Context: Care includes childcare, eldercare, disability support and assistance with daily activities. Its inadequate provision increases unpaid work, disproportionately borne by women, limiting their employment and participation in public life.Women’...

Uttar Pradesh Steps Up Food Safety ChecksRecent development: The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) issued guidelines ahead of Diwali after authorities detected non-food-grade industrial dyes in chutney. The guidelines specify w...

New Antivenom: Key FindingsResearch institutions: Scientists from the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have developed an experimental antibody cocktail...

Context: The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that trade margins on specified non-scheduled cancer medicines will be capped at 30%, raising broader questions about drug affordability, healthcare quality and the sustainability of medical supplies...

Context: France confirmed the first known human infection of Shamonda virus (SHAV) in a patient who died at a hospital in Lyon in October 2026.Limited public health risk: French health authorities described it as an exceptional case involving a sever...

Context: The Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2020 permit manufacturers to add sucrose and fructose, subject to a combined limit of 20% of carbohydrates, in products intended for infants aged 0–6 months. FSSAI has proposed removing this allowan...

Context: World Food Day 2026 highlights the need to prevent childhood diabetes through healthy diets, physical activity and school-based interventions, rather than treating diabetes only as an adult disease. Diabetes: Emerging Childhood Health C...

Context: Advances in medical technology have improved diagnosis and treatment, but overtreatment and overmedication are rising concerns. India faces a dual burden: unnecessary medical interventions for some and inadequate access to essential healthca...

Context: India has achieved a major decline in leprosy prevalence, childhood cases and Grade-2 disability (G2D) over the past decade, but active transmission continues in several pockets, threatening the targets of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) a...

Context: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in India, accounting for 10.9% of all cancer deaths in 2024 (98,687 deaths), up from 75,031 deaths in 2022.Despite its rising burden, India does not have a nationwide lung-cancer screening pr...

Context: Tamil Nadu has announced a multi-pronged Statewide campaign to reduce excessive salt consumption, linking dietary practices with the prevention of non-communicable diseases.The initiative seeks not merely to change individual dietary habits...

Context: The 176th Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, tabled on 7 August 2026, highlighted the high cost of private healthcare in India and recommended measures to improve affordability and transparency.Avera...