This is Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya's maiden Lok Sabha election, but political experts and voters feel he can easily win Porbandar seat in his home state Gujarat, despite the electorate facing some key issues like unemployment.
The states were requested to take a stock of hospital preparedness such as availability of drugs and medical oxygen, vaccination coverage against COVID-19 and influenza.
According to the latest data available from the Centre and the states in the night, the total number of Omicron cases in the country was around 1,200.
Thousands of athletes and staff roamed the Olympic village freely, mingling at cafes and swapping souvenir pins.
As a proactive step, the government has already placed nations, where this VoC has been found, in the category of 'at risk' countries for additional follow-up measures of international travellers coming into lndia from these destinations, he said in a letter dated November 27.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said upcoming festivals and mass congregations in different parts of the country may potentially facilitate transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
An important focus of the dry run will be on management of any possible adverse events following immunisation.
Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra has come under fire from several quarters after he was seen forcing the Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) to lie on a dirty mattress at a hospital.
Experts said the strain has not propelled a surge in cases like Omicron, but advised strict adherence to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
Kharge's remarks came after Modi on Friday said the Congress stands "badly exposed" in front of people for promising to them what the party knows it will never be able to deliver.
Each state will plan it in two districts and preferably in five different session-type settings -- district hospital, community health centre or primary health care centre, urban site, private health facility and rural outreach.
The police claimed that Altaf, 22, had strangulated himself using a string from his jacket hood in the washroom of the police lock-up and said five policemen have been suspended for negligence in the wake of the incident on Tuesday.
The languages which are now being offered are Hindi, Punjabi, Assamese, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu and English.
As the country eagerly awaits an expected coronavirus vaccination drive in January, at least 125 intended beneficiaries each in four states who had registered on the Co-WIN App were on Monday sent SMSes informing them about the time and place of their 'COVID-19 vaccination' under a mock-drill to administer the shots at designated centres.
Several BJP-backed state governments have unveiled schemes targeting the poor, women, farmers and students, following the party's setback in the Lok Sabha polls.
The Centre Thursday issued guidelines for vaccination near home, making it easier for the elderly and the differently-abled to get inoculated against coronavirus close to the places of their residence.
'In this assembly election, Muslims here will vote for one who works, but also one who safeguards their identity.' 'Their existence is more important they feel, than a faulty light meter. So yes, a Muslim representative will make a difference.'
As many as 125 students of two government schools in Uttar Pradesh were taken ill after consuming midday meals on Wednesday.
The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday.
'If such a practice were feasible, every state would seek additional funds, posing a significant risk to the overall health of the economy.'
As many as 21 cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected across the country till now, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said on Wednesday but asserted that there was no need to panic.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday released its manifesto for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls, promising a monthly assistance of Rs 2,100 for women, two lakh government jobs for the youth and guaranteed government job for Agniveers hailing from the state.
As Singapore, New York and Melbourne have shown, cities can mitigate the impact of heatwaves if they have the will to create green infrastructure, explain Amit Kapoor & Bibek Debroy.
Even though the number of cases is rising and the JN.1 sub-variant has been detected in the country, there is no cause of immediate concern as 92 per cent of those infected are opting for home-based treatment, indicating mild illness, they said.
The Trust has been running a vocational training centre on state land allegedly without proper authorisation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for electing a strong and stable government in an uncertain world beset by geopolitical tensions as the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday released its manifesto, prioritising development and welfare while shunning populist measures and contentious issues like the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Even though the Health Ministry and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been insisting that there is 'no solid evidence' of community transmission so far, the government has started scaling up health infrastructure to deal with any situation.
The government's focus is on urban areas, so rural areas are neglected and the COVID situation in Bihar's villages -- neither the positive cases nor the deaths -- are reported, notes M I Khan.
At least 46 people have become infected with HIV in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao tehsil in the last 10 months.
Polling in 70 constituencies began at 8 am and will conclude at 5 pm, except in nine polling booths in the Maoist-affected Bindranawagarh seat in Gariaband district, where voting began at 7 for security reasons, a poll official said.
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, the Uttar Pradesh government Thursday decided to increase the duration of weekend lockdown by 24 hours, announcing that it will now cover Mondays too.
Over the past six months, the neighbourhood primary health centres have remained largely ill-equipped and thus relegated in the fight against the virus. Nitin Kumar reports.
The preventive aspect of cancer is strengthened under comprehensive primary healthcare through the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre scheme by the promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level.
In a letter to states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has suggested setting up of a state steering committee chaired by the chief secretary, a state task force led by additional Chief Secretary or principal secretary (health), and a district task force to be headed by the district magistrate.
The Centre has ruled out door-to-door vaccination of people and said the inoculation will be done at identified COVID Vaccination Centres, both government and private, registered on COWIN for 'good, germane and rational reasons'.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
In order to bring uniformity, the need for following the existing framework for either imposition of restrictions or allowing relaxations based on the burden of disease and strain on healthcare infrastructure still remain important.
Hardly anyone wears a mask and most brush off concerns over a pandemic. It is not just scepticism over the existence of the pandemic. A common refrain across villages is the fear of vaccines, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
In the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, the bench, also comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah, took note of the submissions by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the high court order was also harsh, having serious repercussions on the health of the violators.
