
Minister S Savitha lauds Roots Health in Vijayawada for dedicated service to poor
Speaking at the Roots Health Service Awards-2025 held at PB Siddhartha College Auditorium, Moghalrajpuram, on Sunday to mark Doctors' Day, the Minister praised the Foundation's sustained efforts in providing quality medical services to a large number of people.
She applauded the initiative of honouring 82 doctors who have rendered exceptional medical service during the past decade, calling the gesture a 'positive development' that would encourage further involvement in social service. The Minister recalled witnessing the Foundation's relief work during the Vijayawada floods. Highlighting the government's focus on healthcare, she noted that CM N Chandrababu Naidu has allocated Rs 20,000 crore in the state budget, reiterating his commitment to building an 'Aarogya Andhra' (Healthy Andhra).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


News18
4 hours ago
- News18
'Pulp Fiction? Not Quite': How Indian Oranges Are Powering A French Medicine To Treat Varicose Veins
'We are proud that the oranges grown in Indian soil are now an integral part of a medicine used by millions across the world," Aurelien Breton, managing director, Servier India, told News18. 'We procure oranges from Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, MP, and Rajasthan currently." According to IQVIA data, Daflon's 500mg and 1000mg stand at a value of Rs 61 crore as per moving annual turnover, May 2025, ranking 2nd in the varicose therapy market. The average number of patients treated in a month is 1.2 lakhs. The citrus supply chain The Indian-sourced oranges are first processed locally—cleaned, dried, and converted into powder form. This citrus powder is then exported to Servier's manufacturing headquarters in France, where it undergoes sophisticated processing to extract the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Interestingly, those APIs are then re-imported back to India, where the final formulation of Daflon is completed for domestic distribution. This circular, transcontinental journey of a single orange—from a farm in Nagpur to a lab in northern France and back to a pharmacy shelf in Delhi—highlights the globalisation of pharmaceutical supply chains and India's growing importance as a trusted sourcing and manufacturing hub. The move wasn't just about logistics or cost-efficiency. According to Breton, Indian oranges matched the quality standards required for flavonoid extraction. 'We achieved 100% reliance on local Indian oranges through our Indian supply chain with effect from the financial year 2021." Indian oranges matched the former Spanish and Mexican counterparts. '2000 metric tons of small oranges were procured in the financial year 2023-24. We work with aggregators and farmers in multiple states in India," said Breton. Company set to bring precision cancer medicine Servier Pharma is set to bring precision cancer treatments to India. 'Unlike traditional chemotherapy, these therapies act on specific genetic mutations that are responsible for causing the cancer," Breton said. Out of three novel drugs coming into the Indian market, the first drug, Ivosidenib, targets a mutated protein known as isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), which is found in a subset of patients with cholangiocarcinoma (a type of biliary tract cancer) and acute myeloid leukemia (a form of blood cancer). 'Epidemiological data show a high prevalence of biliary tract cancers along the Ganga River basin, supporting the need for this targeted option, which can significantly delay disease progression. In clinical trials, Ivosidenib has demonstrated more than a threefold improvement in survival for AML (blood cancer) patients." The drug was officially launched in India in June 2025.


Indian Express
10 hours ago
- Indian Express
BBMP launches Rs 2.9 crore initiative to feed stray dogs with chicken, rice
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has recently rolled out a scheme to provide daily nutritious meals to around 4,000-5,000 stray dogs across the city's eight zones. Branded 'Kukkir Tihar', the program is a one-year pilot, extendable by another year based on its success. The BBMP said the initiative is part of its larger 'One Health' program, which also includes vaccination and animal birth control (ABC) efforts. Civic officials said the program, estimated to cost Rs 2.8-2.9 crore annually, is aimed at curbing stray dog aggression, reducing bite cases – which currently range between 500 and 1,500 per month – and supporting rabies control efforts through better monitoring and vaccination. Under the scheme, each dog receives a meal weighing between 367 and 600 gram, comprising 150 gram of chicken, 100 gram each of rice and vegetables, 10 gram of oil, and a pinch of salt and turmeric, delivering 465-750 kilocalories per serving. These meals are prepared in centralised FSSAI-registered kitchens equipped with CCTV surveillance and are distributed at 100-125 feeding points per zone before 11 am daily. The BBMP has invited tenders to onboard vendors for food preparation and for maintaining cleanliness around feeding spots. However, Tamil Nadu Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram and many local residents have questioned the BBMP's priorities, arguing that funds would be better spent on sterilisation, vaccinations, or building shelters. Others have pointed out that the city spends Rs 22 per dog per day on meals, while the per-day mid-day meal allocation for a schoolchild stands at Rs 12.42. 'Is this true? Dogs have no place in the streets. They need to be relocated to shelters, where they can be fed, vaccinated & sterilised. Feeding & keeping them in a free roaming state in the streets is a huge health & safety hazard,' Chidambaram wrote on X. Reacting to the criticisms, a BBMP official said, 'The feeding program will also help in tracking, vaccinating, and sterilising dogs as part of Bengaluru's goal to eliminate rabies by 2030. Additionally, regular feeding improves the dogs' overall health, reducing aggression linked to hunger and aiding sterilisation efforts.' Bengaluru has an estimated 2.79 lakh stray dogs, with over 16,000 dog bite cases reported in May 2025 alone.


Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
Chief block med officer, computer operator booked on bribe charges
Barwani: Lokayukta police establishment booked Chief Block Medical Officer (CBMO) of community health centre and a computer operator for accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 on Friday. Lokayukta SP Rajesh Sahay told TOI that the action was taken on complaint of Dr Balbir Singh Verma, community health officer of primary health centre Kalapani of Thikri block. "A case has been registered against chief block medical officer of Thikri community health centre Dr Rajveer Tomar and block computer operator (contractual) Rahul Kumar Gupta under the Prevention of Corruption Act," Lokayukta SP said. In his complaint, Dr Verma had said that his five months' salary and 10 months' performance-based incentive totalling Rs 2,87,000 was pending. To release this amount, Thikri CBMO Rajveer Tomar was demanding Rs 50,000 through block computer operator Rahul Gupta, he added. On Friday, the team caught Gupta red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 35,000 from the applicant. Action was taken against both the accused under section 7 and 61 (2) BNS 2023 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.