Focussing on population stabilisation and meeting the unmet demands of contraceptives, the mission steering group (MSG) of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) on Tuesday decided to utilise Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) for delivery of contraceptives at the homes of beneficiaries. For this, ASHAs can charge Re. 1 for a pack of 3 condoms, Re. 1 for an Oral Contraceptive Pill (OCP) cycle and Rs. 2 for an Emergency...

Policies aiming to combat malnutrition are ignoring an entire generation of women whose overall health has a direct bearing on children’s growth, say advocacy groups and researchers Cradling a frail son on her hip and with a plastic bag stuffed with clothes in one hand, Tara Jadam walked into the rehabilitation centre inside the district hospital here to spend the next two weeks. On a hot afternoon, she has walked several miles...

Victims have not forgotten the following brutal tragedies in the life of independent India, even if the State and political parties may pretend to have. 1984—Delhi: On October 31, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in revenge for ‘Operation Bluestar’. For the next three days, as Doordarshan telecast the lying in state of her body, over 3000 Sikhs—men and boys—were burnt alive while policemen, politicians and...

Concerned over the high maternal and infant mortality rate in the country, the Centre on Wednesday launched an ambitious programme to provide free services to pregnant women for deliveries and neo-natal care, if needed, up to a month after birth. The facility will be available to all women in government health institutions in both rural and urban settings, and is expected to benefit over one crore women annually. Launching the Janani-Shishu Suraksha...

-The Hindu   West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced here on Wednesday her government's decision to increase the number of those to whom rice is being made available at Rs. 2 a kg. “The poor do not get food; we have decided to ensure that all do,” she said while announcing a new scheme of food for the poor after a meeting with the Food and Supplies Minister, Jyotipriya Mallick, and...