UP's 60 Parachute Field Hospital gets Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar

New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS) The 60 Parachute Field Hospital in Uttar Pradesh has been selected for the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar-2024 in the Institutional category.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said that the work of the hospitals is excellent in Disaster Management. The Government of India has instituted an annual award known as 'Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar' to recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in India in the field of disaster management.

The award is announced every year on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.

For the award of year-2024, online nominations were solicited from 1st July, 2023 onwards. The award scheme for the year 2024 was given wide publicity through print, electronic and social media. In response to the award scheme, 245 valid nominations were received from institutions and individuals, officials added.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said that the 60 Parachute Field Hospital, Uttar Pradesh, was established in 1942. It is the sole airborne medical establishment of the Indian Armed Forces, recognized for its exceptional service in various global crises. The primary mission includes Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations during natural calamities, nationally and internationally, both in times of peace and war.

It had provided medical assistance during the Uttarakhand floods (2013), Nepal Earthquake under the operation name ‘Maitri’ (2015) and Indonesian Tsunami as part of operation Samudra Maitri (2018).

Recently, in response to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February 2023, the unit rapidly assembled a 99-member team and established India’s pioneering level-2 medical facility in Turkey overcoming resource constraints and language barrier to set up a 30 bed hospital in Hatay province’s school building.

The unit provided a wide range of medical services, including rescue, triage, surgery, dental treatment, X Ray and lab facilities and offered care to 3,600 patients during a 12-day period as a part of Operation Dost, official added.