Is India Winning the War Against Rising Non-Communicable Diseases? The latest health statistics paint a concerning picture: diabetes, heart disease, and cancer rates are climbing, impacting millions across the country. From rural healthcare access to the burgeoning urban health crisis, challenges remain significant. This week, we delve into the crucial initiatives underway – government policies, technological advancements in telemedicine, and the rising role of preventative healthcare – that aim to address this national health emergency. Experts weigh in on the effectiveness of current strategies and the critical need for increased public awareness campaigns targeting lifestyle diseases. Are these efforts enough? Explore Abtak.com's in-depth coverage on healthcare in India and discover the vital information you need to protect your well-being and the future of public health. Stay informed; stay healthy.
Pune: Biomedical waste, considered among the most hazardous categories of hospital waste, has been found dumped in the open inside the Aundh District Hospital (ADH) campus, raising serious concerns over public health and safety. Used injections, syringes, medicine vials, saline bottles and face masks were spotted lying unattended on open ground behind the 108 ambulance service office near the Chest (Tuberculosis) Hospital on Tuesday. The waste was reportedly noticed by citizens and attendants of patients visiting the facility. A relative of a patient, requesting anonymity, said, "We come here for treatment, but seeing such hazardous waste lying in the open is frightening. Children and elderly people are moving around. This is extremely unsafe." Spread across 85 acres, the ADH campus houses two key facilities -- the District Hospital and the Chest Hospital. However, officials from both institutions denied responsibility, stating that the waste does not belong to their respective hospitals. Dr Abhijeet Hosmani, medical superintendent of Chest Hospital, said, "The waste does not appear to be waste generated from our facilities. There is a possibility that it is being brought from outside and dumped here after dark. We will initiate an inquiry and strengthen surveillance." According to the officials, the issue is not new. Similar incidents were reported in the past in the same campus. Following which, complaints were given to the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) over inadequate monitoring and enforcement within the campus. Dr Nagnath Yempalle, Pune district civil surgeon and head of ADH, said the waste does not belong to us and was reportedly found dumped near the Chest Hospital. "I have issued orders to the security to keep surveillance and take appropriate action," he said. The Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2016 apply to all individuals who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose of, or handle biomedical waste in any form. Along with hospitals and nursing homes, the rules apply to clinics, dispensaries, veterinary institutions, pathological laboratories, blood banks, blood donation camps, research institutions and vaccination camps that also generate biomedical waste.
Ahmedabad, June 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The MSC IRINA, recognised as the world's largest container ship by TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) capacity, is set to dock at the Adani Group's Vizhinjam International Seaport on Monday and will be berthed till Tuesday. The monumental arrival marks a significant milestone for the seaport, which was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 2. The MSC IRINA boasts an impressive capacity of 24,346 TEUs, making it a formidable player in global shipping. With a length of 399.9 metres and a width of 61.3 metres, the vessel is approximate ...Read More >
Kochi: Edison Babu's neighbours in Muvattupuzha knew him as the quiet engineer who had returned home during the pandemic. The 35-year-old former auto industry professional seemed to lead an unremarkable life in this sleepy Kerala suburb, occasionally visiting the local post office with packages: nothing unusual for someone running what appeared to be a small online business. What they didn't know was that their mild-mannered neighbour had built India's most sophisticated darknet drug empire, one that relied heavily on the very government postal service that was meant to serve the community. ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday refuted the rumours regarding slum demolitions and said that no slum would be demolished without first providing permanent housing to its residents. FIRs will be filed, and strict action will be taken against those spreading false information about demolitions, she added. She inaugurated and inspected various development projects in Nehru Camp in Haiderpur, Ekta Camp in Pitampura, and the area near U and V Blocks of JJ Cluster in the Shalimar Bagh Assembly constituency. The Chief Minister also reviewed key works, su ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): In a significant milestone for India's animal health system and international trade facilitation, the country has established and secured global recognition for its first Equine Disease-Free Compartment (EDFC). Recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on July 3, this approved facility at the Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College, Meerut Cantonment, Uttar Pradesh, marks a major step towards enabling the international movement of Indian sport horses in compliance with global biosecurity and animal health standards. According to ...Read More >
Amritsar: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey from Jharkhand has claimed that Britain assisted India in executing the 1984 Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, stoking a new controversy.In a post on X on Monday, Dubey alleged that then PM Indira Gandhi "launched an attack on the Golden Temple in collaboration with Britain", with British Army officers present in Amritsar.He uploaded a classified British document, "Sikh Community", claiming that on Feb 23, 1984, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office mentioned in a letter that the Indian govt had sought British advice over a plan to remove Si ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) Verbal autopsy is a scientific tool that can significantly aid India in the fight against tuberculosis, as it helps identify the deep reasons for mortality caused by the world's deadliest infection, said Dr Kavita Vasudevan from Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMC&RI) in Puducherry. Speaking to IANS, Vasudevan, from the Community Medicine Department at the Medical College explained how a verbal autopsy model can help identify TB treatment delay patterns, and reasons for TB deaths and improve the referral process. "A comprehensive appr ...Read More >
New Delhi/Itanagar, July 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt. General K.T. Parnaik (Retd.) on Friday during a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu in Delhi highlighted key initiatives and transformative efforts being undertaken across various sectors to uplift the lives of the people and ensure inclusive growth in the frontier state. During the meeting with President, the Arunachal Pradesh Governor apprised President Murmu of the ongoing developmental progress in Arunachal Pradesh and the state government's unwavering commitment to contributing meaningfully to the national visi ...Read More >
New Delhi: Three Indian citizens vanished mysteriously in Tehran. Darkness closed in as hope seemed lost. A ruthless Pakistani gang with potential links to ISI snatched them away, casting a shadow of fear. But relentless Indian diplomats refused to back down. Against all odds, a daring rescue mission ignited. Now, the captives are free, and a chilling game of espionage comes to light. The Punjab-based trio - Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar and Hushnapreet Singh from Sangrur - had landed in Iran on May 1. Promised a clandestine route to Australia via Dubai and Tehra ...Read More >
India will observe National Doctor's Day on July 1. The day acknowledges doctors' dedication. The 2025 theme is 'Behind the Mask: Who Heals the Healers?'. It highlights the mental health of doctors. The day commemorates Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. He was a physician and former Chief Minister of West Bengal. Events will include ceremonies and campaigns. India marks National Doctor's Day on July 1 every year to recognise the tireless service, dedication, and compassion of the country's medical profess ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) The Puducherry administration has launched raids against private drug retailers flouting the ban on sale of anti-tuberculosis drugs in contravention of norms. The joint enforcement raids are being conducted by the State TB Cell in collaboration with the Department of Drugs Control. The Puducherry administration in alignment with the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) implemented the ban on the sale of anti-TB drugs by private chemists, Dr S Govindarajan, Mission Director of National Health Mission (NHM), Puducherry, told PTI. The move, initiated in 201 ...Read More >
SRINAGAR, July 8: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today chaired a high-level meeting to review the implementation and progress of Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan in the UT of Jammu Kashmir. The meeting was attended by Atal Dulloo, Chief Secretary; Dr Mandeep K. Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor; Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Secretary, Health and Medical Education; Baseer UI Haq Chaudhary, Mission Director, NHM J&K; Deputy Commissioners; Heads of Medical & Health institutions and senior officials. The Lieutenant Governor reviewed the strategies and actionable plans aim ...Read More >
New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi's public health department recently wrote to the veterinary department, requesting an examination of the issue of controlling the pigeon population in Delhi.In correspondence dated July 8, additional municipal health officer informed the veterinary department about concerns raised during the June 27 standing committee meeting regarding pigeon overpopulation and potential health risks from their droppings."It is pertinent to mention that there is no data a ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Former head of Air India and chairman of the Railway Board Ashwani Lohani is the new Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) director. The official order for his appointment was issued on Wednesday. A 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Lohani is known for turning around various organisations during his illustrious career. Following his retirement from IRSME service, he joined the GMR Group as the CEO. According to the order dated June 4, his appointment to the post of director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library in the rank and pa ...Read More >
Gaya, June 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Eye Hospital, inaugurated five years ago in 2020, has become a landmark location in Bihar's Gaya, owing to its famed eye care centre catering to more than 10 lakh people, not just from the city but also adjoining towns including Nawada, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, and Nalanda. The hospital, situated at Kajha village of Wazirganj block of Gaya, is primarily an eye hospital, providing treatment for all types of eye diseases. The hospital has a modular Operation Theatre, two other OTs, 100 indoor patient beds and is equipped with a pathological lab, ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Apex drug regulatory body CDSCO has listed 17 drugs which should be flushed down the toilet rather than being thrown in dustbins if they have expired or are unused to help prevent harm to people and pets at home. These include tramadol, tapentadol, diazepam, oxycodone and fentanyl which may be especially harmful and in some cases fatal with just one dose if they are used by someone other than the person for whom the medicine was prescribed, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) said. Most of these medicines are used to control pain, anxiety and other ...Read More >
Pune: State Election Commission (SEC) will use the July 1, 2025, updated legislative assembly voters' list for the upcoming local body elections with chairperson Dinesh Waghmare directing district collectors and municipal commissioners to begin preparations based on the updated voter rolls during video conferences on Thursday and Friday.Elections are due for 29 municipal corporations, 290 nagar panchayats and parishads, 32 zilla parishads, and 336 panchayat samitis, as their terms have expired. "There is no separate voters' list for local body polls. The Election Commission of India (ECI)'s up ...Read More >
In a clear case of medical negligence, a 34-year-old woman died after doctors transferred the wrong blood type at Kakinada Government General Hospital, Andhra Pradesh. On Tuesday, November 26, the deceased, Bhavana Sirisha, was given AB+ blood group instead of O+. A house surgeon mistakenly transferred the wrong blood type. Sirisha, a resident of Palakollu in West Godavari district, was suffering from kidney ailments for the last four years and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. Doctors had advised a blood transfusion with 'O positive' group blood due to low hemoglobin levels. The ...Read More >
Mangaluru: Well-known physician Dr. Srinivas Kakkilaya has urged the government to withdraw the recent report submitted by the expert committee headed by Dr. K.S. Ravindranath of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. The report concerns sudden cardiac deaths and, according to Dr. Kakkilaya, is incomplete and flawed. Speaking to Vartha Bharati, Dr. Kakkilaya said that the report, as claimed by media outlets, states there is no link between COVID-19 vaccination and recent sudden deaths. However, he clarified that no such conclusion exists in the report. He pointed out ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 9 (ANI): Following the violent protest at Kerala University, a case has been registered against 27 activists of the ruling CPM's Students Federation of India (SFI), including its state secretary P S Sanjeev, who has been named the prime accused, police said. The case also names 1,000 identifiable protesters who have been accused of damaging public property, forcibly entering the university campus, and assaulting police and university staff, police said on Tuesday. Also Read | Nobel Peace Prize 2025: From Mahatma Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru, Check Full ...Read More >
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 9 (ANI): More than half of all tuberculosis (TB) deaths occur within the first two months of treatment. In response, the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE) has introduced a new alert feature designed to immediately notify frontline healthcare workers when a patient is identified as severely ill following a TB diagnosis. Also Read | Delhi-NCR Rains: Waterlogging and Traffic Disruptions in Several Areas As Sudden Spell of Heavy Rain Batters National Capital; IMD Issues Red Alert (Watch Video). The predictive model ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 14 (ANI): Paying rich tribute to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the world-renowned physician and doyen of medical academics, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday invoked Dr B C Roy's legacy to emphasise the importance of restoring doctor-patient trust which was the hallmark of Dr Roy's era in the first half of the 20th century, Ministry of Science & Technology said. Dr Jitendra Singh, as the Chief Guest, was speaking at the Doctors' Day celebration organised by the national body of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) here. Also Read | Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: Pra ...Read More >
Bareilly (UP), Jul 17 (PTI) A teacher from Bahedi district, who went viral recently after reciting a poem mentioning Kanwar Yatra, approached the police on Thursday stating a threat to his life from anti-social elements. A case has been registered at Bahedi police station based on a complaint from Dr Rajneesh Kumar Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College in the district. According to Circle Officer Arun Kumar Singh, Gangwar's complaint says that ever since his recitation of the poem 'Tum Kanwad Lene Mat Jana, Gyaan Ka Deepak Jalaana' (You don't go get Kavad, light the lamp of knowledge inste ...Read More >
Ludhiana: As part of efforts to counter the risk of dengue, the health department conducted a house-to-house dengue awareness and breeding check drive at Chand Colony, under the guidance of civil surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur.The civil surgeon urged residents to actively participate in dengue prevention efforts. "We are working tirelessly to prevent dengue outbreaks, but our efforts can only be effective with the full support of the community. Every household must ensure that water is not allowed to stagnate, as it serves as a breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes," she said. She also urg ...Read More >
Gurgaon: A chemist and a lab operator have been arrested for allegedly selling medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits illegally. Two separate FIRs were lodged against the accused at Sector 10 and Sector 9A police stations, police said on Friday.The pharmacy was sealed and medical officials have initiated proceedings to cancel its licence. District drugs control officer Suresh Verma said the department received information about illegal sales of MTP kits - also called abortion kits - from Juneja Chemist, located near Civil Hospital. A pregnant woman, who was deployed as a decoy customer, v ...Read More >
Gurgaon: MCG additional commissioner Yash Jaluka directed bulk waste generators (BWG) across the city to ensure proper disposal of waste by private agencies who are assisting them. Giving these instructions in a meeting held on Friday, he said it is often observed that BWGs hand over their waste to private agencies, which only sort valuable items and dump the remaining waste on roads, drains, vacant land or public places. This, he said, not only affects cleanliness of the city but also poses a threat to public health."Under the Solid Waste Management Rules-2016, it is the legal and moral respo ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 1 (ANI): Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Monday said that if the INDIA bloc comes to power in Bihar after the upcoming assembly elections, it will implement Rajasthan's health model in the state. Speaking at a press conference in Patna, Gehlot said, 'The health model we have created in Rajasthan cannot be compared to any other in the entire country. We have also enacted the 'Right to Health' law in Rajasthan, under which every family has been provided with insurance coverage. The Government of India's Ayushman Bharat schem ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): In a significant milestone for India's animal health system and international trade facilitation, the country has established and secured global recognition for its first Equine Disease-Free Compartment (EDFC). Recognised by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on July 3, this approved facility at the Remount Veterinary Corps (RVC) Centre and College, Meerut Cantonment, Uttar Pradesh, marks a major step towards enabling the international movement of Indian sport horses in compliance with global biosecurity and animal health standards. According to ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) The Puducherry administration has launched raids against private drug retailers flouting the ban on sale of anti-tuberculosis drugs in contravention of norms. The joint enforcement raids are being conducted by the State TB Cell in collaboration with the Department of Drugs Control. The Puducherry administration in alignment with the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) implemented the ban on the sale of anti-TB drugs by private chemists, Dr S Govindarajan, Mission Director of National Health Mission (NHM), Puducherry, told PTI. The move, initiated in 201 ...Read More >
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh IT and Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh on Friday hailed the successful implementation of the state-wide 'Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) 2.0' programme. Expressing gratitude to all stakeholders, he credited the collective efforts of government and private schools, colleges, education officials, staff, headmasters, teachers, students, parents, donors, alumni, public representatives, and officers from various departments for making the event a success. ...Read More >
Jammu, Jul 18 (PTI) Senior officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government reviewed the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the 13-day-long Budha Amarnath pilgrimage in Poonch district that will begin on July 28. Deputy Inspector General of Police Tejinder Singh reviewed security in Poonch and stressed ensuring the safety of the devotees. "The first batch will depart from the Bhagwati Nagar basecamp in Jammu on July 28, moving towards the Mandi tehsil in Poonch in a regulated convoy amid full security arrangements," a spokesperson said. Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Inspec ...Read More >