Is the government planning to bring in a law on population regulation? Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements cautioning India over what he called its ‘reckless population explosion’ may be a hint. Does India need such a law when it is staring at a slowdown? “Population explosion has been occuring at an unrestrained pace. This population […]
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Plastic ban calls in the face of an environmental crisis
One of India’s leading youth politicians has called for a plastic ban to be enacted. “The need of the hour is to ban production, usage and sale of plastic,” proclaimed Aditya Thackeray, who leads the youth wing of the Shiv Sena political party. In an earlier tweet, Thackeray said “banning production, use and sale of […]
Tip of the iceberg: What the AIIMS fire tells us about India’s hospitals
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi resumed services at the beginning of the week following the outbreak of a fire over the weekend. No fatalities or injuries were reported in the blaze, which reportedly originated due to a short circuit. According to reports, the fire broke out on the first and […]
Proposed law to ban violence against doctors
The Centre has drafted legislation to tackle violence against doctors, one of the main issues facing India’s healthcare professionals. Under the law, those who commit assault against doctors and other medical workers could face a prison sentence of between three and ten years and fined up to Rs 10 lakh. In addition, healthcare workers can […]
Calls for AYUSH centres in every state
One of India’s leading alternative medicine practitioners has called for AYUSH centres practising these systems to be established in every Indian state. Dr V. B. Vijaykumar – vice president of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, a body under the Union Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) – issued the […]
Rabies vaccine shortage in Karnataka
Karnataka’s hospitals are grappling with a shortage of the rabies vaccine, with many forced to procure them from other sources. Rabies is one of India’s most lethal diseases, killing every person it came into contact with in 2017. Since 2010, only six people have survived rabies infections despite the disease being entirely vaccine preventable. Rabies […]
Floods in Kerala kill 111, lakhs displaced
Floods continue to ravage Kerala where the death toll has crossed 100. At the time of writing, 111 fatalities have been reported with the Malappuram district being the worst-affected. The floods have led to mass displacement. More than 2.27 lakh people are being sheltered in 1,551 relief camps. Excess rainfall during the monsoon season triggered […]
A spike in monsoon flu cases in Lucknow
Doctors in Uttar Pradesh state capital Lucknow are warning of a spike in cases of flu amidst the monsoon season. Since the onset of rains, cases have jumped by 600 percent with multiple hospitals reporting increased visitors of individuals with flu in their outpatient departments. At the King George’s Medical University, between fifty and sixty […]
Air pollution and the risk of emphysema
Long-term exposure to air pollution ups the risk of developing emphysema in a similar way to smoking, according to a recent study. The research – carried out by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), both part of the US National Institutes of Health – […]
Modi calls for family planning to fight overpopulation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used Independence Day celebrations today to call for family planning measures to tackle what he termed India’s ‘population explosion’. “Population explosion will cause many problems for our future generations,” the Prime Minister said during his speech. “We have to be concerned about population explosion. The centre as well as state governments […]