A recent scare over counterfeit rabies vaccines has raised serious public-health concerns. Suspected fake or repackaged batches of a commonly used rabies vaccine were reported in multiple Indian cities, prompting advisories from several countries for travellers vaccinated in India. Investigations indicate that while most vials contained genuine vaccine, packaging was altered and government-supplied stock was likely diverted to the private market, revealing weaknesses in supply-chain monitoring. The incident risks creating vaccine hesitancy for a disease that is almost 100% fatal once symptoms appear. The crisis underscores the need for strict regulation, better tracking systems, strong law enforcement, transparent public communication, and assured availability of authentic vaccines and immunoglobulin to maintain trust and prevent avoidable deaths.
Click to View MoreRabies is a highly fatal but completely preventable viral disease that primarily affects the central nervous system and is mostly transmitted to humans through dog bites in India. It disproportionately impacts poor and rural communities and children, largely due to low awareness and limited access to timely post-exposure vaccination and immunoglobulin. India has launched programmes such as the National Rabies Control Programme and the National Action Plan for Rabies Elimination 2030, based on the One Health approach, focusing on dog vaccination, sterilisation, surveillance, and free PEP in public hospitals. With sustained awareness, mass dog vaccination, and improved access to treatment, India can eliminate dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030.
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India has significantly reduced malaria cases, but the spread of the invasive city-breeding mosquito Anopheles stephensi is increasing urban malaria and threatening the goal of elimination by 2030. High-burden pockets remain in Odisha and parts of the Northeast, with added challenges from asymptomatic infections, difficult terrain and cross-border transmission. Government initiatives such as the National Framework and Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination focus on stronger surveillance, vector control, community participation and improved access to diagnosis and treatment to achieve zero indigenous cases by 2027.
Click to View MoreIndia’s goal of “Health for All” faces major hurdles such as low public health spending, rising non-communicable and infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and persistent gaps in infrastructure and access. Although initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, Health and Wellness Centres, and disease-control programmes have expanded services, missed TB targets and repeated pharmaceutical quality lapses reveal systemic weaknesses. Achieving true universal health coverage will require higher funding, stronger regulation, and a primary healthcare–centred approach.
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The 2025 review by the Ministry of Ayush highlights mainstreaming of traditional medicine, marked by inclusion in WHO ICD-11, infrastructure growth, and mass outreach. Rapid market expansion and global ties coexist with challenges of scientific validation, regulation, integration with modern medicine, and critical human resource gaps.
Click to View MoreIndia is debating the introduction of data exclusivity in pharmaceuticals, a regulatory protection that can delay the entry of generic drugs even after patent expiry. While the move is projected as a way to attract investment and support innovation, it raises serious concerns for India’s generics-driven pharmaceutical industry and access to affordable medicines. In the absence of any international obligation under WTO-TRIPS, the policy choice involves balancing innovation incentives with public health priorities and preserving India’s role as the pharmacy of the developing world.
Click to View MoreIndia faces the world’s highest burden of snakebite deaths, largely due to delayed treatment and weak rural health linkages. The ICMR-led Zero Snakebite Death Initiative seeks to address this gap by integrating community-based prevention, rapid response, and evidence-driven health system strengthening, drawing on successful local models such as Assam’s Demow Model. By shifting the focus from hospital-centric care to early intervention and community empowerment, the initiative offers a realistic pathway to significantly reduce preventable snakebite mortality in India.
Click to View MoreNavara is an ancient medicinal rice native to Kerala’s Palakkad region, valued for its therapeutic role in Ayurveda and its rich nutritional profile. Once widely grown, it has become rare due to low yields, labour-intensive cultivation, pest sensitivity, and competition from hybrid varieties. Despite these challenges, Navara remains important for its cultural significance, biodiversity value, GI tag recognition, and unique place in traditional health practices.
Click to View MoreGallbladder cancer has emerged as a silent epidemic in India’s Gangetic belt, driven by polluted water, food contamination, poverty and gender inequality. It disproportionately affects rural women, often detected late with high treatment costs and poor survival. Weak surveillance, non-notifiability of cancer and ineffective environmental governance keep the crisis invisible. Addressing it requires pollution control, gender-sensitive screening, clean water access, stronger cancer reporting systems and integrated health–environment policy action.
Click to View MoreNeurotechnology—ranging from brain-computer interfaces to neural stimulation—offers India major gains in health, innovation, and economic growth by improving treatment for neurological disorders, enabling assistive devices, and creating new tech industries. Globally, countries like the U.S., China, and Chile are advancing neurotech while shaping ethical norms and neurorights. However, its promise depends on strong regulation that safeguards mental privacy, autonomy, equity, and long-term safety. If India builds research capacity, industry linkages, and ethical oversight,
Click to View MorePollution is emerging as a hidden reproductive health crisis, as toxins in air, water, soil and plastics disrupt hormones, damage sperm and egg quality, and increase miscarriage and poor birth outcomes. Evidence from India and globally shows declining fertility, particularly in polluted cities, indicating that cleaner environments are essential for protecting family health and demographic stability.
Click to View MoreThe WHO’s first guideline on GLP-1 therapy marks a major shift in treating obesity as a chronic disease rather than a behavioural issue. It conditionally recommends drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide for adults with obesity, but only alongside diet, exercise, and counselling. While the therapy shows significant weight loss and metabolic benefits, WHO warns of high costs, limited access, safety gaps, and the need for strong health systems to ensure equitable, long-term care.
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