In the month of June this year, encephalitis related deaths in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district grabbed the headlines. Actually, most of the children, who were admitted or died at Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), hailed from East Champaran, Vaishali, Sitamarhi and Samastipur apart from Muzaffarpur. Unfortunately, till recently official data on the number of cases and deaths related to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) was unavailable for...

-The Hindu Advocate says the move was unconstitutional and illegal A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the August 5 notification of the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 2019, which amends Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and scraps its 65-year-old predecessor — The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of May 14, 1954 — as unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary. The petition filed by...

-The Indian Express Dr Manoj Thaguria said, “A lot of patients revisit the dispensaries, hence the high number of beneficiaries. Some also manage to get a second course of prescribed medicines on the same day." Jaipur: In his budget address earlier this week, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot increased the number of free medicines from 608 to 712 and free tests from 70 to 90, under the Chief Minister’s Free Medicine...

-The Hindu It is imperative to promote community-based care rather than relying only on hospital services The deaths of 154 children in Bihar due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) has laid bare the precarious capacity of the State’s healthcare apparatus to handle outbreaks. AES has been linked to two factors: litchi consumption by starving children and a long, ongoing heat wave. As promises of bolstering the health infrastructure are being made, it...

-The Hindu The promise made in BJP manifesto contradicts govt. affidavit in the SC New Delhi: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s election promise to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country, if voted back to power for a second term, contradicts the Centre’s stand in the Supreme Court and Parliament. Responding to a petition calling for implementing the NRC in Tripura, the Centre had filed an affidavit in the...