The Supreme Court will examine whether the reduction in NEET-PG qualifying marks affects the standard of postgraduate medical education, following petitions challenging the cut-off reduction for the current academic year.
The Union health ministry has issued draft rules to mandate a blue vertical strip on all antimicrobial drug labels, aiming to rein in over-the-counter misuse and tackle India's growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem.
An investigation has been launched into the authenticity of the disability certificate of Prashant Kumar Singh, who resigned as GST Deputy Commissioner in protest against remarks made against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The probe was initiated following a complaint filed in 2021.
The kit is aimed at building awareness among children about the hazards of new-age gateway nicotine devices such as nicotine gums, pouches and vapes.
The toll in the case reached nine in Madhya Pradesh while media reports said of two infants died in Rajasthan.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) will conduct testing, inspection and auditing of cough syrup manufacturers.
The Rajasthan government has suspended the state drug controller and halted the distribution of medicines manufactured by Kaysons Pharma following reports of children's deaths allegedly linked to contaminated cough syrup.
Due to the rising COVID cases, the Centre is conducting mock drills to check facility-level preparedness and has instructed all states to ensure availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines, official sources had said.
India's active Covid case tally crossed the 5,000 mark with Kerala remaining the most affected state followed by Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi, according to the Union health ministry data released on Friday.
As of May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring, not as Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest. But these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in Covid cases in China and parts of Asia.
All states have been instructed to ensure availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators and essential medicines in view of rising cases of Covid, official sources said on Wednesday.
The Delhi high court recently observed the 'next Covid pandemic' was far from over as it asked for details on the Centre's preparedness for the collection of samples, centres and transport policy.
'It will be an explosion of zoonotic diseases from these places.' 'People will not be able to live or work for kilometres around these places where thousands of street dogs are kept.'
Amid an uptick in Covid cases in some parts of the country, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Rajiv Behl said the severity of infections as of now is generally mild and there was no cause for worry. Speaking about new Covid variants being traced, he said genome sequencing of samples in the west and south have shown that the new variants are not severe and are Omicron sub-variants. These are LF.7, XFG, JN.1 and NB. 1.8.1. The first three are more prevalent, Dr Behl said. "Samples from other places are being sequenced and we will know in a day or two if there are more variants." The ICMR DG said there has been an uptick in cases --first from the south, then west and now from northern India. All these cases are being monitored through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Besides that, ICMR's nationwide respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network is keeping a watch on emerging infections and pathogens, he said. "Whenever cases increase, we look at three things. It's dependent on three factors with the first being how transmissible it is, conversely how fast the cases are increasing. Previously we saw Covid cases double in two days, but this time it is not that cases are increasing rapidly. "Secondly, are the new variants evading our previous immunity? When new variants come, they evade immunity -- be it natural or from the vaccine. But there's nothing to worry about at the moment," Dr Behl said. He also said that the third factor is the percentage of severe cases in all Covid instances. "Are we getting a very severe disease without comorbidities? As of now, the severity is generally low. There's nothing to worry about. We should be vigilant and we should always be prepared," the ICMR DG asserted. Dr Behl also informed reporters that the Union Health secretary chaired a meeting on Sunday that was also attended by the director general of health services and himself. "We have been closely monitoring the situation. We should be vigilant at this moment, but there is no cause to worry. The general public should be vigilant. There is no need to take any such action as of now," he said. The officer added that the WHO database has been showing that the new variants were not causing severe disease. "People do not need to take any immediate action. They should follow normal precautions. So, there is nothing special to do right now." Asked about the need for a booster dose, he said there is no need for vaccination as of now. "India has the capability to make vaccines and if need be, we can make any vaccine in no time."
The Indian Ministry of Health has banned all forms of tobacco and alcohol promotions, including surrogate advertisements, during the IPL.
India has reported 59 cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and two deaths due to co-morbidities between January 6 and 29, according to Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav. The virus primarily affects young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to respiratory illnesses. The government has taken measures to monitor and control the spread of HMPV cases and create public awareness.
There are currently no reported cases of Monkeypox in India even though cautionary measures will be put in place to prevent and control the spread of the disease, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.
Amid widespread protests over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata, the Union health ministry on Friday said the heads of institutions will be responsible for filing an institutional first information report (FIR) within six hours of an incident of violence against any healthcare worker on duty.
"Even the expired licence issued to the said hospital allowed for five beds only," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said.
The officials of the Delhi Fire Services said the blaze broke out at the children's hospital in Shahdara on Saturday night.
With the COVID-19 cases under subsidence in the country, the viral infection has risen significantly due to the emergence of a new virus for which the experts are continuously advising to take precautions.
The aim is also to push for post-mortem for organ donation even after sundown if adequate infrastructure is available.
Sri Lanka will ban entry to most travellers from six southern African countries from Sunday, after a potentially more contagious new coronavirus variant called Omicron was identified in South Africa earlier this week, healthcare authorities said in Colombo on Saturday.
A 22-year-old man, who recently returned to Kerala from the UAE, allegedly died due to monkeypox on Saturday.
The ministry on Sunday wrote to the Delhi government, saying the bodies of suspected COVID-19 cases should be handed over to their relatives without waiting for laboratory confirmation but the mortal remains should be treated as per the government guidelines.
With a sharp rise in deaths due to the latest surge in COVID-19, crematoriums and burial grounds in the city are struggling to manage resources.
A number of European countries have banned flights from the UK as the British government warned that the potent new strain of the virus was "out of control" and imposed a stringent new stay-at-home lockdown from Sunday.
The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,43,213, with 339 daily fatalities being recorded, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The man had attended a stag party recently in Manali in Himachal Pradesh.
The civil aviation ministry had last week suspended all flights between the European country and India from December 23 to December 31 as a mutated variant of the coronavirus was detected there.
The government has come out with comprehensive guidelines for the management of COVID-19 among children in which Remdesivir has not been recommended and rational use of HRCT imaging has been suggested.
The government on Monday issued an advisory for rational use of Remdesivir in COVID-19 treatment, underlining that the anti-viral drug must be advised by senior faculty members directly involved in the patient's care.
The health ministry on Friday assured all possible help to the 23-year-old gang-rape victim for her advanced treatment, including organ transplant.
Amid increasing cases of monkeypox being reported in non-endemic countries, the government on Tuesday issued guidelines directing district surveillance units to consider even one such case as an outbreak and initiating a detailed investigation through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
The Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in the ministry of health, in a letter to the Principal Secretaries of health and medical education of states, said it has been observed that there is 'inappropriate use' of N-95 masks, particularly those with valved respirators, by the public other than designated health workers.
The medical devices, which have been in high demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, will now see a drop in prices, as the earlier margins were up to 709 per cent for some of these products.
This is apart from the requirement to stock hydroxychloroquine (200 mg) and Azithromycin (500 mg) tablets for patients requiring ICU management, asymptomatic healthcare workers and asymptomatic household contacts of positive cases.
The department also said there is nothing to suggest that the state authorities failed to address any shortage of COVID-19 drugs.
The new regime aims to bring in ease of doing business, as the NITI Aayog has proposed to do away with the need to have manufacturing licences to register medical devices or to get a certificate of compliance.
With the introduction of the quota, around 310 SC and 155 ST students will benefit this year.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances