In the wake of 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus in India so far, the Union health ministry has made functional 52 laboratories for testing samples while 57 labs have been designated for helping in sample collection for Covid-19 to enhance capacity for diagnosis and detection of the disease. "Following the increase in load of screening samples from suspected cases with symptoms and travel history to the affected countries, the department of health research/ICMR has commissioned 52 laboratories for COVID-19 testing in India," an official said.
The revised Dietary Guidelines for Indians released by the National Institute of Nutrition explains how prolonged intake of large amounts of protein powders or consumption of high protein concentrate can damage the body.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Panacea Biotec have initiated the first-ever phase three clinical trial for developing a dengue vaccine in India, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The ICMR's network of laboratories will take care of diagnostics and there is enough capability to step up the supply of diagnostic kits if required, they said.
A series of deaths in a remote village in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, are not due to any disease, according to the Health Minister. Tests conducted by various institutions, including the ICMR, NCDC, and DRDE, have returned negative results. However, the minister has ordered an investigation into the deaths to determine the cause.
A high-level inter-ministerial team conducted a six-hour investigation in Badhaal village, Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, to ascertain the causes of death of 17 members of three families under mysterious circumstances. The team, led by a director-rank officer in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, collected samples and briefed by senior district, health and police officers. The team's visit follows the deaths of 16 people between December 7 and January 19. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities focusing on potential neurotoxins and a spring that tested positive for pesticides.
India is proposing a new law that would impose a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh on anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter, stay, or exit the country. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, also mandates reporting of foreign visitors by hotels, universities, and hospitals to track overstaying individuals. The bill aims to simplify laws, ease business, and strengthen national security while promoting economic growth and tourism.
Simplifying investment policies at the micro level and introducing a time-bound framework will be critical for India's growth targets, notes Krishna Ella.
Here is an explainer on the functioning of the seven-year-old body.
The Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition under the apex health research body on Wednesday released revised 'Dietary Guidelines for Indians' to meet the requirements of essential nutrients and prevent non-communicable diseases.
What is pushing students to take this extreme step?
Cancer has no race, so why do new innovative cancer drugs discriminate based on race and ethnic groups, asks Digonto Chatterjee.
Medical education regulator NMC recently notified the "Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023" according to which all rounds of counselling for all PG seats will be held online mode by state or central counselling authorities.
rediffGURU Mayank Chandel counsels students on the various options they can pursue after Class 12.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
There are currently no reported cases of Monkeypox in India even though cautionary measures will be put in place to prevent and control the spread of the disease, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.
The Gujarat government has deployed specialist doctors and 50 medical teams in and around seven villages of two talukas in Kutch district after an undiagnosed fever has claimed the lives of 11 persons in a week, a state minister said on Wednesday.
Earthen ware are environment-friendly and keep the food's nutritional content intact Heat can circulate through the food in earthen pots, preserving the nutrition.
There is a reason this 11 year phenomenon is a rule as much as it is an observation. It speaks to the nature of man and what humans are like, explains Aakar Patel.
Blue Origin's 10th human flight, NS-30, will lift off from Launch Site in West Texas on Tuesday, February 25.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
According to the Federation of Resident Doctors Association, during the indefinite strike, all outpatient departments, operation theatres, and ward duties will be shut, but emergency services will continue to operate as usual, ensuring that urgent patient care remains unaffected.
rediffGURU Rohit Gupta, co-founder and COO of College Vidya, provides a list of competitive exams that can help you land a job in the public sector.
Food budgets in urban areas spent less on protein as compared to beverages and processed foods, reveals the Household Consumption Expenditure survey data for 2023-24.
As sludge started solidifying inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel in Telangana, rescuers are planning to use sniffer dogs to locate those got trapped, District Collector B Santhosh said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast, urged people to reduce their oil intake by 10% as a step towards fighting obesity. He highlighted the rising obesity rates in India and globally, emphasizing the need for healthier lifestyles. Modi also shared messages from Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra and boxer Nikhat Zareen, who urged people to adopt healthy habits and avoid fried food. Cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty highlighted the medical seriousness of obesity and linked it to excessive carbohydrate intake and oil consumption. Modi concluded by challenging 10 people to reduce their oil intake and pass the challenge on to 10 others.
After reports claimed that filings in patent offices in India, the US, and Europe did not mention ICMR or its scientists, but only BBIL and its scientists, the Hyderabad-based biotechnology (biotech) company clarified that in the "rush" to develop vaccines and file appropriate patents, BBIL had missed adding ICMR's name in the original filings.
Dr Arun Jamkar, former vice chancellor, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, makes a strong case for reforming Indian medical education and believes that the National Medical Commission Bill is historic.
rediffGURU Mayank Chandel offers advice to students interested in a careers in science or engineering after class 10 and 12.
rediffGURU Nayagam PP counsels students and aspiring professionals on how to pick the right courses and scale up in your career.
The 21-year-old final year student at Kharkiv National Medical University had died on March one, in the conflict zone, tragically becoming India's first casualty in the ongoing offensive in the eastern European nation.
State health minister Veena George said a meeting was held between the principal secretary of the health department and the Union health ministry earlier in the day and now the monoclonal antibody has arrived.
'Make your child solve his/her problems on his/her own. Let the child see parenting as a partnership between you and your child.'
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Pankaj Mithal said when reasonable care, expected of the medical professional, was extended or rendered to the patient unless contrary was proved, it would not be a case for actionable negligence.
After three cheetahs died in just over a month last year in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, the National Tiger Conservation Authority in May 2023 called in experts from Reliance's wildlife facility in Gujarat to review health monitoring protocols, official records show.
rediffGURU Dr Pananjay Tiwari lists the options and cost of pursuing an MBBS education outside of India.
The Centre, for the first time, has initiated a draft proposal for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institute of national importance for animal health, education and research in Delhi to be called the All India Institute of Veterinary Sciences (AIIVS).
The National Science Foundationis an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health.
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