The necessity to improve occupational safety and health in central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) was underlined at a national conference organized by SCOPE in association with Directorate General Factory Advice Service Labour Institute (DGFASLI) and International Labour Organization (ILO). The theme of the conference, held on Tuesday in New Delhi, was "Strategies for Improving Occupational Safety & Health in CPSEs." Among the participants were Dr. D.N. Sharma, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), who inaugurated the workshop, R.G. Rajan, Chairman, SCOPE, delivered the special address and P.P. Mitra, Principal Adviser, Ministry of Labour & Employment, delivered the keynote address. Dr. U.D. Choubey, DG, SCOPE, Ravindra Peiris, Sr. Specialist (Employers Activities), ILO and Dr. Avneesh Singh, DG, DGFASLI, also addressed the inaugural session of the workshop. Dr. Sharma complimented SCOPE for conducting knowledge sharing programme on a periodic basis to promote excellence in the field of environment, health and safety. Rajan, Chairman, SCOPE & CMD, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers, in his special address pointed out that occupational safety and health measures increases productivity and performance and contributes in building a culture of health safety. He said corporates should draw lessons from reports of near miss incidences, analyze and discuss them to avoid future accidents. Dr Choubey said occupational safety and health is an integral part of the public sector management. With about 14 lakh employees, he said the public sector has structured safety departments and are better placed than others to overcome hazardous accidents. While citing a ILO study, he said occupational accidents and work related diseases cause over 2.3 million fatalities and adversely erode 4% of world GDP (2.8 trillion dollar) in terms of capital owing to occupational accidents and work related diseases. Mitra called for making training an integral part of the safety culture. Peiris said the government, trade unions and employers should work together to build a culture of occupational safety and health. He extended full support to SCOPE in such endeavour. Dr. Avneesh Singh said there is need to innovate and devise new steps to counter hazards. The workshop was attended by senior executives working in safety departments of PSEs.