(a) whether his Department has developed an irradiated
`Dai Kit`;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the said kit has brought down infant mortality
rates as reported by certain NGOs; and
(d) if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to promote use of `Dai kit` in the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING, MINISTER
OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME
IMPLEMENTATION, MINISTER OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
ATOMIC ENERGY AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SPACE (SHRI S.B. MOOKHERJEE)
(a) & (b) Yes, Sir. The Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology, a
constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy has
developed `Sterilized Dai Kits`. The kits found wide
acceptance in the Northern States. Attempts have been made to popularise the use of such kits in the Southern States of the country.
(c) & (d) M/s. Tribhuvandas Foundation, Anand, Gujarat, a voluntary NGO
has acknowledged the benefits of such kits in the rural
areas, as child birth procedures are much more
hygienically conducted with these kits. They have now taken up the preparation and distribution of such kits in the rural areas of the State. Similarly, M/s Anna Purna Mahila Mandal, a NGO in Maharashtra State has also initiated action in this direction. The Department has been helping in radiation sterilization of the kits before distribution for the past five years, during which about 2 million kits have been brought by manufacturers for sterilization for supply to Government for further distribution.