Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

June 16, 2026 4:43 PM

Centre tightens regulation of cough syrup sales, withdraws exemption for small villages

In a move aimed at strengthening regulatory oversight and ensuring safer distribution of medicines, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has amended the Drugs Rules, 1945, withdrawing a long-standing exemption that allowed the sale of cough syrups in small villages without compliance with certain retail licensing requirements. The amendment, notified through Gazette Notification G.S.R. 927(E) dated December 29, 2025, removes the word "Syrup" from Schedule K, Serial No. 13, Entry 7 ...

June 8, 2026 5:30 PM

PMSMA turns 10: Health ministry to launch nationwide celebrations, JP Nadda to unveil ‘A Decade of Care’ campaign

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) will kick off nationwide celebrations on June 9 to commemorate a decade of the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), one of India’s flagship maternal healthcare initiatives aimed at ensuring safe pregnancies and healthy motherhood. The year-long observance, themed “10 Years of PMSMA – A Decade of Care,” will be formally launched by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda at a national event in New Delhi....

June 8, 2026 1:57 PM

India’s health transformation: How 12 years of reform reshaped healthcare and expanded access for millions

India's healthcare sector has undergone a sweeping transformation over the past 12 years, driven by large-scale investments in public health infrastructure, health insurance, digital healthcare, medical education and disease control programmes. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said these reforms have strengthened healthcare delivery across the country and accelerated India's progress toward universal health coverage. From the rollout of the world's largest publicly funded healt...

June 8, 2026 10:03 AM

West Bengal to join Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, becoming 36th state/UT to implement National Health Scheme

In a significant step toward expanding healthcare coverage across the country, West Bengal is set to become the 36th State/Union Territory to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), the world's largest publicly funded health assurance programme. The National Health Authority (NHA), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and the Government of West Bengal will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, fo...

May 29, 2026 5:41 PM

India records major gains in maternal, child health and nutrition in NFHS-6: Health Ministry

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Friday released the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), highlighting significant improvements in maternal and child healthcare, nutrition, immunisation coverage and financial protection across the country during 2023-24. Conducted by the MoHFW with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, as the nodal agency, the survey covered nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts and provides key data on populatio...

May 29, 2026 4:32 PM

World No Tobacco Day: Health Secretary launches Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions app

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day 2026, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Friday launched the pilot version of the Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) Application and released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for tobacco product sample collection, reinforcing the Centre’s efforts to combat tobacco and nicotine addiction among youth. The initiatives were launched during a national event organised under the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) at Kartavya Bhawan i...

May 25, 2026 5:35 PM

ICMR launches India’s largest biomedical innovation platform, transfers 41 health technologies to industry

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR ) on Monday organised “Medical Innovations Patent Mitra: Innovators-to-Industry (I2I) Connect” in New Delhi, marking India’s largest biomedical innovation and technology transfer facilitation event aimed at accelerating the commercialization of indigenous healthcare technologies. Held at the Manekshaw Centre, the event established one of India’s first structured platforms dedicated to biomedical innovation showcasing and technology transfer u...

May 21, 2026 11:05 AM

India showcases TB elimination drive and ethical AI vision in healthcare at World Health Assembly

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Wednesday highlighted India’s expanding efforts in tuberculosis elimination, lung health screening, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in healthcare while addressing multiple high-level side events during the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Speaking at a ministerial side event on “Ministerial Perspectives on Lung Health Screening,” organized by the Stop TB Partnership and co-hosted by India, Japan, the Philippines, and Zambia, Nad...

May 18, 2026 9:02 PM

Government Closely Monitoring Ebola Situation in Central Africa; Public Health Measures Being Strengthened

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) is closely monitoring the recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, following the declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Senior officials of the Ministry, including officials from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDS...

May 8, 2026 5:07 PM

AI-driven innovations take centre stage at AB PM-JAY Auto-Adjudication Hackathon 2026

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in collaboration with the National Health Authority (NHA), IndiaAI Mission and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, on Friday inaugurated the AB PM-JAY Auto-Adjudication Hackathon Showcase 2026, a two-day national event aimed at strengthening healthcare claims management under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) through Artificial Intelligence (AI). The event brought together policymakers, technology innov...