Government News

The Center has asked the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to carry out a detailed study to assess whether there is any leaching of plastic bottles into the liquid medicine formulations stored in them.

The CSIR-Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI) will inform Prime Minister Narendra Modi about three new drugs being developed by the Institute during its visit to the campus. Modi is also president of the Scientific and Industrial Research Council (CSIR) and this will be his first visit to any of his laboratories in the country. The institute is also organizing an exhibition to highlight the CDRI's contribution to the discovery and development of PM medications.

The health ministry is ready to deploy "Mission Parivar Vikas" in these districts to improve access to family planning services, raise awareness and make family planning options available. To achieve the goal of faster population control, the government has decided to accelerate family planning measures by identifying 146 districts where the total fertility rate (TFR, the number of children born per woman) is more than three, 28% of the population.

In great relief for foreign tourists visiting India for medical and wellness travel, the government has decided to standardize the cost of such services in the country through a centralized web portal "The growth of medical tourism and wellness in the country has been between 23 and 25 percent in the country and there is a lot of potential here, so we have decided to standardize services in this sector," Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said.

Bhutan and the Maldives have eliminated measles, a highly infectious disease that is a major child killer worldwide. The two countries have become the first in the WHO South-East Asia region to be verified for having interrupted the endemic transmission of the measles virus, before the regional target of 2020.

The Intensified Diarrhea Control Fortnight (IDCF) has been launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in order to intensify efforts to reduce child mortality from diarrhea. The Ministry has made it a national priority to bring health outcomes among children to an equitable level with the rest of the world. Through this initiative, the Ministry will mobilize health workers, state governments and other stakeholders to prioritize investment in controlling diarrhea, one of the most common childhood diseases. Its goal is to create mass awareness about the most effective and low-cost diarrhea treatment, a combination of oral rehydration salt solution (ORS) and zinc tablets.

Prices for most essential drugs will increase by as much as 2.29 percent when the goods and services tax regime starts next month. The government has set a rate of 12 percent on most essential drugs, as against the current tax incidence of around 9 per cent.

The Center has approved proposals for the creation of 100 Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) hospitals nationwide, AYUSH Minister of State Shripad Yesso Naik said.

Intraocular lenses used in cataract surgeries are being sold at a rate that is 10 times higher than the market price, Food and Drug Administration officials said in a report presented to the department of pharmaceuticals.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on relaxed guidelines for the production of pediatric HIV drugs, whose supply was affected by regulatory issues. The regulator approved the child-friendly and thermally stable pellet formulation of Lopinavir / Ritonavir without feasibility studies, but said it would control post-marketing surveillance.