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 Public Health News Snippets  1 - 5th March, 2023

FAME India - How is the uptake of Electric Vehicles in India?

  • Electric vehicles are one of the solutions to the problem of air pollution. The government adopted Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME 2015) schemes to achieve a goal of reaching 30% EV penetration by 2030.

  • Over 2 lakh electric vehicles were sold in India, with 107 lakh liters of fuel saved, 2 crore carbon dioxide reduction (in kgs), and around 3k crore rupees investment in EV startups have been achieved.  

  • To spur the production and consumption of EVs and charging infrastructure - income tax rebates of up to INR150,000 for customers on interest paid on loans to buy EVs, an outlay of rupees 10,000 crores for phase 2 of FAME (2019), and states also launched their EV policy. 

  • Rollouts of charging facility points, education on EVs to clear the doubts of the customer, incentives for the exchange of old vehicles, and piloting EV corridors across National highways will gear the penetration further.

National Mission on Electric Mobility

Source : 

Published on :

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Electric Vehicle, E-Automobile

Women Business and the Law Index Score: India (74.4/100)

  • The World Bank Index on Women Business and the Law Index score (1 to 100) measured eight indicators (Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension) measures the equality of women in the workplace

  • India scored 74.4 out of 100.  

  • Twelve countries have perfect scores of 100 like Belgium, Canada, France, Spain, Sweden, etc, and other countries like Nepal (80.6), China (75.5), and Japan (78.8) scored better than India. 

  • Three countries scored less than 30 (Yemen, Qatar, Sudan)

  • Equal participation in the labor force will give every country to achieve its potential. 

  • Women’s economic opportunities will be facilitated by laws & regulations.The laws protecting and promoting female labor like maternity benefits, protection against sexual harassment, and menstrual leave will increase female participation in work force.

  • For further reading - Click here

World Bank: Women, Business and the Law.

Source : 

Published on :

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Public Health Laws and Regulations

FRHS survey reveals 95% women unaware of MTP Amendment bill 2021

  • Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021 which came into effect in March 2021 expands the access to safe and legal abortion services on eugenic, therapeutic, humanitarian, and social grounds to ensure universal access to comprehensive care. 

  • With this act, India came forward to advancement, by addressing women's issues more fiercely than before.  

  • A study done by FRHS (Foundation for Reproductive Health Services) India in partnership with the Centre for Media Sciences & funded by DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency) from August-September 2022 among 1622 women & 100 healthcare workers from Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh has revealed that nearly 95.5% are unaware of the amendment

  • This poses a serious risk to the utilization of the services made available under the amendment. The study suggests an urgent need for intervention to sensitize the population as well as build the capacity of the service providers especially the frontline healthcare workers who are the first points of contact for women.  

  • To read the FRHS report - Click here 

  • News Analysis on MTP Amendment Act 2021 - Click Here

Foundation for Reproductive Health Services (FRHS) Report

Source : 

Published on :

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Maternal Health, Policies & Regulations

India Celebrates 8 Years of Affordable Healthcare with Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendras

  • The Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, announced that India currently has 9,082 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras, which sell affordable generic medicines. 

  • This was shared during the Department of Pharmaceuticals’ 8th anniversary of the initiative.

  • The government aims to increase the number of Janaushadhi Kendras to 10,000 by December

  • The medicines offered at these stores are significantly cheaper, costing 50% to 90% less than their branded counterparts

  • The range of products includes 1,759 drugs, 280 surgical instruments, and protein powders. This scheme has been running for eight years now.

Press Information Bureau

Source : 

Published on :

Friday, March 3, 2023

OOPE, Universal Health Coverage, Affordable Healthcare

Adenovirus outbreak in West Bengal

  • An outbreak of adenovirus has been reported in West Bengal

  • As per the Indian Express news report, as on end of February 5,213 cases of Acute Respiratory Infection has been reported in West Bengal in the month of February. 

  • 12 deaths have been attributed to Adenovirus infection tested at NICED (National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases).  

  • Children are showing increased risk of pneumonia and hospital admission.

Indian Express

Source : 

Published on :

Thursday, March 2, 2023

ARI, Communicable Disease, Outbreak

IT Ministry launches portal for social media complains

  •  On February 28, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) portal in accordance with the IT Rules, 2021, enabling individuals who are dissatisfied with complaints made to social media companies regarding content takedown requests to have their cases heard. 

  • Users who are unhappy with a decision made by the Grievance Officer of an intermediary, such as Meta or Twitter, can file an appeal or a complaint through the GAC, which is in essence an online conflict resolution mechanism through the new portal https://gac.gov.in. 

  • Any user aggrieved by a decision of a platform's Grievance Officer can appeal to the grievance appellate panel within 30 days of the receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer.

The Hindu

Source : 

Published on :

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Social Media, Laws & Regulation

Vaccine-derived Poliovirus cases and Novel Oral Polio Vaccine

  • The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) reported 8 cases and 15 positive environmental samples for circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus(cVDPV1&2) in countries like Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Yemen.   

  • GPEI with the partnership of WHO countries, deployed novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2), a modified vaccine of monovalent OPV (mOPV2), to address the evolving risk of cVDPV.    

  • Clinical trials on nOPV2 revealed comparable protection with genetic stability and reduced risk of emergence of cVDPV2 in low immunity settings. WHO under Emergency Use Listing Procedure (EUL) enabled its rapid field availability with close monitoring.   

  • As of this week, February 2023, 585 million doses of nOPV2 have been administered across 27 countries. The nOPV2 might be the tool to help stop outbreaks of cVDPVs.

  • To read the full article @ GPEI website - Click here

Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)

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Published on :

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Vaccination, Polio Outbreak

Karnataka launched GPS-based mobile app ‘Stop Tobacco’

  • The Karnataka Tobacco Control Cell launched GPS-based mobile app ‘Stop Tobacco’ on February 28,2023. The app will protect non-smokers from being exposed to cigarette smoking in public places. 

  • The mobile app will provide significant citizen participation in tobacco control activities.

  • If anyone is found to be violating the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA), all that needs to be done is to click a picture of the public place (not necessarily the person who is violating) and upload it on this mobile app. 

  • Once the complainant enters details like the respective district, taluk and mobile number, the photo will reach the district tobacco control unit and the taluk tobacco control unit. 

  • A squad of seven officials has been set up in districts across the state to enforce the rules. The State’s anti-tobacco squad will rush to the spot and levy penalty on the violator.  

  • Under Section (4) of COTPA 2003, smoking in public places is prohibited and a violator can be fined Rs 200. 

  • Dr Sridevi Deshpandey, state consultant, National Tobacco Control Programme, announced that 21 villages in Karnataka are free from tobacco.  


  • Point of IMPACT:-

  1. Out of 22.8 per cent of adults in Karnataka who use tobacco products, 8.8 per cent are smokers and 16.3 per cent are using smokeless tobacco products.  

  2. Most youngsters start using tobacco at the early age of around 15 years or so without paying attention to its ill and life-threatening effects.

The Hindu

Source : 

Published on :

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Prohibition of Public Smoking, COTPA 2003

First deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak - in Equatorial Guinea.

  • According to the ongoing investigation, the cases presented with fever, weakness, vomiting, and blood-stained diarrhea. As of this week, February 2023, the cumulative number of cases is nine, including one confirmed case, four probable, and four suspected cases. 

  • All the cases have died, one in a health facility and the other eight in the community. 34 contacts are currently under follow-up. 

  • Marburg virus disease (MVD) fruit bats are considered natural hosts and have a case-fatality ratio of up to 88%.

  • The incubation period varies from 2 to 21 days and spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact with the blood or other bodily secretions.  

  • Laboratory confirmation by ELISA or RT PCR is needed. 

  • No vaccines or antiviral treatments are approved to treat the virus, supportive care – rehydration, and treatment of symptoms improve survival. 

  • The last reported outbreak of MVD was in Ghana in 2022 (three confirmed cases).

  • To read the full article @ WHO website - Click Here

WHO - Disease outbreak News

Source : 

Published on :

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Outbreak Investigation, Communicable diseases

Heat Wave Warning and Heat-related illness

  • Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) have issued Heat wave warning for Central and adjoining North-west India, and healthcare workers has to be proactive and prepare for activities to prevent Heat related illness.

  • Maximum temperatures range between 34- 37 °C, markedly above normal (5.1°C or more), at a few places over West Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh

  • The report also predicted enhanced probability of occurrence of heatwave during March to May season over many regions of Central and adjoining Northwest India.  

  • A region has a heat wave if its ambient temperature deviates by at least 4.5-6.4°C from the long-term average. There is also a heat wave if the maximum temperature crosses 45°C (or 37°C at a hill-station) 

  • Extreme heat can lead to minor illnesses, such as heat rash (prickly heat), heat oedema, heat cramps, and tetany, as well as serious illnesses as heat syncope, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.   

  • Health education on heat-related illness must be speculated by healthcare workers – Guidelines for prevention and management of Heatwave by National Disaster Management Authority is available.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)

Source : 

Published on :

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Heat Related Illness, Heat Waves

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