An interesting, observational study in the UK suggests that the overactive immune system associated with allergic diseases such as asthma and hay fever may have a positive side-effect in the form of greater protection from COVID-19 in the initial stages. The 10-month study, involving around 15,000 people, was carried out between May 2020 and February […]
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today ruled out achieving herd immunity — developed as a result of a large portion of the population getting infected — as a workable strategy for India in its fight against COVID-19. Rajesh Bhushan, officer on special duty at the ministry, said the government cannot have a strategy based […]
Even as the rest of the country is seeing an accelerated increase in the number of new Coronavirus cases reported every day, the western Indian state of Gujarat has is reporting a surprising decline in the number of active cases every day. It has also shown a remarkable stability in the number of new COVID-19 […]
Stock markets extended their losses on today, with the Nifty 50 falling by around 2.5% to 8,967. Among the biggest drags were ICICI Bank, which fell nearly 9%, indicating that large, foreign portfolio investors are exiting their long positions in the market. With this, the Nifty 50 index is now down 27.5% from its all-time […]
Four organizations campaigning for justice on the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal accused the central and the state governments of suppressing a study that could have been used by the victims to bolster their case in courts. In a press conference, the organizations said they were able to obtain a copy of a study conducted […]
Construction on Central Research Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy near Bhubaneswar in Orissa has been stuck for several years due to opposition from villagers surrounding the project, the AYUSH ministry said today. The institute, which would carry out research in Yoga and naturopathy as well as have a 100-bed attached hospital, was announced in eight years […]
A total of 1,104 people have died during clinical trials of various drugs and procedures in India in the last three years, according to the ministry of health and family welfare. However, not everyone who died during clinical trials are found to have died from the procedure through subsequent examinations. Only the patients who are […]
Southern railway zones, especially Southern Railway, are far behind their northern and western counterparts in fining those who litter the station premises, data from the Indian Railways showed. According to the data for the first ten months of the current year, Southern Railway division — which covers Kerala and Tamil Nadu — was able to […]
The percentage of Indians who have access to toilets has jumped to 77.52% from 38.7% in October 2014, the ministry of drinking water and sanitation said. The jump is largely due to the implementation of the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission. Under the mission, a total of 6.11 cr toilets have been built in rural […]
The government of India is exploring ways to ban the advertising of junk foods and soft drinks on television channels targeted at children, junior minister for information and technology Rajyavardhan Rathore told the parliament today. Rathore said intimations in this regard will be sent to television channels soon, and the idea was to discourage children […]
The solar energy revolution may be all about saving the environment, but for the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, it’s impact is more immediate, and life-saving. According to a first-of-its-kind study conducted on primary health centers in the state, PHCs with solar backup admitted 50% more patients and conducted almost twice the number of child deliveries […]
About 10.6% of adults in India suffer from some sort of mental disorder, including substance abuse problems, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences or NIMHANS found. The study was conducted in 12 states of India by the Bangalore-based institution. Those with mental disorders were classified as those with ‘common mental […]
The number of people getting infected with measles, a deadly disease that causes a red rash and is spread through the air, has shown a steady increase in four adjoining states of North India, as well as Gujarat. Measles is a highly contagious infection caused by the measles virus and can cause complications such as […]
Zydus Cadila said it received the final approval from the US FDA to market obesity drug Phentermine Hydrochloride. The drug will be marketed in the form of orally disintegrating tablets in strengths of 15 mg, 30 mg, and 37.5 mg. The drug is used to treat obesity in people with risk factors such as high […]
The Department of Atomic Energy today said that India is the first country in the world where the waste produced by nuclear power plants is being used for civilian applications. Jitendra Singh, the minister of state overseeing the department, also allayed concerns about any possible leakage of radiation from spent fuel. “There has been no […]
Over one-fifth of all food samples tested in India’s government labs in the last year were found to be fake or adulterated, according to numbers compiled from various state government food testing facilities by union government’s department of consumer affairs. Exempting Gujarat, which accounted for nearly 23% of the samples, the total percentage of fake and adulterated […]
Minister of health and family welfare Anupriya Patel said Lopinavir syrup, the life-saving drug given to infants and toddlers with HIV has been restocked by the National Aids Control Organization. “NACO has done an emergency procurement from a registered manufacturer — McNeil and Argus. The drug has already been supplied and is available throughout the […]
The number of cancer cases in India jumped by 4.5% in 2016 to 14.51 lakh, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research or ICMR. The number implies that 1 in 930 people in India have cancer as of 2016. In 2015, the total number of cancer patients in India was estimated at 13.88 lakh […]
Air India, India’s national carrier, has grounded 30 women and 4 men among its cabin crew for being overweight, the civil aviation ministry said in reply to a query. The grounded crew, however, comprises only 1% its total cabin crew strength of 3,490. Air India said it grounds its cabin staff when they exceed 27 […]
A government doctor in Kerala has come under criticism on social media for taking a Polio vaccination awareness class for women from behind a veil. According to local media reports, nearly 100 women participated in the thinly veiled awareness drive conducted by a medical superintendent of the government hospital at Nileswaram in Kasargode district in North Kerala. The […]
