N P Chekkutty reports on several marked trends in the latest Census data.

Rural public health care is choked nationwide for a number of reasons. To name two, provisioning of services is very top heavy and many major programmes continue to be conceived and run uncoordinatedly. But Abhijit Das finds promising prospects in the formation of the National Rural Health Mission.

Some studies estimate that roughly 10 million Indians may be suffering from epilepsy. But social stigma and economic barriers are keeping treatment out of reach for the majority. Unlike polio, which has a national eradication programme, epilepsy treatment has seen no such focus yet, finds Varupi Jain.

Smoking in the movies fosters a culture that encourages young people to smoke, whereas what is needed is that we actively develop antipathy to smoking! More than the health effects alone, it is this battle that has been engaged by the government's move to ban tobacco on screen, says Pankaj Chaturvedi.

Prem Kumar travels across the country, finding disabled children living in isolation and despair, carrying nature's cruel dispensation. But he is heartened as well by inspiring work that so many organisations carry out, and hopes that a brighter future awaits the children, thanks to their efforts.

The citation for the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay award speaks of her "untiring leadership of the Cancer Institute as a centre for excellence and compassion for the study and treatment of cancer". Ambujam Anantharaman speaks with V Shanta, whose 50-year career is a glitterring record of progress against cancer in India.

India is languishing in the Human Development Index recently released by the UNDP. Bangladesh has overtaken India in some vital parameters. What does this imply in terms of actual numbers? Are the Millennium Development Goals and those laid down by the Planning Commission achievable? Pavan Nair takes a look.

A new Indo-Canadian study has found a one-third decline in new HIV infections in the worst-hit regions of the country - Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and Maharashtra. Researchers say that prevention efforts seem to be paying off, but warn that the battle is far from over. Nitin Jugran Bahuguna reports.

The proposed Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), likely to be instituted soon, will establish five 'world class' institutes to train 1000 public health professionals every year. But just where will these new public health experts be employed? Padma Prakash on the unaddressed issues.

In India's most populous state, with its low levels of sanitation, and high malnutrition rates, polio has made a dangerous comeback. The world is now looking at India to stem the spread as fears of the disease spreading to other parts of the world have come true. Ramesh Menon reports.

India's attitude to condoms and contraception is worrisome at a time when promiscuity has a stamp of approval. Condom manufacturers are pitching pleasure enhancement in their ads, instead of being direct about the protection against AIDS. Charumathi Supraja reports.

The short answer appears to be no. Some 4,959 villages have bagged the Nirmal Gram Puraskar (clean village prize) so far, for having flush toilets in every household and school. But there is a flip side of this otherwise incredible script. Sudhirendar Sharma probes the reality.

Why would the Government of India deny a job to an individual who carries a mutation in the DNA? There is prejudice in the Indian society against individual perceived as "sexual anomalies". Vaijayanti Gupta initiates an educational discussion on the biology of sex and sexual orientations.

Debates on HIV estimates often take time away from the real issues - those that can only be shared by people infected and affected by the infection. The issue that is truly critical and demands everyone's attention is that of the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, writes Syed Mohammad Afsar, on World AIDS Day.

From drum beating at markets to using helicopters, Tripura has been making rapid strides in its immunisation programme, pushing this important health care intervention among tribal as well as non-tribal mothers and children. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Within in the next two years, around 10 lakh people will die because of smoking in India alone, says one of the most comprehensive studies on the habit in the country. India is on the threshold of a tobacco-unleashed epidemic, says Ramesh Menon.

The Directly Observed Treatment strategy to combat tuberculosis was introduced to ensure that every TB patient completes the full six-month course of treatment. But most poor patients find that its benefits are out of their reach, both economically and physically. Neha Singh reports.

The heavy rains of the south-west monsoon are a few weeks away and malaria usually follows, in Assam. The state has 20 per cent of malaria deaths in India, but this time, doctors say they have taken substantive measures. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The Aravind Eye Hospitals in south India have contributed signficantly to preventing debilitating blindness. Aravind was recently awarded the $1 million Gates Award. It all began with late Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy's dream. Ramesh Menon tracks down the pioneer.

Nearly 20 per cent of the world's blind are in India. Only donation of eyes after death can bring light into the lives of the needy. Ramesh Menon surveys the landscape of eye donations and finds much that still needs to be done.

A clear focus on protecting the interests of non-smokers has led to worldwide efforts to ban smoking in all public places, and strongly curtail any exceptions. India too has joined this trend, writes Ramesh Menon.

Krithika Ramalingam

Tamilnadu leads the country in nutritional interventions and yet has alarming levels of hunger in children. Research indicates that is a very likely cause of poor schooling achievement and drop-out rates, reports Krithika Ramalingam.

NGOs have fared better than the government in tackling iron deficiency in poor children. Activists, policy analysts and funders want a convergence of various departments as opposed to boxing nutrition into the health-sector alone. Krithika Ramalingam completes her two-part inquiry.

Kerala's palliative care movement shows health services can go well beyond the biomedical model of health and be seen as an affirmative act of living with dignity. Freny Manecksha reports.

A pilot project in community-based monitoring under the National Rural Health Mission in three districts of Jharkhand provides encouraging results. Freny Manecksha reports.

A number of development organisations are working to diagnose deafblindess in children, and provide learning tools and techniques that can mainstream them. Freny Manecksha reports.

Amidst a rising tide of reports of medical negligence in the media, the courts have stepped in to interpret laws in favour of patients, and to award large punitive damages. Shoma Chatterji reports.

The child sex ratio continues to follow the worsening trend established over four decades ago. Demographers predict that India's population will remain overly masculine for decades. Kannan Kasturi reports.

Junk food, lack of exercise, poor parenting and modern lazy lifestyles are all triggers for obesity among children, which is turning out to be a major health hazard in present-day India, says Ramesh Menon.

Indian participants won a remarkable 387 medals at the Special Olympic Games for sports persons with intellectual disabilities held in Australia in December 2013. Pushpa Achanta urges greater state and institutional support for these neglected sports persons as she brings us their inspiring stories.

Tuberculosis kills close to 300,000 men, women and children in India every year and is estimated to cost the country $23.7 billion annually! R Balasubramaniam describes the fight against the disease so far and the challenges it continues to pose.

Already struggling with low budgetary allocation for healthcare and shortage of trained staff, health services in Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh have taken a more serious hit due to issues arising out of bifurcation. Tejaswini Pagadala reports.

The government’s clarification on the Indo-US joint statement on Intellectual Property Rights issued during Modi’s visit to the United States highlights the imperative of maintaining India’s original stance on patent laws and refusal to yield to US demands made in its Special 301 Report. Shambhu Ghatak has more.

Did you know a cell phone in a moving car emits significantly greater radiation, half of which could be absorbed by the brain while talking? A renowned epidemiologist from the US warns users of this and other cell-phone related hazards in the course of her recent talks in India. Darryl D’Monte reports.

The conduct of election of members to the Medical Council of India in 2013 and its subsequent actions over the past year have underlined the brazen corruption in the regulatory body. Developments in the health ministry raise doubts over whether these issues will be tackled at all.  A round up

With a recent drug sample report confirming the presence of rat poison in medicines administered to Chhattisgarh’s hapless tubectomy victims, it is yet another wake-up call for India to address the threats posed by its $4.25-billion fake drugs market. Tanvi Bhatikar bares some stark facts.

The Railway Budget this year has been hailed for its pragmatic approach and emphasis on modernisation and customer experience. Tanvi Bhatikar raises a critical issue that needs to be addressed in order to deliver on those fronts.

A recent workshop in Karnataka focused on the health impact of coal-based power plants and other industrial pollutants and shared inputs on how to empower local communities to combat the same. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.

Tales of medical malpractice and its impact on patients are all too common in India. But what does the culture of corruption mean for one who wishes to remain true to the noble profession that he had chosen for himself? Pavan Kulkarni finds out.

The focus on ending open defecation and ensuring a toilet in every home is a limited one. Lasting success will require a much larger focus on sanitation, writes Aditya Bhol.

The Comptroller and Auditor General performance audit of the social welfare schemes for Persons with Disabilities run by the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Delhi, covering the years from 2009 to 2014, which got tabled recently brought forth some shocking facts, writes Himanshu Upadhyaya.

The out-of-pocket health expenditure by the poor is spiraling and the government spending on public health care is reducing. The existing public health programes and insurance schemes are failing; private health care sector is not properly regulated; Shambhu Ghatak finds the health of our nation worrisome.

Sanitary conditions in most of the slum areas in Assam are abysmal. Ignorance about cleanliness, lack of water supply and proper working toilets, absence of covered drainage and sewage, and no action from the local and state government are to be blamed for the mess, reports Nilotpal Bhattacharjee.

On World Mental Health Day, Pushpa Achanta shares the struggle of some mental illness survivors she met recently and hopes that our nation's Mental Health Program is implemented by the government earnestly.

In Barwani, Madhya Pradesh, people lost their sight after botched up cataract surgeries. Was it because the organizers, the medical and paramedical staff of the district hospital did not take necessary steps? Or was the quality of medication used questionable? Or, because the victims are too marginalised and too poor to protest? Asks Shoma Chatterji.

Delhi, infamous for high air pollution, has been experimenting with odd-even formula by curbing the movement of private vehicles from Jan 1st. After one week of the execution of the programme, there is no visible change in the pollution level. Will road rationing help to reduce the pollution level or does Delhi need much more action to control the pollution, writes Akshatha M.

Kanchi Kohli raises questions on the Voluntary National Review report which shows India’s efforts to achieve seven of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.

N G Hegde on a Karnataka water project that is more than an innovation making water and irrigation a reality in a drought-prone area.

A township on the eastern outskirts of Bangalore was among the first to run into council elections after the Supreme Court ruled on new disclosure rules for candiates. Public Affairs Centre looks at whether candidates and officials actually followed due process.