Health Ministry cancels all leaves amid India-Pakistan tensions
"In view of the impending situation, no leave of any kind, including station leave, is to be granted to any officer except on medical grounds, till further orders. Further, the already sanctioned leave, if any, stands cancelled and the officers who are on leave are directed to resume their duties immediately," the Health Ministry stated.
Earlier today, Union Health Minister JP Nadda chaired a high-level meeting with senior health ministry officers to review emergency health systems preparedness.
The current status of medical preparedness for handling emergency cases was presented to the Union Minister. He was apprised of the actions taken regarding deployment of ambulances, ensuring adequate availability of medical supplies, including equipment, medicines, and blood vials and consumables, hospital readiness in terms of beds, ICU, and HDU, deployment of BHISHM Cubes, advanced mobile trauma care units, etc.
Hospitals and medical institutions have been advised to ensure the availability of essential drugs, an adequate supply of blood, oxygen, trauma care kits, etc.
AIIMS New Delhi
and other central government hospitals have mobilised doctors and nurses with supplies for ready deployment. They have been advised to coordinate with state and district administration, armed forces and regional associations of doctors, nurses, paramedics, private sector hospitals, charitable institutions, etc., to strengthen the emergency response networks in a collaborative manner.
Additionally, nationwide mock drills for disaster preparedness have been conducted at AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER and other premier hospitals.
The Union Health Ministry is closely monitoring the situation and remains committed to ensuring uninterrupted healthcare services and emergency response across all regions.
The Indian Army, during the intervening night of May 8 and May 9, successfully repelled and responded to multiple drone attacks by Pakistan along the western border and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Pakistan Armed Forces launched multiple attacks using drones and other munitions along the entire Western Border on the intervening night of 08 and 09 May 2025.
Pak troops also resorted to numerous ceasefire violations (CFVs) along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The drone attacks were effectively repulsed and a befitting reply was given to the CFVs. Indian Army remains committed to safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nation. All nefarious designs will be responded with force," the Indian Army said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: Parents oppose state's bond policy for MBBS students, write to Centre
Parents of medical aspirants have presented a petition to the Union minister for health and family welfare JP Nadda against the Punjab health department's policy of submitting a two years and one year bond period for MBBS students. Dr Deepak Jangra, along with other parents has written to the Union health minister and asked the National Medical Commission (NMC) to restrain the compulsory bond. The parents said that the restrictions and financial pressure imposed by such bonds create a punitive environment that detracts students from the overall educational experience. (HT photo for representation) In a circular issued on June 13 June, the state health department had enunciated a bond of two years for students from the state quota and a bond of one year for all India quota for admissions to the new batch of MBBS. 'In 2024 the National Task Force (NTF) formed by the NMC had recommended that such bonds in practice across the country should be revised. They had said that these were brought back when there was shortage of doctors due to less number of medical colleges. But now the situation has changed and the policy needs to be revised.' said Dr Jangra. The letter to the Union minister quotes the NTF reports as saying, 'Both the compulsory rural service bond and seat leaving bonds should be reconsidered and removed at the earliest.' Dr Jangra claimed that doing MBBS at a government college in Punjab costs around ₹10 lakh compared to ₹1.5 lakh in Chandigarh or elsewhere. 'If the students have to pay so much more than the government institutes elsewhere, then why shouldn't they be allowed the freedom to pursue their careers as they wish instead of being forced to work in government hospitals for two years,' he asked. The parents said that the restrictions and financial pressure imposed by such bonds create a punitive environment that detracts students from the overall educational experience. States, they claim instead of investing in institutes to produce more health resources tried to compensate with such bonds. Dr Jangra said that the state should invest in public health infrastructure to solve the problems instead of putting strain on students with bonds. 'Punjab already has a bond policy for doctors who pursue PG on government quota. This is for the first time that the policy has been extended to MBBS students,' he added. However, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh didn't respond to multiple calls when approached for a comment. Parents of the students who are to join the MBBS course this year and those preparing for NEET UG for next two years have also challenged the policy in the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chikungunya cases surge in Telangana; Centre and State report contradictory figures
Telangana has reportedly witnessed an alarming rise in chikungunya cases in the first half of 2025, with the Union government pegging the number at 1,588 cases between January and June, a ninefold rise from 170 cases during the same period in 2024. However, the State health department has contested the figure, calling it inaccurate. The data was shared in Parliament on July 25 by Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, in response to a question on the status of vector-borne diseases across the country. According to the Minister's written reply in the Lok Sabha, several States and Union Territories have seen marginal rise in seasonal diseases. 'Cases of other vector-borne diseases marginally increased in some of the States and Union Territories due to enhanced surveillance and paperless reporting on Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) in 2025 as compared to corresponding period in 2024,' the Minister's Lok Sabha response said. But Telangana's Directorate of Public Health (DPH) has raised concerns about the accuracy of the chikungunya numbers cited by the Centre. 'The actual number of cases recorded until June is around 240, and those too have been effectively controlled to prevent any further rise. Regular monitoring is being carried out and the situation remains under control.,' said Amar Singh Naik, Additional Director in DPH. He added, 'The number presented in the Lok Sabha is wrong. We don't know how that data was generated, but it is not consistent with our records.' Meanwhile, the Minister's response stated that proactive steps have been taken in anticipation of seasonal outbreaks with the onset of the monsoon. These include intensified surveillance for early detection of vector-borne diseases, anti-larval operations in mosquito breeding hotspots and awareness campaigns at the community level. States, including Telangana, have been supplied with diagnostic kits, treatment materials and budgetary assistance under the National Health Mission.
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
Manifold increase in rabies deaths in two years: Centre
Though the number of presumptive cases of human rabies has come down from 4,885 in 2022 to 1,079 in 2024, the number of rabies deaths has increased manifold to 180 in 2024 from 22 in 2022, the Animal Husbandry Ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (August 5, 2025). In 2024, the highest number of deaths was reported from Tamil Nadu (43), followed by Karnataka (42) and Andhra Pradesh (39). In 2023, 121 people died of rabies and 2,223 presumptive cases were reported. In a written answer to a question by Member of Parliament from Kerala Adoor Prakash, Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry S.P. Singh Baghel said that municipalities are mandated to control the stray dog population. 'Municipalities are implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme to stabilise the population of stray dogs,' he said, adding that the Animal Birth Control Rules, issued by the Centre, emphasise neutering and anti-rabies vaccination as primary tools for dog population management. ABC programme implementation 'The Central Government and the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) have issued several advisories to ensure effective implementation of the ABC programme. Recently, on July 21, 2025, the Secretaries of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) issued a joint advisory to all Chief Secretaries, urging the implementation of the ABC programme and the development of requisite infrastructure,' he said. The Minister added that financial assistance of up to ₹800 per dog and ₹600 per cat is provisioned for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and local bodies for conducting ABC as per the 2023 Rules. 'A one-time grant of ₹2 crore is provisioned for State-run veterinary hospitals for developing infrastructure, including surgical theatres, kennels, and recovery units,' he said.
