Kabul/New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS) Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali, held a meeting with Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda in New Delhi, discussing ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the healthcare sector. “The talks focused on boosting health cooperation, sharing expertise between medical professionals, building the capacity of Afghan health workers, and ensuring the supply of quality medicines to Afghanistan. Cancer treatment, medic…

New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging India’s existing quality standards for bottled drinking water and plastic packaging.A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked that the plea reflected a disconnect from the country’s ground realities.The PIL questioned the standards prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Bureau of Indian S…

New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Punjab continues to battle a severe narcotics challenge, with data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday revealing that law enforcement agencies seized nearly 2.17 lakh kilograms of narcotic substances between 2019 and 2023, alongside crores of tablets and thousands of litres of illicit drugs.This information came in as a written response from Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai while replying to a question from MP Swati Maliwal.The MoS cited figures compil…

New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) In a bid to curb the rising vision loss cases due to diabetes, India has launched the first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven community screening programme for Diabetic Retinopathy (DR).The initiative is launched by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), in collaboration with the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences (RPC), AIIMS, and the eHealth AI Unit of the Health Ministry.It “marks a significant step towards strengthening early detection of diabeti…

New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) A team of UK researchers has developed a pioneering blood test that could enable doctors to detect and monitor lung cancer in real time, which will help reduce diagnostic delays and improve patient outcomes.Using the technique Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy, the team detected a single lung cancer cell in a patient’s blood.The technique combines advanced infrared scanning technology with computer analysis, focusing on the unique chemical fingerprint …

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday interacted with children who lost their parents during the pandemic and are now nurtured by the government under the PM CARES for Children Scheme. The interaction was organised at the Delhi Secretariat to ensure supportive, protective and sensitive care for children who lost their legal guardians or adoptive parents during the pandemic, said an official statement.The Chief Minister engaged with the children in a warm and empath…

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) As traditional medicine reclaims its place in global health discourse, the country stands at the forefront of this transformation as rich wealth of traditional knowledge, powered with modern regulation, digital systems, and scientific rigour marks India out as a world leader in this area, the government said on Tuesday.The country is set to host the second ‘WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine’ here from December 17–19. The theme of the summit is “Restoring …

Amman, Dec 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited Jordanian companies to partner India and reap the benefits of its 1.4 billion consumer market, its strong manufacturing base, and a stable, transparent, and predictable policy environment.Jordan’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and India’s economic power could be combined to create an economic corridor between South Asia and West Asia and beyond, said PM Modi and King Abdullah II while addressing the India-Jordan Business For…

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) In a bid to support India’s research ecosystem, Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, on Tuesday announced a funding of $8 million for four AI Centres of Excellence for health, agriculture, education, and sustainable cities.The centres were established by the Government, aligning with the vision to “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”.The centres include TANUH at IISc Bangalore, which will focus on developing scalable AI solutions for effective treatmen…

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Cultivation of medicinal plants can not only empower farmers but also strengthen the production of quality medicines, said Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Ayush.Speaking at the second meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Ayush, Jadhav emphasised the critical role of medicinal plant cultivation in empowering farmers, strengthening the AYUSH sector, and conserving biodiversity.“Under the leader…