-Down to Earth Among marginalised groups, indebtedness was highest in Muslim-majority and Scheduled Caste-majority hamlets Indebtedness became more acute in around 70 per cent hamlets surveyed in 75 Indian districts during October-December 2020, according to a study on the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdowns. The figure was 76 per cent in the first few months following last year’s lockdown. There was a slight dip in the indebtedness of...

-The Indian Express For the relatives of deceased patients, queues begin from the wait at hospitals for their dear one's body, for hearse vans to take them to the resting place, to finding a furnace free at a crematorium -- the time for each disposal/cremation has increased because of the Covid-19 protocol. Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara: Donning a PPE suit Chirag Patel waited at the Vadaj crematorium in Ahmedabad for his turn...

-The Indian Express Potato is cultivated on almost four lakh acres of land in West Bengal between December and March, with about 10 lakh farmers growing the crop. Hooghly: With West Bengal in the midst of a polarising election season, farmers in the state’s potato belt of Hooghly and parts of Purba Bardhaman say their cries for help are getting drowned out in the din of a high-decibel poll campaign. Potato is cultivated...

-The Hindu Business Line Large inter-State variations in funding, shortcomings in quality of care and neglect of urban health continue to haunt the sector Since Independence, India has made some notable gains on the health front. For instance, life expectancy at birth has increased, infant mortality and crude death rates have fallen steeply, diseases such as smallpox, polio and guinea worm have been eradicated, and leprosy is on the verge of getting...

-The Hindu The policy has absolutely no consideration for Group 3 patients who require lifelong treatment support, say organisations Caregivers to patients with ‘rare diseases’ and affiliated organisations are dissatisfied with the National Policy for Rare diseases, 2021 announced on Wednesday. Though the document specifies increasing the government support for treating patients with a ‘rare disease’— from ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh — caregivers say this doesn’t reflect actual costs of treatment. There...