Social sector

Tamil Nadu has pioneered an initiative across the State to reduce the mortality rate among people with tuberculosis. The initiative — TN-KET (Tamil Nadu Kasanoi Erappila Thittam, meaning TB death-free project) — which began in April 2022 in 2,500-odd public healthcare facilities that diagnosed TB in 30 districts, has already …

herSTART platform to encourage women entrepreneurs inaugurated recently The ‘herSTART’ platform will boost innovation and start-up efforts of women entrepreneurs and also help them connect with various government and private enterprises. The platform will include: a digital platform to provide resources and training modules free of cost to aspiring women entrepreneurs, a digital community for them, and a digital publication to spread their …

Members of the transgender community, moved the Supreme Court seeking to strike down the prohibition on gay and transgender people donating blood in the country. The Centre justified their exclusion by asserting that their inclusion in the “at-risk” category for HIV, Hepatitis B, or C infections is premised on scientific evidence. The ban on blood donations by gay people …

In a park, a group of three-year-old children are playing together, with their mothers watching. One toddler, Arun, is off to the side, looking up at the trees and squinting at the light. His mother calls several times but he does not respond. He doesn’t seem interested in the other …

Using yoga as an additional treatment can help patients suffering from migraine headaches and from syncope, according to two papers recently published in the prestigious journals of the American College of Cardiology and the American Academy of Neurology. The cardiology journal (2021) says that using yoga as an adjunctive therapy …

In the first command appointment for a woman officer in the Indian Air Force, Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector, the IAF said on Tuesday. Having been commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief on two …

The rumours and fake news about migrant workers in Tamil Nadu being attacked have seen the quick intervention of the authorities, assuring the workers of their safety. Many workers, most from Bihar, have been seen at railway stations waiting to leave for their home State after a video clip of …

The World Bank has approved a loan of USD 1 billion to India to help the country prepare for future pandemics and strengthen its healthcare infrastructure. The loan will be split into two loans of USD 500 million each. The loan will be used to support India’s flagship Pradhan Mantri-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), which was launched in October 2021, and …

Scrub typhus is a major public health threat in South and Southeast Asia. Key details: As per estimates, nearly one million cases are reported from South and Southeast Asia with 10% mortality. India is one of the hotspots with at least 25% of the disease burden. A trial carried out in India where patients were received a combination therapy …

The World Bank is lending up to $1 billion to help India with preparedness for future pandemics as well as to strengthen its health infrastructure. The lending will be divided into two complementary loans of $500 million each. Through this combined financing of $1 billion, the bank will support India’s …