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Here is a list of things that would have been very appropriate and intelligent things to do in response to Covid-19, none of which the Trump Administration did.Years before the virus hits, you expand funding for the CDC and NIH (Trump proposed cutting funding and unbelievably, his 2021 budget for both cut CDC and NIH). You absolutely do NOT eliminate the pandemic team within the CDC (like Trump did). You absolutely do NOT keep the pandemic management roles in DHS empty and unfilled (like Trump did). Ideally you have a senior person in DHS who has a strong infectious disease background because there is only going to be greater risk of pandemics now and in the future because of climate change.Did I mention climate change? You put the force of the USG behind efforts to study climate change and its’ impacts. You don’t ban USG research in to it. You don’t unfund or cut offices that do that work. You don’t prevent USG researchers from going to conferences that study climate change and its’ impact. Here’s a reality check for climate change skeptics and deniers: among people who research climate change in great detail, pandemics are a BFD, something that there is a lot of work on. Seriously—there is tremendous amounts of pandemic research and analysis that is occurring through the climate change lens/perspective.You know all of those rules that the Trump Administration has reversed or not enforced dealing with game hunting and cracking down on trafficking of endangered species? Well, it appears the vector location where the Covid-19 virus appeared to emerge is a wildlife market in Wuhan. Yeah, people are pointing at bats—but that’s simplistic. How bats get involved is they poop—and other animals eat it. Or the bat eats a bug (like a mosquito) that sucked some blood off of a creature. Ladies and Gentleman, let me introduce you to the Pangolin. Very endangered, it has a coronavirus internal to most Pangolins that is almost a dead ringer to what is hitting humans now—except it has mutated a bit. And Pangolins (especially from Africa) are very popular in China. Did pangolins spread the China coronavirus to people? I think when all is said and done with this virus in 2–3 years, we’ll likely conclude that Covid-19 did NOT come directly from the pangolin. But they played a role. That’s why the flu stations are in China. Yes, the season starts in that part of the world. But they have so much mixed use farms (ducks and pigs together, eat each other’s scat, viruses intermix, end up in bats or birds and so China is the birthplace for most modern new flu strains—that’s why the Swine flu scare to come out of Mexico was unexpected).Healthcare—woah, this is a biggie. As in: expand the number of people in the US who have healthcare (so they have access to it—and no, I don’t mean “they can always go to the ER!”). What happens with more people getting health insurance? Fewer smokers, more early screening, access to testing, more preventative care, and when people get it (and most cases will be mild) they’ll get better advice on how to avoid spreading it (which increases the chances that you stay healthy). The Trump administration has gone in the complete opposite direction, seeking to kneecap Obamacare, has a court case right now up on appeal that would wipe out Obamacare (doing this in the middle of a pandemic—that’s a perfect storm folks—a fricking perfect storm from an epidemiological or public health perspective).Supplies. If you’re smart, and you realize that because every day the world is getting smaller (more global, more migration, more business travel) combined with climate change produces warmer climates and more extreme weather, you start preparing for pandemics more than we currently were. You have a larger supply of gloves and masks for medical workers and first responders. A larger supply of Tamiflu (and anti-viral) as well as antibiotics (because you don’t know what is going to emerge). You do “what if” scenarios that you war game out with key leaders in industry and government: what would it take to ramp up production of antibiotic X in 2 weeks? What if we had to quarantine a couple of cruise ships? What if a military unit overseas became infected with something communicable? What if the next flu season was a killer? You can’t plan for everything or even most things—but you don’t have to. You work out—how do we handle a pandemic? FEMA does this sh*t all the time with hurricanes and natural disasters—talk to anyone at the state or federal level who does emergency preparedness and they’ll tell you that if you prepare for 3–4 scenarios it enhances your ability to deal with all of them because you get supplies pre-positioned, you get light on your feet organizationally, you develop an emergency response capability. Good lord—look at the fricking Trump Administration—inept at anticipating and then quickly responding to Maria and the other hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico and the USVI. My point is not that they were delayed specifically in preparing for Covid-19, it’s that they don’t prepare for and handle crises well in general. Talk to anyone in disaster planning for organizations and they’ll tell you it all starts with what you do before the crisis ever hits. Oh, and btw, you don’t respond to pandemic risks by slicing funding from one concern to get money for another (I’m talking about Congress cutting Ebola funding to address Zika over the wishes of the Obama Administration—that’s just bassackwards!).Now everything I’ve listed so far is stuff you do BEFORE anyone in the administration even knows how to spell “coronavirus” let alone knowing Wuhan has a crisis. This is all pandemic-101 stuff. And the Trump Administration flunked all of it—every single thing I’ve mentioned.Now let’s talk about what happens when one of the CDC flu spotting stations in China gets a report from a doctor (let’s call him….Li Wenliang) complaining that the government won’t listen to him about this new type of flu. Let me eliminate the suspense and just tell you that everything I’m about to list about what you do once you get a hint this is happening—is stuff the Trump Administration has done poorly on.6. You don’t cut off access to China—you rush people in. You get additional CDC and NIH talent in China. This isn’t a variation on the normal flu. China is the hothouse for this stuff—the flu season starts with them, that’s why CDC has flu spotting stations there—to get a jump on the flu and begin development of a flu shot early. Except this isn’t influenza. But with teams on the ground quickly, getting samples, observing what the Chinese are going, trying to nail down this bad boy as quickly as possible—that is what you do as soon as you hear a unsubstantiated rumor coming out of Asia. Ditto with Iran (more on this later). Ditto with Italy. It’s critical to get a reliable test nailed down and then start testing like crazy. Why? Because the first most critical step in dealing with pandemics before they become a pandemic is: INFORMATION. We were late on this. The USG didn’t get started on a test until late (we were relying on China, rather than pushing our people out in to the field we were cutting off access) and then when we got a test we only tested people returning from China. Information tells you what kind of beast you’re dealing with, how to deal with it, how widespread it likely is, who’s must vulnerable. It all starts with information and that only happens if, at the first hint of a problem, you push people in to the infected areas rather than cutting them off.7. Set up a task force to coordinate the gathering and sharing of the research from the field plus interact with various agencies (DoD, DHS, CDC, NIH, CIA, DoS, USAID, FBI, Customs, TSA, FDA, USAMRID, US Surgeon General—who has been invisible through all this mess by the way—and I’m sure I’ve left about 12–15 other offices or agencies off the list) to coordinate who is doing what, what supplies are being acquired, begin briefing states and governors and their health directors. This action should have started within a week of the first cases coming out of Wuhan. And the head of this task force should be a research or medical professional. Fauci is a good person to go with—he’s fought this fight before and has bi-partisan credibility. The head of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (Nancy Messionier) would also be a great choice. I’d probably avoid the head of USAMRID (Col. Darrin Cox) because he’s active duty US military that would feed wild conspiracy rumors that this is somehow a Chinese/American/Israeli bioweapon. But Carl Shaia who retired there back in the Fall was the former Director of Administration (but is now a civilian) and he’d do a bang-up job managing a task force of a lot of government people dealing with complex, unplanned health and medical issues—if you felt like you didn’t want to pull Fauci or Messionier from their organizations (because their supervision of their work was too vital) than Shaia could be a good option. If the head of DHS or HHS was someone with public healthcare expertise then they’d be a fallback option. We don’t currently have an actual DHS head (that position is vacant) and the acting person (formerly of TSA) Chad Wolf has no background in this issue. Alex Azar (HHS) is a lawyer and worked in healthcare organizations but frankly wouldn’t be a strong choice in terms of knowing the public healthcare players. Picking Mike Pence is a poor choice. He double-screwed up the HIV mini-epidemic in Indiana (first cutting support for PP, then refusing to follow the data and wouldn’t do a needle exchange until the cases had exploded). Pence isn’t the worst choice—as a governor he’s got background in dealing with emergencies (in his case: floods and tornados) so that’s a positive plus he’s pretty high up. Still, with a little bit of research (ie: 4 hours) I could give you about 200 names of people who would be a better choice than Pence.8. What Donald Trump says. Now if you really want to know the optimal approach here, it would be that Donald Trump never says or tweets anything about Covid-19 or the Coronavirus at all—when asked about it he refers to the head of the taskforce and then shuts up. That would be optimal. But if we can’t have that, then it would be that he says NOTHING in any media form without clearing it first with a senior healthcare SME (subject matter expert). This post is already too long for me to list all the things he’s said so far that are dumb or false: the virus would go away in April because of temperatures (tell that to Singapore, plus there is a new paper out of the Harvard epidemiology Dept. that says this virus doesn’t seem be affected by warmer temps), that the WHO death rate was wrong (not what he should have said), that Democrats are trying to make this a scare tactic to win the election, that there was nothing to worry about. Donald Trump has added probably not one piece of value to this whole issue—just confusion or wrong information plus delays. I mean, suggesting we should seal the border with Mexico: they have 5 cases as of yesterday and 3 of them came from exposure to foreigners (Italy and America)—I think Mexico might want to seal their border for protection from the US! If you could cut him out of the picture and he’d tolerate that from Day One, things would be so much better now.9. Policy on cruise ships: have one. Right now the US does not and is scrambling. Think about that—there have already been a couple of cases of passengers on cruise ships with Covid-19 signs, why hasn’t the US developed a policy for what to do other than tell the ship to stay offshore? We knew this was an issue a month ago and we’ve got ships off the US coast that we’re trying to figure out what to do because there is no policy in-place. This is exactly what the USG is supposed to do—establish policies. And I said cruise ships because that’s an immediate issue. Someone is going to have a 14 hour plane flight and in the middle of the flight (with air being circulated through the cabin) it will be clear that a passenger is sick with the coronavirus—so what’s the procedure? Have them disembark and stand in line at a crowded customs and immigration portal with hundreds of other incoming passengers? Every single US airport that has an international terminal needs to be setting up infrastructure and implementing USG policy (except there is none) besides setting up hand sanitizer and putting out more tissue dispensers.10. Establish and follow basic risk protocols for individuals who are exposed or possibly exposed re-entering the country. The healthcare workers who met the plane load of sick and at-risk Americans returning to the US—none of them had any kind of protection or established procedure for processing those individuals. WTF? This sounds like an isolated example. There will be hundreds of thousands of Americans seeking to return back to the US from overseas. Students, business professionals, tourists, retirees, military, diplomats, USG workers, professors. You need a basic protocol for screening and handling them (and it’s not all the same—it will vary with the country they’re coming from, if they’ve been tested, if they have obvious signs, if they’d had contact). That doesn’t exist right now.11. Information is critical at times like this—to avoid panic. You don’t want to downplay it all, you need to be open and honest but put things in perspective. So for instance, people need to be told that you should not be wearing a mask unless you’re sick (wearing a mask INCREASES the likelihood you get infection if you’re exposed to someone) unless you change your mask every hour (or every encounter). In the effort to downplay the spread and infection, there is very little (okay, none) Federal govt. resources talking publicly about “let’s talk through planning for if schools in most of the country shut down for a month—can we get all businesses to give people temporary family leave?” Local governments are working on this (kudos to them) but they’re often having to do this in the dark. The Feds should be driving this and be pre-eminent. What Jay Inslee (gov. of Washington State) had to tell Pence is sad, just appalling but that’s a reflection on the Federal coordination effort to-date. So information not only about “this is what we know, this is what we don’t know, here’s what you should be doing know, here’s what you should plan for just in-case” is critical and it’s not happening. That’s not really happening publicly driven by the Feds, it’s very piecemeal and fragments. Look at the comments from Carson (HUD). He shouldn’t be in the public eye on this except the Trump information shortage/gap has people hungry for information and since he was a surgeon, he got approached by media. So he was asked about the Trump policy on the cruise ship approaching the US and he said it was finalized but it wasn’t going to be revealed yet. Then he said it was formulated but some details were being worked out. Then he said there were no plans as of yet. This is from one senior Administration official within one 24 hour period who shouldn’t even be talking about cruise ships. And this happens because there is no coordination or reliable information source on this issue at the moment. So people are going all over the place seeking information.12. There are a gazillion specialty situations that need to be addressed by government. If you’ve got a kid overseas in an exchange program (say—studying art in Milan, or teaching English in Beijing), can they come back home? Or what if they wait till the end of the semester? What about US military? What about large crowds at sporting events—any policy or recommendations regarding those? I bet every police officer out there is now wondering “hmmm….how does this affect me and possible infected people or areas?” Could you imagine medical professionals or first responders refusing to go out in the field if we have a shortage of gloves and masks? Certain industries (any place like Orlando that does a lot of conventions), cruise ships, airlines, travel, tourism, caterers, restaurants—they’re likely dealing with tremendous business crashes right now or in the near future. Saying “we’ll give you a tax break” is a crappy answer—that’s not what they need right now. Their immediate concern is about safety and a tax break doesn’t address that. They need to be given some direction on what to expect, how the USG is going to intervene, if there will be tests set up when people board/deplane/disembark. These are issues that industry can’t solve or fix and a tax break is irrelevant to. And we aren’t even talking about jobs like TSA that involve touching a lots of things. The latest word I’ve heard is that Covid-19 can live for up to a week on a surface. So any high-traffic screening personnel would be a great risk-2,000 people could come through your shift and it only takes one to pass on something (because of a suitcase they brought from home where an asymptomatic individual—not the traveler—coughed on it).13. This is related to #11 but you need to balance the panic and the information. You should not be trying to “spin” this event or push good news. Right now, the Trump Administration has tried hard to downplay this and say it is something that will go away quickly with little pain. Meanwhile the markets are taking deep dives, Italy is quarantining 15 million people, and the Fed issues an unprecedented emergency rate cut while the President is saying “no biggie.” Let me let you in on something: our numbers on infections in the US are bogus. We’ve mostly been testing only people who were traveling overseas or those immediately next to someone who’s infected. Partially that was lack of planning, partially that was a lack of test availability. Once we expand the number of tests, you’re going to see the number of people with a “positive” result (meaning: they got it or have antibodies so were exposed and may be a carrier) to probably go up 5X the current number (if not higher). That’s to be expected—we had artificially low numbers previously. But to fearful members of the public, it will seem like their government was lying to them or that all of sudden the virus has gotten really bad when it hit the US (neither case was true). That’s why the mis-statements by the Trump Administration and the efforts to downplay this sucker are just stupid, stupid, stupid. You’ve got a balancing act—it’s tough—but it’s critical. You’ve got to level with people, talk about what we know, what we don’t know, talk a little about an unknown future. When you try to downplay or minimize the bad news, and then you suddenly get a bunch of bad news, you lose your credibility. You don’t just look bad, instead you become the bad guy.14. Protecting Asians and Immigrants. The Trump Administration is probably the least credible and competent governmental entity to engage in this. You’re already seeing individuals verbally or physically attacking Asians. People who are 2nd generation US and from Japan or the Philippines are being told to go back to China. After 9–11, George W. Bush gave a very powerful speech where he said we were all Americans, we couldn’t turn on each other, that it should still be safe for someone wearing a hijab to go to a mosque, and it was shameful for us to betray our values by turning on minorities. At a time when there are a ton of rumors, lots of fear, it’s important for our government to do something that they’re very capable of doing—standing up for targeted minorities and letting people know “hey, they’re not the danger here.” Seriously—this is a “no-brainer” kind of action because the USG is well positioned to deal with it, can do it RIGHT NOW, and variations of this come up whenever there is a terrorist attack, a pandemic, a violent crime or something that stereotypes a specific group. And it doesn’t require scientists coming up with a new vaccine or some medical advance. it’s about USG leadership saying “hey—no scapegoating, we’re all in this together, don’t turn on each other.” Has anyone seen anything from Trump or Pence or any senior USG official addressing this issue? I haven’t.15. Do not rely on information from Xi. China has not handled it well, they were initially in denial. Xi basically told Trump “nothing to worry about, it’s going to go away” and then Trump came out with his “it will disappear in April” statement. Let healthcare professionals talk to their foreign counterparts—they’ll be able to decipher what is bullish*t and what is truth.16. South Korea: we should have teams over there right now looking at what they’re doing. ROK isn’t perfect but they’re a great example of getting it “mostly” right. They’ve got drive-in stations for quick tests to see if you’re contagious or not. From the git-go they were testing far more people than just international travelers—making us look like idiots. South Korea hasn’t been perfect but they’ve been pretty darn good. I bet that right now, we’re so focused on the US that any potential lessons or tips we might gain from ROK are going to be ignored until this thing plays itself out and a year or so from now we’re doing a “hot wash” and go “gee, wouldn’t it have been smart if we’d implemented this thing they tried in South Korea?”17. Do not, do not, use the Coronavirus as an excuse to implement other policies you have. The Trump Administration has already tightened immigration rules with Iran (actually, we should be sending CDC teams there to see what we can learn and also identify if it’s the same strain). Trump has talked about closing the border with Mexico (but not Canada which has far more cases—although a significant number came from exposure to Americans—sorry Canada!). Do you hear any talk of closing immigration with Italy (which is attempting to quarantine 15 million of its’ citizens)? Nope, neither have I. You see, the problem when you do stunts like this (sneak in another policy using the rationale of it’s dealing with Covid-19) is it ends up hurting your credibility and perceived confidence across the board. If shutting down borders is “the answer” then why shut off a border with Mexico but not Canada? If shutting down borders is “the answer” then why allow trucks full of auto parts from Mexico to still come in to the US (answer: it would shut down nearly all US auto manufacturing plants and immediately lead to a recession plus kill Trump in a bunch of battleground states like Michigan that he needs to win).18. This last piece is tough to do but it’s now essential: we need to flatten the curve and expand capacity ASAP. Let me explain the concept: the US healthcare system is near capacity. We don’t have a lot of empty beds. We have fewer doctors (especially in rural areas) per capita then places like Italy. Our ICU’s are maxed out mostly (in part due to a very bad flu season). A massive influx of new Covid-19 cases is a healthcare disaster. It doesn’t matter if the case mortality rate for infections is only 1% (or .2%) rather than 3.5%. You end up with not enough ventilators, not enough ICU beds, not enough healthcare providers. And while the extreme Covid-19 cases (about 4–10% of those infected) are in ICUs, other patients are either underserved or don’t get help. Seriously folks, with every epidemic the public healthcare data shows an increase in mortality for healthcare issues not related to the pandemic. So if you’re a healthcare administrator, you should be doing whatever you can to add beds, bring people out of retirement, add interns or admin support to free up nurses from work that someone without a degree can do. In terms of the Trump administration (ie: this question), they should be pushing all strategies to add capacity. And we (as an administration) should be looking at ways to “flatten the curve” by reducing the speed of infection. This chart is from Vox and Christina Animashaun and it illustrates why Covid-19 is got a lot of public healthcare folks alarmed, why you’re seeing so many Universities and localities canceling events and what the Federal Government needs to be focusing on much more than it currently is.I’m sure I’m leaving out a couple of other things but this post is long enough as is. Quite simply, the Trump Administration has done a terrible job preparing for a pandemic and then responding to the initial news and then acting when it hit the US.Let me say one last thing here: some people will write this post off as being “anti-Trump.” Preparing for disasters (diseases, natural emergencies, energy blackouts, rioting, etc.) is a special kind of challenge. We have professionals who do this stuff for a living. It absolutely infuriates me when we violate some of the most basic rules of disaster planning and emergency management—whether it’s with storms or pandemics. If this post comes off as “anti-Trump” it’s only because the Administration has badly bungled their response to the coronavirus. We had a reasonable shot at containing this sucker. No longer.

This is taken from a case I wrote and taught at Georgetown. It’s about Merck Pharmaceuticals and their development of Ivermectin for use in humans to battle Riven Blindness. Merck took a huge risk with no likelihood of financial benefit.“We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear. The better we have remembered it, the larger they have been.”George Wilhelm Merck, address to the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond Virginia December 1, 1950In 1975, workers at Merck laboratories were screening compounds for therapeutic effects with the strategy of developing them for veterinary use. They received 54 samples from the Kitsato Institute in Japan including some soil samples obtained from a Japanese golf course, one of which contained a factor with significant anti-parasitic effects, which they called Avermectin. The structure of the compound was of a macrocylclic lactone, which is a chemical naturally produced in soil by certain bacterium. This structure was further modified to decrease its toxicity in animal studies and this new compound was called Ivermectin and marketed under the name Mectizan.While studying the response of equine Onchocerca cervicalis (a round worm which often infects horses) to this compound, Dr. William Campbell, leader of the Merck team and a leading scientist in the development of several successful fungicides and parasiticides, recognized the properties Ivermectin possessed suggested its utility against River Blindness caused by the human parasite Onchocerca volvulus. With the encouragement of P. Roy Vaeglos, M.D. then president of the Merck Research Laboratories, the company began seriously to consider the potential use of Ivermectin in humans.River Blindness is an eye and skin disease caused by a tiny worm called Onchocerca volvulus, which is spread by the bite of an infected blackfly. These flies breed in fast-flowing streams and rivers, hence the name River Blindness. People with severe infections will usually have dermatitis, eye lesions, and/or subcutaneous nodules. Blindness is almost always inevitable for those with severe infections.The disease spreads from person to person by the bite of a blackfly. When a blackfly bites a person who has River Blindness, microscopic worms (called microfilariae) in the infected person's skin infect the blackfly. The microfilariae develop over two weeks to a stage where they are infectious to humans. When an infectious blackfly goes on to bite another person, it will typically inject one or two larvae along with its bite, transmitting the disease to the person. Since the worms can only increase their numbers in humans by first mating and then cycling their microfilariae through the black fly, the intensity of human infection (number of worms in an individual) is related to the number of infectious bites sustained by an individual.Onchocerciasis is the 2nd leading cause of blindness worldwide (after trachoma – a type of bacterial infection in the eye) according to the World Health Organization. An estimated 17.7 million people around the world are affected by River Blindness. Of this number, about 270,000 are blind and another 500,000 have visual impairment. About 99% of infected persons live in Africa, with the remainder in Yemen, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. Visitors to villages in areas known to be inhabited by blackfiles have reported that all of the adult members of a village can be blind from River Blindness and are led around by children who have not yet become blind. The disease is most prevalent in remote African rural agricultural villages, located near rapidly flowing streams.Infected persons may be without symptoms. Those with symptoms will usually experience intense itching, skin rash and discoloration, eye lesions, and/or subcutaneous bumps (nodules). The skin loses its pigmentation after the lesions heal. The most serious manifestation consists of lesions in the eye that can progress to blindness. The microfilaria often can be seen swimming in the anterior chamber of the eye with a special magnifying instrument (slit lamp). When these worms reach the end of their life cycle and die in the eye, the result is an inflammatory reaction that causes painful irritation and ultimately blindness. The cornea is also commonly affected, resulting in severe keratitis, scarring and blindness. These inflammatory reactions can result in secondary glaucoma, which can also lead to blindness.The normal incubation period of River Blindness ranges from nine to 24 months after the bite of an infected blackfly. Each female worm can reproduce millions of microfilariae during her lifetime. Left untreated, worms can live for 10 to 15 years.Cost of Drug DevelopmentThe cost to develop a drug can be exorbitant. A recent study conducted by the InnoThink Center for Research in Biomedical Innovation estimated the cost to develop a single drug at $4 billion or more (see Exhibit B – The Cost to Develop a New Drug). Additionally, it can be as many as fifteen years from the time a compound is isolated until it receives FDA approval for human treatment. Because Merck had a drug developed for the livestock market, the cost of development and time would be substantially reduced; however, the estimated best-case scenario to develop Ivermectin for human consumption was at least $150 million dollars (adjusting for inflation would be $750 million in 2013) and a minimum of six years. And there was the very real possibility that Merck could incur these expenses and never receive FDA approval.Political and Other ConcernsSenior managers at Merck were optimistic that Ivermectin could be successfully developed for human consumption, but there were several concerns. The people in need of this treatment were among the poorest in the world, and it was unlikely they could afford to pay for it. Finding a financial partner among governments, charitable, religious and non-governmental organizations was considered the most likely way to finance, or at least offset the substantial cost of development. But everyone recognized that raising $150 million to fund this project was unprecedented and could require Merck to provide financial partners a substantially higher level of transparency of its costs of development than is normally required of public companies. Protecting this proprietary knowledge, and ensuring it remained confidential to Merck, was important to maintaining a competitive advantage.Merck was also concerned with the potential negative impact on its livestock pharmaceutical business. This accounted for $300 million in revenues annually. If Ivermectin was found to have significant side effects in human trials, that could potentially cause a negative impact on sales to livestock markets.Liability related to long term side effects was considered as well. Despite the rigorous testing required to pass all phases of the FDA approval process, occasionally a drug is approved which is found to have detrimental side effects many years after it has been released to the market. Some managers were concerned how this potential liability could be mitigated, both for Merck and any potential financial partners.Because the people affected by River Blindness lived in remote areas, distributing the drug to the affected population would be very costly. Securing the distribution channel was a significant problem as well. The likelihood that Ivermectin intended for human consumption could be confiscated or stolen and sold for use in livestock was considered to be high. Merck was concerned over any potential liability this could cause, as well as potential damage to its reputation if a perception developed that its products were used to finance illegal activities in these nations.In the end, Merck developed the drug and received approval for its use in humans. No governments, religious, charitable non-governmental organization stepped up to assume all or even part of the financial cost. Merck absorbed the entire cost and decided to make the drug available to any organization that would distribute it to the affected populations.Médecins Sans Frontières agreed to distribute the drug. Its efficacy was beyond all hope. Most people were cured with 1–2 doses. This drug literally changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of the worlds most impoverished people.Merck did this because Dr. Vaeglos and others saw it was the right thing to do, despite its detrimental effect on profits.

I rate him 95+ out of 100.INITIATIVES FOR PASSENGERSPassenger Helpline No. 138 and security helpline 182Indian Railways provided the All India Helpline Number ‘138’ for passengers, as an interface for queries/complaints related to medical emergency, cleanliness, food & catering, coach maintenance, linen etc. A security helpline ‘182’has also been launched to report any unsavory incidents. This service is very important public service and may play an important role in emergencies like crime against women, onboard unlawful activity, train accidents, medical attention required and fire etc. These helpline numbers viz.138&182 and existing 139 are now to be printed on the tickets for the convenience of passengers.Launching of e-catering service in trainsThe Ministry of Railways is providing e-catering service in trains through its PSU, Indian Railways Catering &Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). This is a service where a passenger is able to place an order for a meal, to be served at his seat in the train enroute, through a phone call or an SMS. Presently this service is available in 120 pairs of trains.Go-India Smart cardGo-India’ smart card scheme has been launched on pilot basis on two sectors i.e. New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi-Howrah. At present, the Go-India smart card enables passengers to pay for reserved and unreserved tickets. The scheme is intended to reduce the transaction time at the booking counters for the convenience of passengers as it facilitates cashless transaction.Introduction of Next Generation e-ticketing systemNext generation E-ticketing system introduced, which can book 7200 online tickets instead of 2000 tickets per minute and to attend 2,00,000 enquiries instead of 50000 per minute.SMS Alerts to passengersIndian Railways added another milestone by launching yet another innovative scheme called the ‘SMS Gateway’, which will enable passengers to get SMS alerts on the status of reserved tickets. Moreover SMS alerts giving wakeup calls has also been introduced.Mobile security App.for womenMobile app for security of women has been launched in Mumbai suburban trains.This is the first phase and it will be extended in other areas in a phased manner.Yatri Ticket Sewa Kendra schemeA new scheme called the Yatri Ticket Sewa Kendra (YTSK) Scheme has been launched. Under this scheme, agents of Indian Railways can operate ticketing terminals at various locations in the cities and towns for issuing reserved tickets and unreserved tickets. This will offer greater convenience to passengers in getting rail tickets.Adarsh StationThe scheme of Adarsh stations for better amennities has been introduced in the year 2009. Under this scheme, 1052 stations have been selected for development as Adarsh Station upto 2013-14. 108 stations have been developed under the scheme during 2014-15, as such a total of 934 stations have been developed as ‘Adarsh’ station so far.Pilgrim special tourist trainsWith a view to promote rail tourism in the country and to provide reasonably priced tourism package to tourists, especially the pilgrims in the country, India Railways through its PSU IRCTC has launched six pilgrim special tourist train packages in the first phase. The tourist packages are; Sukhamngalam Yatra, Dham special with Dakshin Darshan via Lucknow, Dham special with Dakshin Darshan via Jaipur, Shikharji Circuit Yatra, Jyotirling Yatra, and Takht Parikrama.Braille Signages on coachesFor the help of visually impaired passengers, Indian Railways has taken the initiative of providing Braille signages on coaches.CCTV on coachesIn order to improve security measures on trains and especially for women passengers, it has been decided to provide CCTV cameras on coaches especially in ladies compartments in doorway and aisle area without infringing on the privacy.Waiting chairs/benches etc. under MPLAD SchemeGuidelines issue for installations of chairs/benches/overhead sheds at stations under Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme(MPLAD).Comprehensive guidelines have been issued for improvement of passenger amenities at stations through NGOs, Trusts, Corporate etc.R.O. drinking water at stationsProvision of Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) drinking water units at selection stations on experimental basis has been planned. To begin with, eight stations namely, Madurai, Gadag, Tirupati, Guwahati Dwarka, H.Nizammudin, Patna & Bhopal were identified for provision of R.O. drinking water units. While R.O. drinking water units have already been commissioned at Dwarka, Gadag, H.Nizammudin, Katihar (in lieu of Guwahati), Madurai and Tirupati stations R.O. units at Patna & Bhopal are planned to be commissioned shortly.This will help provide safe drinking water to passengers.Seperate Food safety officer in every divisionWith a view to ensure better quality check on the food installations in Railway, it has been decided to appoint one Food Safety Officer in every Division of the Railways. Earlier a Food Safety Officer was entrusted with more than one Division which was causing difficulty in ensuring proper supervision.DIGITAL INDIA INITIATIVELaunching of a ‘Customer Complaint Web Portal’A ‘Customer Complaint Web Portal and Mobile Application’ (android/windows based mobile App), was launched. One can track the status of the complaints which he or she registered on this portal with the help of mobile App. Feedback can also be given on this portal. This will help in faster redressal of passenger grievances.‘Operation Five Minutes’ –Paperless Unreserved TicketingFulfilling yet another commitment of the Railway Budget 2015-16, the Minister of Railways launched Mobile Application for Paperless Unreserved Ticketing on pilot basis on Egmore –Tambaram Suburban Section of Chennai. This initiative is part of Indian Railways effort to help passengers purchase the unreserved tickets within five minutes under its ‘Operation five minutes programme’. This will allow the passenger to buy a ticket on the move and allow him or her to board the train with the ticket secured on his or her mobile phone, without any need for printing the ticket.‘E-Samiksha’ for Implementation MonitoringIn yet another milestone initiative for ensuring timely implementation of budget proposals, a special portal called ‘E-Samiksha’, has been launched for monitoring the implementation of budget announcements/commitments .This portal would help to keep an eye on the implementation of budget process.Facility of ‘Wi-Fi’ services on Railway stationsIndian Railways is providing the Wi-Fi Broadband Services at several stations which include Bangaluru, Secunderabad, Mumbai CST, Agra, Varanasi, Hawrah, Chennai, Ahmdabad. The Wi-Fi project on Indian Railways is being executed by RailTel, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Railways. Wi-Fi facility is available to the users free of cost initially for a period of 30 minutes by registering on the Wi-Fi network through their mobile phones. The facility of Wi-Fi will be extended to other stations in a phased manner.Introduction of e-demand systemWith the release of this module, customers can sit in the convenience of their homes or offices and register their freight demands.Railways’ Social Media platformTo keep pace with the modern means of internet media, Indian Railways launched its three social media platforms namely Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with the URL @railminindia. Railway Budget was for the first time live streamed on social media platforms. Online suggestions and feedback can also be made on these social media platforms.SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTMoU signed for highest ever funding for RailwaysIn a landmark achievement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Railways and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for highest ever funding of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore for Railways. This move will ultimately help railways growth through augmentation of its financial resources.Interim Report of HLRRC submitted to Railway BoardInterim Report of High Level Railway Restructuring Committee (HLRCC) headed by Dr. Bibek Debroy has been submitted to the Railway Board.The report has also been put on the Ministry’s website for inviting suggestions and comments. This committee was constituted with an aim to find out ways to mobilise resources for major railway projects and restructuring of railways.Delegating more power to Zonal RailwaysWith an aim to fast track decision making and bring in transparency full powers have been delegated to General Manages and Director Generals as tender authority . All the cases for acceptance of Works and Stores tenders, will now be dealt with and finalized by Zonal Railways and Production Units.Scope of e-tendering is being expanded for increased transparency and procurement.Saving of energyTo reduce cost of Electrical energy being used for traction, procurement through open market is being done.Power Purchase Agreement between DVC and North Central railway for supply of 50MW power has already been signed.Saving for the month of March 2015 alone is Rs 10 Crore approx.A web based electrical energy management system called RailSaver has been launched which will help save upto 15% energy by 2020.Logistic Hubs on National WaterwaysA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWA) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) for creation of logistic hubs with rail connectivity at Varanasi and other places on National Waterways.Alternative Energy ResourcesSolar Plants of 2 MW at RCF, Raebareli and 1 MW at Katra Railway station have been commissioned.Target of commissioning 6.5 MW Solar Power plants in year 2015-16. A 30 KW Solar Plant has been commissioned at roof top Rail Bhawan at New Delhi. Solar plants at other Railway buildings are proposed to be installed in future. Target for commissioning of 25 MW Wind Energy Plant at Jaisalmer in 2015-16.Ratan Tata as Head of ‘Kayakalp’ CouncilTaking immediate follow up action in implementing the Budget announcement, Railways constituted the ‘Kayakalp’ Council and appointed Shri Ratan Tata to head this Council. The purpose of the Council is to recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the Indian Railways.MOU with National Institute of DesignAdding yet another milestone by fulfilling another commitment announced in the Railway Budget 2015-16, the Indian Railway signed an MoU to set up its own Railway Design Centre in the campus of National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad. This will help improve customer’s happiness by way of better designed coaches and providing cost effective solutions to problems faced by passengers during train travel.White paper and vision 2030 documentMinister of Railways released White Paper on Railways in the parliament with a view to understand the challenges that the organization is presently facing. Ministry of Railways is now working on the vision 2030 document on Railways which will contain a blueprint for the future development of the Indian Railways.Task forces and Experts’ committeesSeveral task forces and committees of experts constituted for focussed attention on areas like revenue mobilization through advertising, improving financial health of railways, restructuring delegation of powers, productivity enhancement, etc. The various committees have roped in experts like E Shreedhran, former CAG Vinod Rai, economist Bibek Debroy and noted industrialist Ratan Tata to improve the Railways and bring in innovative ideas and solutions.Better training of Railway PersonnelAcademic Services Agreement has been signed with Beijing Jiao Tong University, China for training of 100 officers of various departments in Heavy Haul Technology. ‘Indian Railways Chair for Sustainable Mobility’ has been set up at TERI University, New Delhi. Modules on gender sensitization of Railway personnel have been introduced in centralized training institutes.Centre for Railway Research set up at Mumbai UniversityRailway Ministry and Mumbai University signed an MoU to set up a Centre for Railway Research (CRR) at University of Mumbai in order to develop a long-term frame work for research collaboration.Leveraging of space for advertisingWith a view to generate additional revenue, RITES,a public sector undertaking of Ministry of Railways prepared a Concept Note, indicating ways and means for leveraging of space in coaches, wagons, trains, railway stations etc. for advertisements, publicity and other purposes. Now, six-member task force headed by Member Traffic Railway Board has been set up to examine and implement this project.INFRASTRUCTURECritical coal connectivity projects fasttrackedTransportation of coal is an important activity of Indian Railways and is very crucial for the country’s power supply system. Critical Coal connectivity projects in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa are being fast tracked. MOU has been signed with Ministry of Coal and Government of Odisha. Another MOU with Government of Jharkhand is in the offing.Redevelopment of Railway StationsRailway Ministry has now decided to offer Railway Stations for redevelopment on ‘as is where is’ basis, by inviting open bids from interested parties with their designs and business ideas duly providing for amenities and other requirements of the Railways. The Process for redevelopment of stations, already indentified viz. Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Shivaji Nagar & Habibganj by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) is continuing.Progress On Dedicated Freight Corridor ProjectEastern and Western Dedicated Freight corridors are being developed for smooth and fast transportation of freight.Loan for Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (Phase 2) for US $ 1100 million approved by the World Bank on 22.04.14, has been signed on 11th November 2014. Electrification contract for 945 km of Western DFC has been awarded on 18.11.2014.FDI and PPP in RailwaysCabinet approved 100% FDI in identified areas of Railway sector.Ministry of Railways has formulated sectoral guidelines on FDI.Investor’s meet was held to explain FDI to investors.More meets planned in future. High level committee set up to discuss FDI and PPP issues. Ministry of Railways has also issued Model Concession Agreement for Non Governmental Railway model, joint venture model and Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model. During the period , approvals were also given for port connectivity PPP projects viz. Roha-Dighi newline and Digni-Jaigarh port newline. In addition in principle approval for two more port connectivity projects viz. Chhara port and Nargol port has been given.New Rail Neer Plant in Mumbai inauguratedA new Rail Neer plant has been set up at Ambernath (Mumbai) by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Ministry of Railways, the production capacity of this plant will be 2 lakh liters per day, This will improve availability of safe Packaged Drinking Water (PDW).Laying of Opticle Fibre Cable on Railway NetworkA total number of 1,329 route kilometres OFC has been laid. Cumulatively, 48,179 route kilometers (approx.) OFC has been commissioned over Indian .It will enable high speed internet connectivity and video conferencing facility.New lines and electrificationIn 2014-15, 1983 km of railway lines have been commissioned. This is the highest ever. In 2014-15, 1375 km of railway electrification completed. This is the highest ever.SAFETYGeo-spatial technologies for unmanned level crossingsIn a significant move to make Unmanned Level Crossings (UMLCs) safer for road users thereby avoiding accidents thereat, Geo-spatial technologies are proposed to be used with the help of ISRO. Under such technologies which combine Global Positioning System(GPS), Geographic Information System(GIS) and Remote Sensing, an alert message will be flashed automatically in the mobile phones of all the road users carrying GPS enabled mobile phones in the vicinity of an Unmanned Level Crossing, about the approaching train. This will save many lives as many fatal accidents occur at unmanned level crossing.Quick evacuation of injured persons from tracksStandard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are being put in place regarding quick evacuation of the injured persons from the railway track so that human lives are saved.MoU on construction of ROBs/RUBsIn a move to further enhance safety of road users, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on policy related to constructions of Road Over Bridges and Road Under Bridges on National Highway corridors.MAKE IN INDIAExpansion project of DLW factoryThe Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the commencement of Expansion Project of Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), a production unit of Indian Railways at Varanasi on some of the features of the expansion plan are; a new block shop, loco frame shop and loco assembly shop, new plant shop having advanced paint booths, induction of high productivity machines and generation of 250 kw Green Power by roof mounted grid connected solar power plant. The project will herald the ‘Make in India’ campaign in the holy city, Varanasi.Ministry of Railway also successfully floated RFP for state of the Art Electro Loco Factory at Madhepura and Diesel Loco Factory at Marhowra. Again RFP were issued for manufacturing 9000 HP electric locos for western DFC. Locos will be manufactured at Dankuni and Technology will be transferred to CLW, Chittanranjan.New production unitsRail Wheel Plan, Bela commissioned and regular production started.2nd unit for manufacture of LHB coaches fit to run at 160kmph made functional at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.DEMU factory Haldia commissioned.Mid-life Rehabilitation Workshop for coaches at Jhansi completed.New Loco and New Green Train5500 HP Diesel Locomotive introduced in Indian Railway System which is the highest horse power Diesel Engine.First “Green” DEMU rail introduced on Northern Railway to run between Rewari-Rohtak Section.HIGH SPEED PROJECTSStatus of Railways Semi High Speed ProjectsIndian Railways is working on increasing speed of trains raising it to 160kmph/200 kmph referred as Semi-High speed. It has identified nine corridors for this purpose. Trial run in Delhi-Agra corridor successfully completed for running trains at semi-high speed of 160 km. per hour. The commercial services will be started after obtaining the CRS sanction.The feasibility study for semi high speed on Chennai-Bangaluru-Mysore Corridor is being taken up by Chinese Railways.Feasibility study for New Delhi-Chandigarh Corridor to be undertaken with French Railway.Discussions are on with Germany for undertaking feasibility study of Nagpur-Secunderabad Corridor.5 other identified corridors under examination for semi high speed trains.Mumbai-Ahemdabad High Speed Bullet train projectMinistry of Railways took steps for introduction of High Speed Bullet Trains(300+kmph) in the country on Mumbai-Ahmadabad corridor. It is part of the Ministry’s ambitious plan to have Diamond Quadrilateral network of High Speed Rail connecting major metros and growth centers of the country. French Railway submitted business model study of this corridor. The interim report of feasibility study being undertaken by Japan has been received and final report is expected in June, 2015. One new route between New Delhi and Chennai has been identified for introducing bullet train and China has been entrusted with the task of undertaking feasibility study of this line.JAMMU & KASHMIR AND NORTH EASTOpening of Lumding-Silchar broad gauge sectionThe much awaited Lumding-Silchar Broad Gauge section (Assam) inaugurated with the running of goods trains. The passenger train services will be started soon on this section. This line will provide seamless BG connectivity to Barak Valley of Assam with the rest of the Country.it Musica Country,Free Country Music WebRadio Online! is a very crucial rail link for the N.E region.First train to MeghalayaIn an important event in the history of Railways, one more north-eastern state namely Meghalaya was brought on country’s railway map. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the first ever train from Guwahati to Medipathar in Meghalaya to mark this feat.Foundation stone for rail link to Mizoram’s capitalTo further boost the development of rail link in North Eastern region, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation for a new rail route from Bhairabi to Sairang in Mizoram. It will take rail connectivity to Aizawl, the capital of MizoramKatra comes on country’s railway mapIn another landmark engineering marvel, Indian Railways completed Udhampur-Katra Broad gauge line in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister dedicated this line to the nation at a programme held at Katra.This line has brought Katra on country’s railway map consequently bringing Jammu & Kashmir Valley nearer to the rest of the nation .Railways help during J&K floodsIndian Railways geared up its machinery to provide all possible help to the travelling public in the wake of unprecedented flood in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Railways arranged transport of relief material free of charge by coaching trains to Jammu Tawi and Udhampur from any station of India. Railways made about 4 lakh Rail Neer drinking water bottles available for flood affected people of J&K.North-eastern tour package for college studentsAn education train ‘Gyanodaya Express’ – a tour package for the students of Delhi University to visit North east states, was flagged off from Delhi . It will help the students to connect with NE region .SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAANNation wide Action PlanIndian Railways is implementing PMs nationwide campaign of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan in true letter and spirit.Separate Directorate for Environment and Housekeeping created. This Directorate will address all environment and housekeeping related issues over Railways.Detailed action plan on cleanliness prepared has been prepared and an Integrated Policy of cleanliness in Stations, Platforms and Coaches is under formulation.50 major stations outsourced for international level cleanliness.Setting up of mechanised laundriesMechanised laundries at 6 new locations have been set up to improve the quality of linen being supplied to AC class passengers. With this Indian Railway now have 33 such mechanized laundries.Dustbins on all the coaches:Dustbins on trains were hitherto being provided mainly on AC coaches. Now dustbins will be provided in all the coaches including non AC coaches.On Board Housekeeping services scheme:An additional 83 no. of trains have been covered under OBHS scheme taking total coverage to around 500 trains. Under this scheme ,cleanliness is maintained during run of the train.Installation of more Bio-Toilets in coachesMore than 10159 Bio-toilets have been fitted till March, 2015 and target set for 2015-16 is fitment of 17,000 bio-toilets. These toilets use bacterial action to convert human waste into water and gas.HELPING FARMERS AND RURAL PEOPLEFirst ever Perishable Cargo Centre set upThe first ever Perishable Cargo Centre of Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) (a Railway PSU) at Adarsh Nagar station near Azadpur Sabzi Mandi, Delhi, was inaugurated. This perishable cargo centre will help farmers and consumers in a big way and the ripening of fruits and cold storage facilities at this cargo centre will help the farmers get a good price and good market for their product.Skill development activities in railway premisesIndian Railways has around 8000 stations and premises of some of the railway stations with very few trains and scanty footfall would be used for skill development activities. It will help rural people substantially.The skill development programme has been emphasized by the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the benefit of the people.Promoting Rural ProductsRailways will also help in marketing rural products made by self help groups and other such agencies so as to help common rural people. The Konkani-cuisine restaurant “Konkan Swaad Katta’ recently set up at Ratnagiri station in Konkan Railway is a step in this direction to encourage traditional businesses and local talent as well as help the financial empowerment of local people and at the same time passengers getting taste traditional dishes.INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONMoU with China in technical cooperation in RailwaysA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and an Action Plan were signed between the Government of India and People’s Republic of China in enhancing Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector, at delegation level talks between the two countries on 18th September 2014. The potential cooperation areas mentioned in the MoU are; i) Training in heavy haul freight transportation, ii) Raising of speed of trains on existing routes, iii) Station redevelopment, iv) High speed rail and v) Setting up of Railway University.MoU on cooperation with Republic of KoreaIndian Railways and Republic of Korea signed a MoU on Technical Cooperation In the Rail Sector. The MoU would enable technical assistance and cooperation between the Railways of the two countries on areas such as High Speed Rail, Modernisation of Rolling Stock, Railway Operations, Modernisation of Signalling, Construction & Maintenance technologies and in development of Logistics Parks/Terminals.Cooperation with Czech RepublicMoU has also been signed with Czech Republic for technical assistance in Railway sector. The potential cooperation areas mentioned in the MoU are Freight operations- Logistics of automotive transport, Passenger operations – raising of speeds upto 200 kmph; Infrastructure building and management – station development and workshop modernization; Information & communication technologies especially for passenger amenities ; Modernisation of rolling stock; Modernisation of signalling & telecom etc.Cooperation with AustriaThe 2nd Indo-Austrian Joint Working Group meeting on the Technology Specific Cooperation in the field of Railways was organized on 9.9.2014.Cooperation among SAARC nationsMinistry of Railways hosted the 5th meeting of the SAARC Inter governmental Group on Transport on 30thSeptember,2014 at Vigyan Bhawan ,New Delhi,The meeting was attended by all the SAARC member countries.Relief during Nepal earthquakeDuring the Nepal earthquake crisis, Railways made available to Nepal about 4 lakh Rail Neer drinking water bottles. Railways also made available to earthquake victims the facility of the Railways hospitals situated in the border towns. Railways also facilitated travel of earthquake victims.IMPROVED PERFORMANCEIncrease in Railways’ revenue earningsThe total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the financial year 2014-15 (1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015) were Rs. 157880.50 crore compared to Rs. 140761.27 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 12.16 per cent.Improved Freight loadingIndian Railways carried 1097.57 million tonnes of revenue earning freight traffic during the financial year 2014-15 i.e. from 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015. The freight carried shows an increase of 44.02 million tonnes over the freight traffic of 1053.55 million tonnes actually carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.18 per cent.MISCELLANEOUSPathbreaking Railway BudgetRailway Budget 2015-16 was completely depoliticized making it a long term perspective document.The thrust areas identified in the budget include Quality of life in journeys, station redevelopment, capacity augmentation, safety, technology upgradation, partnerships for development, improvements to management processes and systems, resource mobilization, human resources, energy and sustainability, transparency and governance initiatives.28 announcements made in the Budget speech already implemented.Railways players bring laurel to the nationRailway sportspersons as a part of Indian contingent at recently concluded Commonwealth Games-2014, (CWG) at Glasgow, Scotland, again brought glory to the nation by bagging 9 medals out of total 64 medals won by India.Renovation of National Rail MuseumA big renovation exercise was undertaken in National Railways Museum, Delhi. Musical Fountain, Toy Train and Renovated Exhibits have been added at the Museum.