Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reviewed the status of passengers coming from the UK to India and found positive in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Goa, Punjab, Gujarat and Kerala and their response measures in a meeting held through video conferencing.
Opposition leaders slammed the Centre on Wednesday for its 'limited' focus on important sectors like health and education in the Budget for 2023-24 fiscal.
The African Union on Saturday joined the G20 after all member countries accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal to bring the key bloc of the Global South to the high table of the world's top economies, a major diplomatic achievement of India's presidency.
Amid mounting concerns over the new 'XE' variant of Covid and a day after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation reported its first case in Mumbai, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said the state health department has not received any confirmation about the variant and thus cannot confirm it.
India conducted nationwide civil defence mock drills simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, fire emergencies, and rescue operations across several states and union territories. The drills, dubbed 'Operation Abhyaas,' aimed to enhance emergency preparedness in light of recent terror attacks. The exercises involved coordinated efforts by various agencies, including civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services, and the military. Mock drills were conducted at various locations, including railway stations, malls, and high-rise buildings, showcasing the response capabilities of authorities in different emergency scenarios. The drills highlighted the importance of public awareness and cooperation in dealing with real-time emergencies.
'They sell such ideas in the name of 'national interest'.' 'What national interest are they talking about?' 'There is no national interest in this. The only interest that is there is their profit.'
'If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cuts funds, there could be more impact.'
The family members of Border Security Force constable Purnam Kumar Shaw, who was released by Pakistan from its custody on Wednesday, expressed immense relief and gratitude to the central government and BSF authorities for securing his return.
Night patrolling on hospital premises and regulating access for people to key areas are among the measures the Centre has asked states to implement to ensure the safety of medics at workplaces, following Supreme Court orders in the rape-murder case of a junior doctor in Kolkata.
The entire wing where the OSD office is located is being sanitised and several staffers, including the OSD, is learnt to have been advised self-quarantine.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
In view of the 'unidentified illness' in Rajouri's Badhal village, the village has been declared a containment zone, and the affected families' homes sealed; a few patients brought to Government Medical College (GMC) in Rajouri on Thursday.
The Union Health Ministry will take up initiatives to check occupational health hazards faced by employees in the IT and ITES sector.
Responding to a question on the Rajasthan government's claim that there is a shortage in COVID-19 vaccine stock, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the central government regularly monitors the availability of vaccine supply in all states and UTs and their consumption on a daily basis.
The government on Saturday said a committee will be formed to propose safety measures for healthcare professionals even as OPD services were hit across the country as doctors joined the 24-hour nationwide strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to protest the alleged rape and murder of a trainee medic in Kolkata.
A large number of medical device-manufacturing units have been forced to move to Vietnam and Malaysia due to delays, inconsistent timelines, and a lack of transparency in licensing processes, according to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare.
Official sources said the last case of monkeypox in India was reported from Kerala in March this year.
The Union health ministry has advised states to immediately review public health preparedness in view of recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China.
Twenty-two cases of COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 have been detected in the country till Thursday, with 21 cases being reported from Goa and another from Kerala, official sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, inviting her to visit India after her return from a nine-month stay at the International Space Station. In his letter, Modi expressed pride in Williams' achievements and said that India is looking forward to hosting "one of its most illustrious daughters." The letter was shared on X by Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh.
In 2014, Vardhan had defeated Kapil Sibal, then with the Congress, to win the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat while in the 2019 polls, he trounced Congress' Jai Prakash Agarwal.
The voice of the six bells of St Peter's Basilca announced that the Church has its new Pope.
The unrelenting heatwave sweeping large parts of the country has claimed at least 110 lives and left over 40,000 people grappling with suspected heatstroke between March 1 and June 18 this year, health ministry sources said on Thursday.
Chiranjeevi celebrated the festival of Pongal with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Union Minister G Kishan Reddy's home in Delhi.
Kejriwal described the BJP's election manifesto as "dangerous for the country".
In a letter to all chief secretaries, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said it is imperative to re-emphasise the significance of timely and swift upgradation of health infrastructure in all states and UTs.
'What does Indira Gandhi want from me? At this age, what will I do to her?'
'CM face ko lekar NDA mein koi confusion nahi hai, Nitish Kumar hi NDA ke CM face hai'.
Larger hospitals are not worried about a spike in cases, as they are now accustomed to converting ICUs and general wards into negative pressure zones or isolation rooms. For smaller hospitals, the task is tedious.
An Air India aircraft with 242 passengers on board heading to London crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, the police said.
Actor Poonam Pandey is not being considered as the brand ambassador of the government's national campaign to spread awareness on cervical cancer, Union health ministry officials said on Wednesday.
A retired school headmaster from Jhalda, West Bengal, mourned the loss of his 33-year-old son, an Intelligence Bureau officer, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The incident sparked outrage and calls for justice as families and political leaders expressed grief and condemned the attack. The victims' families recounted the horrifying details of the attack and praised the courage of a local taxi driver who rescued survivors and provided support.
The scare of communicable diseases seems to be gripping the country with Maharashtra reporting 28 Zika cases this year, the highest since 2021.
An Allahabad high court bench of Justice Shekhar Yadav had on Thursday last urged the government and the poll panel to consider postponing the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for a month or two and banning all political rallies amid the fears of an impending third wave of Covid.
The minister will review the COVID-19 situation at 11:30 am on Wednesday 'considering the international scenario', they said.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
As many as 290 cases of KP.2 and 34 cases of KP.1, both sub-lineages of COVID-19 that are responsible for surge in cases in Singapore, have been found in India, according to official data.
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.
The Supreme Court of India has formed a National Task Force (NTF) to address the growing concern of student suicides in higher educational institutions. The court took note of the recurring cases and directed Delhi Police to register FIRs on the complaints of families of two students who died by suicide at IIT Delhi in 2023. The NTF, chaired by former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, will prepare a comprehensive report, including the identification of causes leading to suicides, analysis of existing regulations, and recommendations for strengthening protections. The NTF will also have the authority to conduct surprise inspections of higher educational institutions and make further recommendations to ensure a holistic approach to addressing mental health concerns and eliminating suicides.
The Global Hunger Index exaggerates the measure of hunger, lacks statistical vigour and has problems on multiple counts, Union Health Ministry sources said.
