children’s analytical and thinking skills. Studies show that memorising and reciting these complex sound patterns improves memory, focus, and flexibility in thinking. Regular practice also boosts pronunciation, especially in Marathi and Hindi, while enhancing language comprehension and verbal reasoning.

This initiative, aptly named “Swanand Shloka,” recently completed 100 sessions, and a programme was organised by the parents to celebrate this occasion. The children performed about 30 Shlok recitations ranging from Aartees such as “Yei O Vitthale” to “Mahishasuramardini Stotra” and “Shri Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram” to Marathi folk songs such as “Mani Nahi Bhaav, Mhane Devaa Mala Paav.” These renditions were well-appreciated by the audience and received generous praise and applause.

The presence of eminent personalities and speakers graced this event. Dr. Rajeev Puri, a motivational speaker and historian, mesmerised the audience with his immense knowledge of Indian history and his zeal and passion. He praised this noble initiative and acknowledged that such initiatives are the need of the hour if we wish to preserve our culture and heritage and pass on our values to the next generation.

Khisty plans to extend the Swanand Shloka initiative to other societies and communities in and around Thane, with efforts focused on creating a network of children and families committed to preserving these timeless traditions.

Additionally, the practice of chanting shlokas is also known to have a calming effect on the mind, reducing anxiety and promoting emotional well-being. The rhythmic and repetitive nature of chanting fosters mindfulness, helping children focus and remain present in the moment, a skill that is crucial for emotional regulation and resilience in today’s fast-paced world.

As the sound of shlokas continues to echo through the halls of the Cosmos Horizon Complex and beyond, one can’t help but feel that this is only the beginning of something truly transformative.

(The writer is a resident of Thane. Views personal.)

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