At least seven persons have lost vision in one eye with infection “almost incurably damaging the other” after they underwent cataract operation in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, on July 12, according to their relatives. Recently, 50 people lost their vision and three died after a cataract operation in neighbouring Durg district. While the Durg operation was conducted in a government camp, this was undertaken by a charity institute, Udayachal Dharmarth Netra Chikitsalaya, in...

-The Hindu   A group of 15 experts from various fields has been set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to interact with Tamil Nadu government officials and spokespersons of the people in the neighbourhood of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP) to dispel the apprehensions of the locals on the safety of reactors. Manmohan's assurance The decision follows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to a multi-party delegation from Tamil Nadu on October...

The Union health ministry today banned the manufacture and sale of a drug called letrozole to treat infertility in women, four years after its own drug regulators had waived safety studies and relaxed rules to approve the medicine. In a statement notifying the ban, the ministry said the drug “is likely to involve risk to human beings and safer alternatives are available”. The drug has been used to treat breast cancer in...

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) invested more than Rs 3,600 crore last year in the tobacco industry, anti-tobacco activists and cancer specialists said today, describing the investments as ironical and unethical. Figures obtained through the right to information route by a consortium of activists and doctors show that in 2010-11, LIC had invested in shares of ITC and VST Industries and in debentures of Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, which makes chewable tobacco...

India will take at least 17 more years before it can reach the World Health Organization's ( WHO) recommended norm of one doctor per 1,000 people. The Planning Commission's high-level expert group (HLEG) on universal health coverage (UHC) - headed by Dr K Srinath Reddy - has predicted the availability of one allopathic doctor per 1,000 people by 2028. It has suggested setting up 187 medical colleges in 17 high focus...