Page 24 - Health Ministry

What is ZooWIN: Govt portal to monitor anti-rabies, anti-snake venom stocks

India records an estimated three to four million snake bites annually, resulting in approximately 50,000 deaths

Health ministry flags 47 drugs as 'not of standard quality' in February

The Central Drugs Laboratories in its monthly drug alert for February found 47 drug samples manufactured by various firms to be "not of standard quality (NSQ)", health ministry officials said on Friday. Further, the State Drugs Testing Laboratories have identified 56 drug samples as NSQ, they said. According to routine regulatory surveillance activity, the list of NSQ drugs is displayed on the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) portal every month. Identification of drug samples as NSQ is done based on the failure of the drug sample in one or the other specified quality parameters, the officials said. The failure is specific to the drug products of the batch tested by the government laboratory and it does not warrant any concerns about the other drug products available in the market, an official said. In February 2024, one drug sample from West Bengal was identified as spurious and made by unauthorised manufacturer using a brand name owned by another company. The .

No compromise on quality of health services provided at Aiims, says Nadda

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday asserted that there will be no compromise on the quality of health services provided at AIIMS across the country even though there is a heavy rush of patients there. Nadda also said in the Lok Sabha that the government has covered 62 crore people of the country under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) under which health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh is given to a family per year. "There is no compromise on the quality of health care in AIIMS. AIIMS is a brand and that has to he maintained," he said during the Question Hour. The minister said late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had set up one AIIMS, late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had set up six and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up 22 AIIMS in different parts of India. There is a heavy rush of patients in all AIIMS and demands for setting up new AIIMS keep coming, he said. Replying to another question on AB-PMJAY, Nadda said the primary aim o

Centre asks states to activate heat action plans, boost preparedness

The weatherman has also warned of "double heatwave" days in northwest India this summer season

Health Ministry releases national guidelines for medical oxygen management

The programme would be undertaken in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi

Health Ministry releases national guidelines on medical oxygen management

The Union Health Ministry released the National Guidelines on Medical Oxygen Management on Thursday as Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava emphasised the critical role of properly maintaining and utilising medical oxygen infrastructure. Salila was speaking at a workshop at Delhi AIIMS which marked the launch of the National Capacity Building Programme on Oxygen Management. The programme aims to train 200 "master trainers" who will work towards capacity building of hospital administrators and medical officers across the country in proper handling and utilisation of medical oxygen, reducing wastage and improving clinical outcomes. Addressing those gathered for the workshop, Salila said maintaining medical oxygen infrastructure was necessary to meet the needs in case of any surge capacity in a healthcare facility. She also stressed the need to incorporate learnings from India's management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr M Srinivas, Director, AIIMS highlighted the institute's role i

Weight-loss drug Mounjaro now available in India: All you need to know

Mounjaro, Eli Lilly's diabetes and obesity drug, is now available in India at a fraction of its US price. It offers treatment for weight loss and diabetes control, but watch out for the side effects

Maternal Mortality ratio drops 33 points to 97 in 2018-20, says JP Nadda

India has achieved the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 target of reducing Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to 100 per lakh live births by 2020 and is aligned towards achieving the SDG target of MMR of 70 by 2030, Union Health Minister J P Nadda told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Responding to a question, Nadda said that as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), the current Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of the country is 97 per lakh live births. There has been a significant decline of 33 points in MMR from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 in 2018- 20, he said. "India has achieved the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 target of MMR 100 per lakh live births by 2020 and is aligned towards achieving the SDG target of MMR 70 per lakh live births by 2030," Nadda said. The MMR in India has declined by 83 per cent compared to the global reduction of 42 per cent. Similarly, the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) in India has decreased by 75 per cent, ...

Health minister urges precautions as IMD issues heatwave warning for K'taka

Ainapur Hobli village in the Kalaburagi district recorded the highest temperature in the last 24 hours at 42.8 degrees Celsius

Free dialysis services to cover all govt hosps, says Delhi health minister

The Delhi government plans to expand free dialysis services under the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme to all state-run hospitals, Health Minister Pankaj Singh said on Thursday. Speaking at an event on World Kidney Day, the minister highlighted the city government's commitment to improving healthcare infrastructure under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Announcing plans to expand the free dialysis services, he also said economically weaker sections would be prioritised in Delhi government hospitals, ensuring the same high-quality care for them as other patients. Singh urged the medical staff to treat patients with professionalism and compassion, creating a more welcoming and supportive environment in hospitals. He laid stress on the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle to protect kidney health and said, "The kidney is an essential organ that helps remove waste materials, regulate blood pressure, ...

'Aushadhi kendras led to savings of Rs 30K cr': Nadda on Jan Aushadhi Diwas

Nadda stated that the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana has transformed healthcare system of the country with the mantra 'Achi Bhi, Sasti Bhi'

Centre considers faculty sharing to tackle medical teachers' shortage

It is looking to convene a stakeholder consultation to finalise a roadmap for meeting faculty requirements and development in May this year

Supreme Court asks states to check unfair pricing by private hospitals

Supreme Court calls for policy to stop hospitals from forcing patients to buy medicines, medical devices at high rates from hospital-linked pharmacies, asks states to regulate pricing

Delhi health minister promises major reforms in hospital infra, management

Delhi's healthcare system is set to undergo a major overhaul, with the city government planning a slew of reforms, including a pilot project to improve hospital infrastructure and management, Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh has said. A few pilot projects will be launched soon to improve healthcare services, including polyclinics that will offer primary and secondary daycare while also collecting patient data, he told PTI in an interview. The government will address the manpower shortage by facilitating the recruitment of doctors and healthcare professionals. Under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, Delhi government hospitals will receive higher quality medicines to ensure effective treatment, Singh said. In its first Cabinet meeting, the city's new BJP government approved the scheme that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said had been blocked by the previous AAP dispensation. The Cabinet also approved healthcare coverage of Rs 10 lakh for each beneficiary of the sch

CDSCO flags select batches of 145 drugs for failing quality standards

Fifty-two drugs were identified by central drug laboratories, while another 93 were flagged by state drug testing labs

Health Ministry set to begin work on integrating health portals

This comes after work was initiated to integrate the Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) portal, which monitors the NHM and other health programmes

India to eliminate TB by 2025, to achieve target 5 yrs ahead of time: Nadda

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday said that India will meet the target of eliminating tuberculosis (TB) from the country by the end of this year, five years ahead of the global target. Nadda said this while inaugurating the 9th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Healthcare System in Puri. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has organised the two-day-long conference. "As per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), India has to eliminate TB by 2030. But, we are all set to achieve it by 2025," Nadda said. "We have already identified 5 lakh TB patients during the ongoing 100-day TB Mukt Bharat campaign in 455 districts across the country. An extensive campaign is going on. We are going to include all aspirational districts and aspirational blocks under the campaign so that we will be able to eliminate tuberculosis by the end of 2025," he said. Nadda advised the participating health officers to treat the public representati

DCGI streamlines drug export approval, plans revised biosimilar guidelines

Previously, companies exporting drugs from India had to apply for a customer- and quantity-specific NOC each time they received an order

Regulatory standards must be stronger for quality medicines: Health secy

State drug regulators should ensure that medicines are sold only through prescriptions so that narcotic drugs are not diverted for trafficking or other illicit uses, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastav has said. Chairing a meeting with state drug regulators to address illicit use of psychotropic drugs under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and strengthen regulatory capacities of states and UTs on Monday, she said regulatory standards need to be strong to ensure that only quality and effective medicines circulate in the country. During the meeting, Srivastava urged state drug regulators to ensure that medicines are sold only through prescriptions so that narcotic drugs are not diverted for trafficking or other illicit uses. She also complimented Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and state drug regulators for completing risk-based inspections of 905 drug manufacturing and testing firms, resulting in 694 actions being taken so far. The meeting comes in the wa

CDSCO withdraws export NOC, bans drugs linked to West Africa opioid crisis

The ministry added that Aveo Pharmaceuticals has been issued a Stop Activity Order, halting all operations at the company's premises after a comprehensive audit