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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western...

Commercial LPG 'evaporates' in Maharashtra

Mumbai : The short supply of commercial LPG cylinders turned ‘grim’ on Wednesday as hundreds of small and medium eateries – on whom the ordinary working Mumbaikars depend on for daily meals – shut down or drastically trimmed menus, on Wednesday.   With an estimated 50,000-plus hotels, restaurants and small food joints, the crunch is beginning to be felt severely, said Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) vice-president and Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) spokesperson Pradeep Shetty.   “We are in continuous touch with the concerned authorities, but the situation is very gloomy. There is no response from the Centre or the Ministry of Petroleum on when the situation will ease. We fear that more than 50 pc of all eateries in Mumbai will soon down the shutters. The same will apply to the rest of the state and many other parts of India,” Shetty told  ‘ The Perfect Voice’ .   The shortage of commercial LPG has badly affected multiple sectors, including the hospitality and food industries, mass private or commercial kitchens and even the laundry businesses, industry players said.   At their wits' ends, many restaurateurs resorted to the reliable old iron ‘chulhas’ (stoves) fired by either coal or wood - the prices of which have also shot up and result in pollution - besides delaying the cooking.   Anticipating a larger crisis, even domestic LPG consumers besieged retail dealers in Mumbai, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Akola, Nagpur to book their second cylinder, with snaky queues in many cities. The stark reality of the 12-days old Gulf war with the disturbed supplies has hit the people and industries in the food supply chains that feed crores daily.   “The ordinary folks leave home in the morning after breakfast, then they rely on the others in the food chain for their lunch or dinner. Many street retailers have also shut down temporarily,” said Shetty.   Dry Snacks A quick survey of some suburban ‘khau gullies’ today revealed that the available items were mostly cold sandwiches, fruit or vegetable salads, cold desserts or ice-creams, cold beverages and packed snacks. Few offered the regular ‘piping hot’ foods that need elaborate cooking, or charging higher than normal menu rates, and even the app-based food delivery system was impacted.   Many people were seen gloomily munching on colorful packets of dry snacks like chips, chivda, sev, gathiya, samosas, etc. for lunch, the usually cheerful ‘chai ki dukaans’ suddenly disappeared from their corners, though soft drinks and tetrapaks were available.   Delay, Scarcity  Maharashtra LPG Dealers Association President Deepak Singh yesterday conceded to “some delays due to supply shortages” of commercial cylinders, but assured that there is no scarcity of domestic cylinders.   “We are adhering to the Centre’s guidelines for a 25 days booking period between 2 cylinders (domestic). The issue is with commercial cylinders but even those are available though less in numbers,” said Singh, adding that guidelines to prioritise educational institutions, hospitals, and defence, are being followed, but others are also getting their supplies.   Despite the assurances, Shetty said that the current status is extremely serious since the past week and the intermittent disruptions have escalated into a near-total halt in supplies in many regions since Monday.   Adding to the dismal picture is the likelihood of local hoteliers associations in different cities like Pune, Palghar, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and more resorting to tough measures from Thursday, including temporary shutdown of their outlets, which have run out of gas stocks.

The Hidden Cost of Care: Biomedical Waste in Hospitals

Every hospital admission, no matter how small, generates waste. As India’s healthcare sector grows, so does the urgency to manage biomedical waste responsibly.

In my last week‘s article, I discussed Sunita’s hospitalisation and the subsequent generation of biomedical waste. Her treatment involved intravenous administration of drugs. So a plastic IV set was used. After the procedure was complete, the IV set was discarded in the trash bin. The drugs worked, and she was discharged from the hospital in a couple of days.


However, if she had had further complications and if surgery were to be performed, much more waste would be generated. Sunita is just a representative example. Just like her, whenever any patient is admitted to the hospital for treatment, waste generation begins.


The type and the volume of waste generated depend on the nature of the treatment prescribed by the concerned doctors. However, the quantity of waste also relies on the growth of the healthcare sector.


So, let us first review this sector.


In India, the healthcare sector has become one of the largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment. As of FY24, this sector has employed 7.5 million people. In the current year, the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is expected to rise to 22.5 per cent, up from 17 per cent in 2022.


The government aims to develop India as a global healthcare hub. The Indian healthcare market, which was valued at US$ 110 billion in FY16, is now projected to reach US$ 638 billion by FY25. India’s public expenditure on healthcare is expected to be 1.9 per cent of GDP in FY26, compared to 2.5 per cent in FY25, as per the Economic Survey 2024-25.


The sector is witnessing unprecedented growth. Private equity and venture capital investments surpassed US$ 1 billion in the first five months of FY24, marking a 220 per cent increase from the previous year.


India benefits from the availability of a large pool of well-trained medical professionals. This sector is anticipated to grow further, creating over 6.3 million additional jobs by 2030.


The government has allocated Rs. 99,858 crore (US$ 11.50 billion) to the healthcare sector in the Union Budget 2025–26. This allocation is meant for the development, maintenance, and enhancement of the country’s healthcare system. It reflects a 9.78 per cent increase from the previous allocation of Rs. 90,958 crore (US$ 10.47 billion) in FY25. To boost the country’s healthcare infrastructure, the Indian government is planning to introduce a credit incentive programme worth Rs 50,000 crores (US$ 6.8 billion).


Several factors are driving this growth, including rising income levels, an aging population, growing health awareness, and changing attitudes toward preventive healthcare.


There is also a significant increase in medical tourism. The lower cost of medical services in India attracts patients from around the world. To promote medical tourism, the government is extending the e-medical visa facility to citizens of 156 countries.


Moreover, India has emerged as a hub for R&D activities for international players due to the relatively low cost of clinical research.


Growing health awareness, precautionary treatments, and improved diagnostics are also leading to increased hospitalisations.


While we, the citizens and the government, should feel proud of the growth and revenue in the healthcare sector, we must not ignore the rising quantity of biomedical waste it generates.


More on this in my next article.

Until then, have a good weekend.

(Source: IBEF-India Brand Equity Foundation)


(The writer is an environmentalist.)

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