New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Thursday said that it has directed food business operators (FBOs) across the country to ensure the use of only food-grade and corrosion-resistant knives, blades, and other cutting equipment during food handling and processing activities.In an advisory, the food regulator expressed concern over reports that some food businesses are using rusted, corroded, chipped, painted, damaged, or otherwise unsuitable cuttin…

Kochi, June 18 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday intensified its investigation into the alleged international organ trafficking network operating through Kerala, carrying out simultaneous searches at five locations, including private hospitals in Kochi and the residences of suspected intermediaries.The searches are part of the money laundering investigation into an alleged racket that facilitated illegal organ transactions by bringing together donors and recipients through a ne…

United Nations, June 18 (IANS) Violent armed groups, some briefly detaining aid workers, are obstructing the Ebola response in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN humanitarians said.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that five response workers were briefly detained on Tuesday by armed groups in Ituri province, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, accounting for more than 90 percent of all confirmed cases.The office said that in South Kivu pr…

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a status report from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on an interim bail plea filed by the Al-Falah Trust money laundering case accused Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, who has sought six weeks’ temporary release on the ground that his wife is undergoing treatment for cancer. A single-judge bench of Justice Madhu Jain issued notice to the federal anti-money laundering agency after Siddiqui approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial…

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) From around 84 functional Jan Aushadhi Kendras in 2014, the network has grown to more than 19,200 Kendras across the country in 2026, making quality generic medicines accessible at affordable prices to millions of citizens, the government said on Wednesday.India’s pharmaceutical landscape has witnessed a remarkable growth and transformation in the last 12 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said the expan…

Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad, June 17 (IANS) Gujarat will establish a world-class Spine Institute, Sports Injury Centre and Rehabilitation Centre at Ahmedabad Medicity at an estimated cost of Rs 295 crore, with the facility expected to strengthen specialised treatment, rehabilitation, education and research in spine care and sports medicine. The project was reviewed during a high-level meeting chaired by State Health Minister Praful Pansheriya in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.The meeting was attended by Dr …

Thiruvananthapuram, June 17 ( IANS) Scientists at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB) here have identified a new mechanism that allows malaria parasites to withstand artemisinin, the world’s most widely used anti-malarial drug. The breakthrough study, published as an Editor’s Choice article in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, reveals that young red blood cells, known as reticulocytes, can create a protective environment that allows malaria parasites to survive drug-induc…

Gandhinagar, June 17 (IANS) In a move aimed at extending healthcare access to some of Gujarat’s most remote tribal settlements, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday launched 51 two-wheeler mobile health units and flagged off nine new mobile health vans that will operate across 14 districts of the state. The new fleet was flagged off from Gandhinagar in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and Health Minister Praful Pansheriya.The initiative has been introduced by the sta…

Chandigarh, June 17 (IANS) With the Indian Air Force (IAF) tasked with the transportation of NEET-UG re-test question papers, students on Wednesday said that the government appears to have taken foolproof measures this time, but some added that the authorities had failed them once before, making it difficult to place complete trust in the system again.Talking to IANS, a student said: “The government appears to have taken foolproof measures this time. Paper setters were quarantined, the transport…

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The government is set to launch the Smart Warehousing System for foodgrain storage, reflecting its continued emphasis on strengthening India’s food security architecture through modern, technology-enabled and efficient public storage infrastructure, it was announced on Wednesday.The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) will launch the Smart Warehousing System on June 18 at Bharat Mandapam here, in the presence of Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad…