The SRS Report 2024 reveals India's Total Fertility Rate dropped to 1.9, falling below the 2.1 replacement level. Despite improved infant mortality and a stable death rate, regional disparities signal an impending transition toward an ageing population.
Click to View MoreAnimal slaughter bans in India cause agrarian distress by turning unproductive cattle into liabilities. This devastates meat and leather industries, worsens nutritional anemia, and escalates a stray cattle menace that destroys standing crops, threatening the broader rural livelihood economy.
Click to View MoreIndia's National One Health Mission integrates human, animal, and environmental health to combat emerging zoonotic threats like Nipah virus. Supported by a new multi-tiered State/UT governance framework, it prioritizes integrated surveillance, decentralized outbreak response, and robust pandemic preparedness.
Click to View MoreInternational Nurses Day 2026 highlights the theme "Empowered Nurses Save Lives," honoring Florence Nightingale's legacy. For UPSC aspirants, understanding the global nursing workforce, India's National Health Policy 2017, and the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Act 2023 is crucial.
Click to View MoreExplore the critical reforms in water governance, highlighting the Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 extension to 2028, AMRUT 2.0 urban infrastructure strategies, digital IoT monitoring frameworks, and socio-economic impacts to comprehensively prepare for the upcoming UPSC examinations.
Click to View MoreA recent study has highlighted a significant link between tobacco consumption and poverty in India, suggesting that a substantial portion of the population could improve their socio-economic standing by eliminating tobacco use.
Click to View MoreUnsafe and unreliable urban drinking water is pushing households toward bottled water, increasing dependence on single-use plastics and exposing people to microplastics. India generates about 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with significant leakage into the environment due to collection gaps. At the same time, cities produce nearly 48,000 MLD of sewage, but only ~56% is effectively treated, allowing pollution to re-enter water sources and worsen water quality. The recycling system relies heavily on informal waste pickers who recover ~40% of recyclables, yet modern waste reforms often reduce their incomes and exclude them from formal systems, while sanitation workers continue to face hazardous conditions. The issue highlights a vicious cycle linking water insecurity, plastic pollution and invisible labour, underscoring the need for integrated, inclusive and infrastructure-led urban sustainability.
Click to View MoreIndia is facing a growing mental health crisis marked by a high burden of depression, anxiety, addiction, and suicides, with nearly 70–92% treatment gap and a severe shortage of professionals. The Union Budget 2026 has focused on institutional expansion, including a second campus of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, upgradation of regional institutes, and continued support for digital services like Tele MANAS. However, mental health spending remains below 2% of the health budget, and challenges such as stigma, limited community-level services, workforce shortages, and rising youth and digital-age stress persist. Addressing the crisis requires greater funding, community-based care, preventive strategies, and stronger primary healthcare integration to ensure accessible and affordable mental health services for all.
Click to View MoreIndia is strengthening its mental healthcare system with a renewed policy focus on access, equity, and early intervention. The expansion of national institutions like NIMHANS, the rollout of tele-mental health services such as Tele-MANAS, and integration of mental health into primary healthcare reflect a shift toward treating mental health as a core public health priority. These efforts aim to reduce the large treatment gap, address regional disparities, tackle stigma, and build a stronger mental health workforce, especially for vulnerable and underserved populations.
Click to View MoreIndia has made major progress toward malaria elimination under its National Framework for Malaria Elimination (2016–2030), with cases falling by around 80% between 2015 and 2023. Many districts have already reported zero indigenous cases, and the country has exited the WHO High Burden to High Impact group. The strategy now focuses on strong surveillance through the “Test, Treat and Track” approach, universal access to diagnosis and treatment, and intensified vector control.
However, challenges remain in the form of migration, urban malaria, hard-to-reach tribal and forested areas, and the persistence of Plasmodium vivax, which can relapse. Drug and insecticide resistance are also emerging concerns. India aims to achieve zero indigenous cases by 2027 and full elimination by 2030, but success will depend on accurate reporting, strong urban and community participation, and preventing re-establishment of transmission in malaria-free areas.
Click to View MoreThe Ministry of Tribal Affairs to recognize one lakh tribal healers under a QCI certification framework. Integrating indigenous practitioners into formal healthcare aims to bridge gaps in remote areas, preserve traditional knowledge, and ensure dignity, legality, and inclusive, pluralistic healthcare delivery by 2026.
Click to View MoreThe public health crisis in Indore exposed deep urban governance failures, as sewage-contaminated water from ageing pipelines caused deaths despite prior warnings by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The episode reveals neglect of core water infrastructure and highlights the need for audits, monitoring, accountability, and effective implementation of AMRUT 2.0.
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