Latest news with #DepartmentofHealthResearch
New Indian Express
02-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Insurance premiums surpass health budget
NEW DELHI: In a stark indicator of India's shifting healthcare landscape, individual health insurance premiums have now exceeded the combined central government allocation for the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Health Research. An analysis of annual reports from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and corresponding Union Budget documents shows that while insurance premium collections briefly dipped in the immediate post-pandemic years (2021–22 and 2022–23), they have since surged past the national health budget. Even when related spending by other ministries—such as Defence and Labour—is taken into account, India's total public health expenditure remains low: just around 2% of the Union Budget and 1.5% of GDP, falling short of the 2.5% target set by the National Health Policy. This trend signals more than a budgetary shift—it reflects a structural transformation in how healthcare is accessed and funded in India. Increasing reliance on private insurance points toward a market-driven model where care is increasingly linked to ability to pay, raising serious equity concerns, particularly for the uninsured and underinsured. Critics argue that insurance-based healthcare, especially when not backed by strong public infrastructure, can exacerbate inequalities. A large share of India's workforce remains in the informal sector and lacks access to comprehensive insurance. Public health facilities, meanwhile, continue to be underfunded and overstretched.
India.com
25-05-2025
- Health
- India.com
Covid in India BIG Updates: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi report cases, issue advisory to hospitals
File/Representational Covid in India: Covid-19 cases have been going up in parts of India. The spike in cases has prompted states to start preparations for the availability of beds, oxygen, medicines and vaccines to tackle any further surge in infections. Most of the Covid cases reported in various states are mild in nature and the patients are under home care, official sources said. Among states and UTs that have reported cases are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi, which logged 23 infections on Friday and issued an advisory to hospitals. Among states and UTs that have reported cases are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi, which logged 23 infections on Friday and issued an advisory to hospitals. The matter regarding COVID-19 cases was reviewed by the Union Health Secretary on Saturday with the Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), DGHS and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) etc.
India Today
24-05-2025
- Health
- India Today
Most Covid cases in India are mild, patients under home care: Sources
Most of the Covid cases reported in various states are mild in nature and the patients are under home care, official sources said amid a rise in cases in some matter regarding Covid-19 cases was reviewed by the Union Health Secretary on Saturday with the Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), DGHS and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) etc, they Covid-19 cases have been reported, mainly from states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Sources said that there is a robust pan-India system for surveillance of respiratory illnesses, including Covid-19 through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and ICMR's pan-India respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network. "It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care," an official source said."It may also be mentioned that there have been some media reports regarding an increase in Covid-19 cases in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in the recent past. It has been ascertained from the respective National IHR focal points that there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants," the source sources asserted that the Union Health Ministry remains vigilant and, through its multiple agencies, was proactively monitoring the situation according to the INSACOG data, one case of the newly emerging Covid-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four cases of LF.7 have been detected in of May 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring (VUMs), not as Variants of Concern (VOCs) or Variants of Interest (VOIs). But these are the variants reportedly driving the rise in Covid cases in China and parts of India, the most common variant remains JN.1, comprising 53 per cent of samples tested, followed by BA.2 (26 per cent) and other Omicron sublineages (20%), according to of May 19, the country had 257 active cases. Delhi recorded 23 new cases, Andhra Pradesh reported four in the last 24 hours, Telangana confirmed one, and a nine-month-old in Bengaluru tested positive amid a gradual rise over the past 20 days. Kerala reported 273 cases in May in several states reported more cases on Maharashtra, a Covid-19 patient suffering from severe diabetes died of comorbidities in Thane while eight new cases of the viral infection were reported in the city on Saturday, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) men were detected with coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital, Indore. In Uttarakhand, a 57-year-old tourist from Gujarat in Rishikesh and a woman doctor from AIIMS Rishikesh have been found infected with 23 recent Covid-19 patients in Delhi experienced only mild symptoms and were under home quarantine, said health officials in the Delhi government.A 55-year-old woman was placed under home quarantine after she tested positive for Covid-19 in Noida on Delhi's Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimh convened a high-level review meeting to assess the current Covid-19 scenario in the state and the preparedness of the health department.A Covid-19 case was reported in Hyderabad and the patient, a pulmonologist, has fully recovered, officials said on InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Covid-19
Deccan Herald
24-05-2025
- Health
- Deccan Herald
India sees uptick in Covid, cases mostly mild
The matter regarding Covid-19 cases was reviewed by the Union Health Secretary on Saturday with the Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), DGHS and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) etc, they said.
