With India hosting a global conference on tobacco next week for the first time, the Union Health Ministry has written a letter to Finance Ministry to direct government institutions not to invest in companies involved in tobacco manufacturing.
India is all set to host the Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties (COP7) to World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) from November 7-12, 2016 at Greater Noida which will be inaugurated by Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
The move comes after India also decided to push for incorporating smokeless tobacco as an agenda at the conference since there is a large number of people in India who are increasingly opting for smokeless form of tobacco.
A letter of representation has been sent to the Finance ministry about not investing in companies involved in tobacco production, a top Health ministry official said.
Around 1,500 delegates are expected to participate in the conference from around 180 countries.
India provided a leadership role in the negotiations of FCTC and was also the regional coordinator for the South-East Asia Region.
India ratified the treaty on February 27, 2005 and is obligated to comply with the treaty provisions and its guidelines to reduce tobacco consumption globally.
"This is a very critical and important event that will give us an opportunity to showcase what we have done and learn from other countries," Health secretary C K Mishra had said yesterday.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
