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..& CHAPTER XIV, _ ..:
more statistical officers will be required. Asin Britain, the staff need not
be large, and the necessary specialised training can be acquired after
appointment. We therefore suggest that the Association should send
suitable candidates, holding the necessary preliminary qualifications, to
Europe for their initial training. When the nucleus of a trained staff
has been obtained, Indian industry should be able to secure research
into the effect on output of hours, temperature and other factors, the
suitability of the present meal and rest intervals for the Indian worker, the
relations between fatigue and accidents and other problems of a like nature
that the conversion of an agriculturalist into an industrialist makes pecu-
liarly important in this country.
Health Administration.

In some provinces a great advance has been achieved during
recent years in the organisation of their Public Health Departments, but
Madras Presidency is the only province which so far includes a woman
Assistant Director in its Public Health Department. We recommend
that, particularly in the more industrialised provinces of Bengal and
Bombay, such appointments should be made. The organisation, co-ordi-
nation and supervision of all forms of welfare work among women and
children require expert control, and we feel that this can only be obtained
if the initiative in these directions is definitely taken by local Governments.
In addition, every provincial Public Health Department should be
strengthened by the appointment of a trained statistical officer to take
charge of all statistical records and to carry out special investigations in
regard to the incidence of sickness and disease in special areas and for
special groups of the population. For some years past health propaganda
work has been developed in most provinces with success. There
can be no question as to the necessity for greater extension of that form
of education both by Government and local authorities. Every municipal
area, also, should have its own Medical Officer of Health and an
adequate sanitary staff. Under the existing Local Self-Government Acts
municipal councils have been given almost complete responsibility for
public health, but in many of the areas visited by us we were unfavour-
ably impressed with the standard of health administration and with the
manner in which these duties have been performed. Health Officers are
to be found in most of the larger municipalities, but their work is too often
ineffective, because they have incomplete control of the health organisa-
tions or because their recommendations fail to receive active consideration
from their councils. It is important that security of tenure for these offi-
cers should be ensured and, to obtain this, we recommend that they should
belong to a Government cadre, although their salaries and allowances
should be a charge on municipal funds. In all extra-municipal areas
where industry is being developed, a similar health staff should be at work,
as it is particularly in such areas that strict supervision should be main-
tained from the start. Greater pressure could be exerted on local boards
and municipalities by local Governments, if the practice in force in Great
Britain were adopted of giving percentage grants towards expenditure

on health measures.