HYDERABAD:  In the wake of a series of sexual assaults on women, an exclusive 'one stop crisis cell' (OSCC) for rape victims will be set up in the city soon. The Hyderabad district administration has decided to give moral and financial support to the victims through the OSCC. Efforts are on to ensure the cell becomes functional in January.

Source: The Times of India

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Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday admitted that the recent Supreme Court ruling on, and stringent regulations for, clinical trials had set drugs research back in India. But he was hopeful that the sector would gather pace again.

“We received a setback because not many pharmaceutical companies are coming forward for clinical trials now. There has been a 50 per cent drop in clinical trials after stringent regulations were put in place, but we are hopeful that they will pick up in the coming days,” he told The Hindu.

Source: The Hindu

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The maternal mortality rate in West Bengal has dropped sharply by 20 per cent due to health reforms in the State, latest statistics say.

Quoting a latest survey report prepared by the Union Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the Health portfolio, told PTI that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) rate has fallen to 117 per 1 lakh childbirths during 2010-12.

Source: The Hindu

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The latest MMR figures for 2010-2012, released by the Registrar-General of India suggest that the MMR had come down to 178 from 212, an annual decline of 5.7 per cent.

While Kerala has the lowest MMR at 66 as against 81 in 2007-2009 Sample Registration Survey figures, Assam tops the list in absolute numbers with 328 deaths per 1,00,000 live births, though the number has declined by 5.6 per cent from the previous figure of 390.

Source: The Hindu

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 BHOPAL: A woman who was operated upon at a government organized family planning camp in Betul district on Monday diedon Tuesday. The incident took place at WCL hospital in Pathakheda.

Autopsy of the woman was conducted at the district hospital on Tuesday and the district administration provided an assistance of Rs 50,000 to the kin of the deceased.

Source: The Times of India

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Eyeing Central Government funding, the Kochi Corporation is planning to renew maternal health centres in the city. The civic body plans to upgrade 13 of its maternal health centres to PublicHealth Centres (PHC).

A `9-crore proposal in this regard was submitted to the NUHM for approval. The move is expected to enhance quality healthcare for pregnant women and infants. The proposal is awaiting approval from the Centre and a delegation will visit the city on Friday and Saturday to study the proposal.

Source: The Hindu

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Punjab’s war on cancer will receive a fillip when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lays the foundation stone for a super specialty treatment and research centre at Mullanpur town on the outskirts of Chandigarh on December 30.

The Rs. 450-crore state-of-the-art facility is being established by the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre on the lines of the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.

Source: The Hindu

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Among the many manifestations of gender discrimination in India, arguably the most premeditated action involves the so-called boy-preference — the systematic elimination of female foetuses. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, Laws and Son Preference in India: A Reality Check, could not be more timely. It says the 1994 ban on sex-selective abortions, in order to be more effective, must be backed by comprehensive legal, judicial and police reforms targeting violence against girls and women. 

Source: The Hindu

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Beijing: China on Monday initiated steps to "adjust" its controversial 'one-child' family planning policy to address serious demographic challenges and allow millions of couples to have two children in the world's most populous nation. 

A bill was tabled in Parliament which seeks to allow couples to have two children if either of them is an only child, considered the most significant liberalisation of China's strict one-child policy in nearly three decades. 

Source: The Times of India

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The fourth round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS), to be launched early next month, will provide district level data on India’s demographic and health indicators covering all 640 districts. District level estimates from all States and Union Territories will be included in the Survey for the first time.

Consequently, the sample is expected to be 5,68,200 households, up from about 1,09,000 households in the previous round of NFHS in 2005-06 which provided only national and State level estimates. This is expected to yield a total sample of 625,014 women and 93,065 men. In these households information on 265,653 children below age 5 will be collected in the survey.

Source: The Hindu

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