Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped an index that ranks states on food safety parameters for the 2020-21 year, according to an FSSAI report unveiled by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday. The index ranks states on five parameters of food safety: human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building besides consumer empowerment. Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped in the list of large states on the index.
Representatives from seven vaccine makers -- Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Zydus Cadila, Biological E, Gennova Biopharma and Panacea Biotech -- will be participating in the meeting.
More than 31 per cent of the country's adult population has been administered both the doses, according to Union Health Ministry officials.
The 46-year-old MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh was among the 15 new Cabinet ministers who took oath in the first major rejig and expansion of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government after it returned to power for a second term in May 2019.
After two years of muted festivities due to COVID-19, crowds thronged churches across the country this Christmas on Sunday for special prayers as people celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Union health ministry has directed states to identify all left-out people and ensure everyone gets their Covid jab through initiatives such as workplace vaccination, as part of the government's "Har Ghar Dastak" campaign. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting on vaccination progress with Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Puducherry on Monday. In a tweet, the minister said, "Spoke about augmenting Govt's #HarGharDastak vaccine campaign. Requested help from religious leaders, NGOs & political groups to speed-up vaccination coverage." Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has asked state officials that workplace vaccination should be organised for targeting people due for their doses.
Omicron has started replacing Delta variant in the country in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases and positive international travellers are almost 80 per cent Omicron now, official sources said on Friday.
There is no scientific evidence so far to support the need for a booster vaccine dose against COVID-19, ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said on Monday underlining the completion of second dose for India's adult population is the priority for the government for now.
For the first time in two years, schools in the national capital will reopen completely in offline mode from April 1 with the hybrid mode of operation coming to an end.
There has been a decline of four points in male U5MR and three points in female U5MR during the corresponding period.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated 11 government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu and said the future will belong to societies that invest in healthcare.
On production capacity of Covishield, the vaccine being manufactured and supplied by Serum in India under a licensing agreement with Oxford and AstraZeneca, he said the present capacity is 130 million doses per month and always try to increase it further.
'It indicates the grooming of the party's new leadership.' 'It is also a signal to the states that these ministers represent.'
The government will chart out a plan for the evacuation of seafarers stuck on international waters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Union Minister Mansukh L Mandaviya has said. Thousands of Indian seafarers are currently stuck aboard cruise ships and cargo vessels in far off waters, and maritime bodies have been demanding from the government strategies for bringing them home fearing that delays might result in disruption in supply chain.
India achieved a major milestone in its vaccination programme against COVID-19 as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 100-crore mark on Thursday.
Legislative assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state are due next year.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
As cases of 'black fungus' among COVID-19 patients in the country rise to cross 7,000, the Centre on Thursday urged all states and union territories to declare it as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act to ensure mandatory surveillance to tackle the 'new challenge'.
India has administered more than 88.13 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.
Mandaviya said this is the second phase of the Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package as the Central government had given Rs 15,000 crore earlier for setting up Covid-dedicated hospitals and health centres across the country.
Varinderpal Singh was joint winner of Fertiliser Association of India Golden Jubilee Award for Excellence for the best work done in the field of plant nutrition.
Karnataka health minister Dr K Sudhakar on Sunday claimed that modern Indian women want to stay single, unwilling to give birth even after marriage and desire children by surrogacy.
It was on January 30, 2020 when a third-year medical student from Wuhan university tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the country's first COVID-19 patient, days after she had returned home following semester holidays.
Bharat Biotech has completed the Phase 2/3 trials of COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin for use in children under 18 years of age and is expected to submit the data by next week to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, Krishna Ella said
In his remarks at the meeting, the prime minister underlined the importance of vaccination and the need to further accelerate the 'Har Ghar Dastak' programme to achieve 100 per cent vaccination coverage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday stressed the need to ensure adequate health infrastructure at the district level and asked officials to maintain coordination regarding this with the states, in view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
With development of the Vadhavan port, India will break into the countries with top 10 container ports in the world.
The 30-share BSE Sensex surged by 477.24 points or 0.83 per cent to close at more than one-week high of 57,897.48. As many as 28 of its constituents closed with gains while two declined. The broad-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange rose by 147.20 points or 0.86 per cent to settle 17,233.45, tracking gains in Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, and Reliance Industries.
India is committed to supplying COVID-19 vaccines to other nations and such supplies are likely to begin by the end of this year, as the abundant production will not just meet domestic needs but also generate surplus for exports a top government official said on Monday.
'There is no shortage of any APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) in the country'
Wishing him, President Droupadi Murmu said the work for nation-building under his incomparable hardwork, dedication and creativity continue to advance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in the state this weekend, while his colleagues Gajendra Shekhawat, Sanjeev Balyan, Prahlad Patel, Arjun Munda and Mansukh Mandaviya will be visiting in the next few days, sources in the party said on Thursday.
Across the country, the number of patients in ICU beds is 4,88,861 while 1,70,841 patients were on ventilators and 9,02,291 patients were on oxygen support.
If the DCGI grants regular marketing authorisation, Covishied will be the second vaccine in the world to receive such approval.
The World Health Organisation's technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin, a vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech protecting against COVID-19, the global health agency's chief scientist said.
The current total installed capacity of the seven manufacturers of remdesivir is 38.80 lakh vials per month, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said in a statement.
There was an environment of "indifference" towards the use of technology in governance before 2014 due to which the poor and the middle class suffered the most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. He asserted the current government has ensured last-mile delivery of services with the help of technology, including drones. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating India's biggest drone festival in Delhi, he said, "At a time when we are celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, it is my dream that everyone in India should have a smartphone in his or her hand, every farm should have a drone and every house should have prosperity." The enthusiasm being seen in India about drone technology is amazing and indicates possibilities of an emerging sector of employment generation, the prime minister said.
L Murugan, 44, is the only newly-sworn minister who is not a member of Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha.
Vijay Rupani, the fourth chief minister to demit office in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, was sworn in as chief minister -- his second stint as CM -- in December 2017.
The reset button that the Bharatiya Janata Party has pressed on governance in the wake of the Covid-19 wave, which also saw a major overhaul by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his own Cabinet, continues as Vijay Rupani on Saturday became the fourth chief minister from the party to go.
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