After announcing that that COVID-19 was no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that “Disease X” can lead to an “even deadlier” pandemic. ABOUT DISEASE X Disease X is not real yet and has not been identified in any human beings. It represents a hypothetical, unknown pathogen that could cause a future epidemic. The name was adopted by the WHO in 2018 on their shortlist of blueprint priority diseases to ensure that their planning was sufficiently flexible to adapt to an unknown pathogen. Disease X could also be zoonotic, meaning that it could be caused....Read More

Many migrant workers appeared in examination under Changathi project of Kerala Literacy Mission. The project has been envisaged by the literacy mission for teaching migrant labourers to read and write Malayalam and Hindi. It is designed to address the exclusion faced by migrant labourers in society, this program aims to teach them to read and write Malayalam and Hindi. The programme was first launched on August 15, 2017, in Perumbavoor, Kerala. Examination was conducted based on ‘Hamari Malayalam’, a textbook specially prepared by the literacy mission for the purpose.Read More

The Ministry of Education and the World Bank recently held a workshop on School-to-Work Transition under the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Program. ABOUT STARS It is a centrally sponsored scheme. There are six Indian states which are covered under the STARS Project- Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha. The project is being implemented through the Samagra Shiksha Scheme. The total cost of the project is approximately Rs. 5,718 crore. The World Bank has provided financial support worth Rs. 3700 crores through International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which is the lending arm of....Read More

Health Ministry has unveiled the “75/25” initiative and Shashakt Portal, aiming to revolutionize the management and prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India. This ambitious program sets a target of providing Standard Care to 75 million individuals with hypertension and diabetes by 2025. The Ministry plans to train 40,000 Primary Health Care Medical Officers on the Standard Treatment Workflow for NCDs through the Shashakt Portal.Read More

As per the new regulations by the National Medical Commission (NMC), doctors will now have to get a Unique Identification Number (UID) to be able to practice medicine in the country The UID will be generated centrally by the NMC Ethics board. ABOUT NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (NMC) NMC has been constituted by National Medical Commission Act, 2019 replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI), which was constituted under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The NMC will function as the country’s top regulator of medical education and medical professionals. It grants recognition of medical qualifications gives accreditation to medical schools,....Read More

The Supreme Court recently transferred to Kerala High Court the responsibility of monitoring the measures taken by the State to provide medical and palliative care for victims of endosulfan contamination. Advocates representing Kerala govt reported that ₹5 lakh compensation has been provided to almost all of the 3700 victims. ABOUT ENDOSULFAN Endosulfan is an organochlorine insecticide which was first introduced in the 1950s and is commonly known by its trade name Thiodan. It is sprayed on crops like cotton, cashew, fruits, tea, paddy, tobacco for control of pests such as whiteflies, aphids, beetles, worms etc. Supreme Court banned its production....Read More

The World Health Organization (WHO) has ended the global health emergency for Mpox. ABOUT MPOX Mpox is a viral zoonotic disease most commonly found in Africa and has infected around 87,000 people in 2022. Monkeypox virus was initially discovered in lab monkeys in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1958. The very first human cases were reported to be discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970. The virus is a member of the Poxviridae family which is genetically similar to other poxviruses. It spreads through close contact with an infected individual and can be transmitted from animals Transmission can also occur....Read More

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the SAKSHAM:LMIS. It has been developed by the National Institute of Health & Family Welfare (NIHFW), New Delhi. Currently SAKSHAM: LMIS is hosting more than 200 public health and 100 clinical courses through online mode. Health professionals can register themselves for these courses on the portal and get the certification after undergoing requisite training and qualifying the required assessment criteria. SAKSHAM is a dedicated and unified platform for providing online training and medical education to all health professionals in the country. It will ensure inclusive capacity building of health professionals from....Read More

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, recently reviewed the ‘Food Street Project’. It is aimed at developing 100 healthy and hygienic food-streets across the country. The project seeks to encourage safe and healthy food practices, reduce foodborne illnesses and improve overall health outcomes. To operationalize the food streets, the National Health Mission will provide assistance of one crore rupees per food street. The initiative will be implemented through NHM in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. These initiatives include training of food handlers, independent third-party audits, and certification under the Clean Street Food Hub initiative of....Read More

University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched CU– Chayan, a unified faculty recruitment portal for Central universities. The portal would cater to the needs of all the stakeholders in the teachers’ recruitment process. The portal will provide a common platform for listing of vacancies, advertisements and jobs across all Central Universities. The portal makes the recruitment process completely online starting from application to screening, with alerts to all the users of the portal.Read More