Online teaching was perhaps the most preferred mode (of the policymakers) for imparting education to school children in the last two years when schools faced closures thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was promoted by both the Central and State Governments when mobility almost came to a standstill (or got restricted in comparison to normal times) during the last two years. However, various studies (a list of those studies is...

-The Hindu ICMR chief Balram Bhargava urged students coming from Ukraine to get vaccinated immediately if they had not already done so.  In 2022, 92% of COVID deaths have been in unvaccinated individuals, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr. Balram Bhargava said on Thursday. He added that it’s evident that vaccines and the wide vaccination coverage have played a very important role in protecting hundreds of lives. Dr....

-The Hindu On refugee issues, it ought to be among the most admired nations and not one that has much to be ashamed of — as now This month I introduced a Private Member’s Bill in the Lok Sabha proposing the enactment of a Refugee and Asylum law. The Bill lays down comprehensive criteria for recognising asylum seekers and refugees and prescribes specific rights and duties accruing from such status. It was...

In the previous news alert, we looked at the under-nutrition problem in the Bundelkhand region in terms of 3 indicators -- proportion of children under 5 years who are stunted (height-for-age); proportion of children under 5 years who are wasted (weight-for-height); and proportion of children under 5 years who are underweight (weight-for-age). However, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data also indicates that severe under-nutrition like severe wasting and anaemia among...

-Hindustan Times The health index released by government think tank Niti Aayog said that Tamil Nadu and Telangana have emerged as the second and third best performers, respectively, on health parameters. Government think tank Niti Aayog on Monday released the fourth edition of its health index, which ranked states based on overall health performance. Kerala was ranked as the best performer on top, while Uttar Pradesh was the worst. The report was divided...