A measured English daily covering India and the wider world.
Private hospitals in Haryana will stop accepting new routine Ayushman Bharat patients on September 1 over nearly Rs 1,200 crore in unpaid claims, while continuing to admit emergency cases.
South NeoCon 2026 was held in Bengaluru on August 31, bringing together neonatal specialists and healthcare professionals from across South India for workshops and a two-day scientific conference focused on premature and critically ill newborns.
ICMTDT-2026, an international conference on metabolism, toxicology, diagnostics and therapeutics, began in Vadodara with sessions on precision health and biomedical research. Organisers said an India chapter of the International Society for Precision Health will be headquartered at Navrachana University.
Animal welfare groups have alleged another incident of mass killing of stray dogs in Telangana, claiming the cumulative toll since December 2025 has climbed into the thousands. The allegations have prompted renewed calls for investigation and enforcement, as activists question the role of local authorities and the lack of deterrence after repeated reports.
Authorities issued a high-level avalanche warning for vulnerable stretches in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, including the Sonamarg area, after a recent avalanche incident was reported nearby. Police and disaster-response teams advised residents and tourists to strictly avoid avalanche-prone zones amid prevailing weather conditions.
IMD forecasts a fresh western disturbance bringing widespread rain/snow in the western Himalayan region on January 27, along with thunderstorms, dense fog pockets and cold-wave/cold-day conditions in parts of north India.
West Bengal is responding to a Nipah virus cluster with five reported cases and expanded contact tracing and quarantine. Health authorities are tightening hospital infection-control steps as containment efforts intensify.
A clinical study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research reports that dengue patients with low vitamin D levels were more likely to show severe disease signals, while inflammatory markers rose with severity—prompting experts to call for India-specific research and responsible correction of deficiency, not self-medication.
The Union Health Ministry said West Bengal has recorded two confirmed Nipah cases since December, and that 196 identified contacts have been monitored and tested, with all found asymptomatic and negative.
The IMD has warned of shifting weather due to an active western disturbance, with rain expected across several states and thunderstorms with gusty winds likely over parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on January 27. Snowfall is likely in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Healthcare leaders and experts have asked the government to raise public health spending in Budget 2026-27, citing pressure from communicable and non-communicable diseases and the need to strengthen delivery in rural and semi-urban India.
In Indore’s Bhagirathpura area, anxiety over water safety has surged again after the death of a 75-year-old retired teacher who had been protesting against allegedly contaminated drinking water. While residents and political leaders linked recent deaths to poor water quality, health officials cited the man’s chronic conditions and disputed a direct link—keeping public anger alive amid demands for safe supply and accountability.