-The Telegraph There is no mention of compliance with ‘good manufacturing practices’ or the need to make inspection reports public, leaving the process of regulation vague and dependent on whims of drug inspectors This month, the Union ministry of health published the draft new drugs, medical devices and cosmetics bill to replace the antiquated Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Yet, most of the draft bill appears to be a copy of the...

-IndiaToday.in According to sources in the health ministry, surveillance will be increased for people coming in from countries where monkeypox has become prevalent. The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday ordered the administration to reserve beds for monkeypox in Covid-designated hospitals across the state. Although no monkeypox case has been reported in the state so far. The officials in all hospitals have been asked to adhere to the Centre's guidelines. The decision comes on the day...

-Factly.in The Supplementary Nutrition Programme under ICDS aims to close the nutrition gap among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers as well as children under the age of six. SNP is provided in two ways: Take-Home Rations (THR) and Hot-Cooked Meals at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs).  NITI Aayog’s recent report identifies best practices from states across the Take-Home Rations value chain.  Public policy is often fraught with myriad challenges since they do not have any...

-IndiaSpend.com The United Nations projects that India's total population will surpass China's much sooner than expected, but even so, data show that India's population is actually declining, says Poonam Muttreja of the Population Foundation of India Mumbai: "What could women do if they wanted fewer children? They were opting for, amongst other things, abortion," says Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India. "Abortion rates as a proxy for contraception...

-Newsclick.in Politics, not facts, have weaponised demographic claims in India, but the population is still heading for a decline, and that’s true for all communities. For decades, Indian politics has revolved around the bogey of ‘explosive’ population growth. Population is routinely blamed for virtually every socio-economic problem in the country. Until the 1990s, governments actively pursued population ‘control’ measures through means fair and foul. What few mention is that effectively, India’s TFR...