India on Wednesday launched its first indigenously manufactured anti-malaria new-age drug Synriam. The drug, produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories, was formally introduced for marketing here.

The drug, launched by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, has been developed by the company in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research.

Neenv — a network of grass-roots non-governmental organisations working for children under six in urban poor settlements in Delhi — has sought more clarity on restructuring of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) under the government's Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy.

The proposed ECCE refers to programmes for children from prenatal to six years, which cater for the needs of a child in all domains of development, including physical, motor, language, cognitive, socio-emotional, and creative and aesthetic appreciation, and provides synergy with health and nutrition aspects.

In a significant decision, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday set aside the Environmental Clearance (EC) granted to the 4 MTPA Coal Mining Project of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and 4 MTPA Coal Washery at Gare in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh on grounds of faulty public hearing.

The company had been granted EC in May 2009. The NGT has directed that the public hearing may be conducted again but not under the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) who conducted it earlier. The verdict delivered by Justice C.V Ramulu and Prof R. Nagendran held that the entire “public hearing was a farce and makes a mockery of the public hearing process”.

Maternal Death Reviews reveals many facilities show mothers the door soon after delivery

According to a study conducted on pregnancy-related deaths, a large number of women die during transit to a health facility or returning home after a delivery. ‘Maternal Death Reviews — Implications for Quality of Care,' (MDR) a review of maternal deaths done by the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) in Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts of Rajasthan between November 2010 and March 2012 has revealed that 90 per cent of these deaths had occurred during transit to a higher health centre.

With the number of A-H1N1 (swine flu) cases increasing steadily, the Union Government on Wednesday said there was no cause for panic as the situation was well under control and being monitored.

An official in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare denied reports in a section of the media that the virus has mutated and is not curable.

Centre recommends concerted action during ‘inter-epidemic' period

Concerned over the increasing frequency of outbreaks of vector-borne diseases, the Centre has asked the States to undertake effective control activities during the ‘inter-epidemic' period. Importantly, it wanted the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) to be trained, along with other programme personnel, so that their services can be utilised when needed.

U.N. report says China, India together will account for about third of the increase in urban population in coming decades

India will witness the largest increase in urban population in the next four decades followed by China, a United Nations report has said. India will add another 497 million to its urban population between 2010 and 2050, while China will see 341 million people shifting into cities, followed by Nigeria (200 million), the United States (103 million) and Indonesia (92 million), according to the U.N.'s ‘2011 Revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects' report released on Friday.

Moving towards major reforms, the Centre is in the process of rolling out a universal health coverage package in at least one district in each State on an experimental basis.

This would include a clearly defined basket of services to those who come to any public health facility for treatment or free supply of generic drugs, doing away with user charges and upgrading public health infrastructure right from the primary to tertiary levels. The private sector would have a role to play only when needed.

The government on Tuesday contested the WHO figures that put the number of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in India at 63,000, saying there were only 10,267. As many as 38,287 suspected cases were examined till the end of 2011 and of them, 10,267 have been diagnosed with MDR-TB and 6,994 put on treatment, according to TB India-2012 — the annual status report of the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNCTP) brought out by the Health Ministry.MDR-TB prevalence

While it has made progress on water supply, a high percentage continue to defecate in the open

Going by the present pace of progress, India will achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) on sanitation only by 2054. While some States had already achieved the target and some are close to it, other populous States such as Madhya Pradesh and Orissa will reach the target only in the next century, according to WHO and UNICEF's Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMPWSS).