-Scroll.in Health activists say the government is using the report to divert attention from its failures. Ninety seven children have died in the district hospital of Malkangiri in southern Odisha since September. Based on the clinical symptoms of high fever and seizures, doctors suspected the children had died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, or brain inflammation, caused by the Japanese Encephalitis virus. Acute Encephalitis Syndrome is a group of conditions that affect the brain...

-The Indian Express Prolonged exposure to pollution leads to acute respiratory infections and chronic bronchitis. It could also aggravate pre-existing heart and lung disease. New Delhi: The worsening levels of air quality in Delhi is bound to bring its own share of problems, putting residents at the risk of developing heart-related issues and cancer. A week after Diwali night, the air quality has been deteriorating each passing day with a thick blanket...

-The Hindu As I write this column, my gaze is on the post-Deepavali haze that has enveloped Delhi. As a third-generation asthmatic, with a fourth-generation asthmatic daughter, it is set me wondering whether returning to Delhi, the city of my birth, from the United States a decade ago was a mistake. This haze is smog (smoke + fog), a hazardous mix of noxious gases and very high levels of suspended respirable...

-Down to Earth Black rice is drought resistant and has rich medicinal properties. Manipur and Assam are reviving this variety Not very long ago, black rice (Oryza sativa) was forbidden in China. Not because it looked poisonous for its black colour, but because it had nutritional values, and found a place only on an emperor’s menu. For centuries, the nutritional values of this wild rice eluded common people. It is only now...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Anti-cracker campaigns by the central and Delhi governments appeared to have made no significant impact as the capital celebrated another dirty Diwali, with fireworks well into the night, leaving the city's air choked with alarmingly high levels of pollution. Real time data showed levels of coarse pollution particles (PM 10) peak up to 19 times the national safe standard for 24 hours and levels of fine,...