Health Bulletin 27/March/2026 - Video
Overview
Here are the top health stories for the day:
Doctors Raise Concerns Over Persisting NEET PG Vacancies Despite Increase in Seats
Even as the Union Health Ministry informed the parliament that 43 new medical colleges have been established and 11,682 MBBS and 8,967 postgraduate seats have been approved for the 2025-26 academic year, concerns persist over thousands of vacant NEET PG seats across the country.
The Union Government had recently informed the Rajya Sabha that a total of 1,140 postgraduate (PG) medical seats remained vacant across government and private medical colleges after the first round of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET PG) counselling for the academic year 2025.
For more details, check out the full story on the link mentioned below:
Doctors Raise Concerns Over Persisting NEET PG Vacancies Despite Seat Expansion
NMC Issues Advisory on Stem Cell Therapy, Urges Medical Colleges to Follow Supreme Court Directions
In compliance with the Supreme Court of India judgment on the use of stem cell therapy, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has notified that medical colleges and institutions can undertake stem cell therapy in routine practice only for diseases listed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, while research beyond this is permitted strictly as part of an approved clinical trial.
The Apex medical commission issued the advisory after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) requested Dr Abhijat Chandrakant Sheth, Chairman of NMC to specify to all the medical colleges that stem cell therapy in routine practice is restricted only to approved indications listed in the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)/Department of Health Research (DHR)/MoHFW guidelines and that research beyond this is strictly conducted in compliance with ICMR Ethical Guidelines and with prior approval of either CDSCO or DHR, depending on the level of manipulation of stem cells.
For more details, check out the full story on the link mentioned below:
Stem cell therapy: NMC issues advisory for medical colleges to comply with Supreme Court directions
India Developing AI Tools To Predict Preterm Births Early, Says Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that India's largest pregnancy cohort study of 12,000 women under the GARBH-INi initiative is aimed at developing indigenous, AI-driven solutions to address preterm births, one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality as well morbidity in adulthood.
The Minister was speaking at the “Disseminating Learnings and Outcomes of GARBH-INi (Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes)” programme, a Department of Biotechnology (DBT) initiative, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The event was attended by Secretary, Biotechnology, Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale; Member, NITI Aayog, Dr. V.K. Paul; Executive Director, THSTI, Dr. Ganesan Karthikeyan, along with leading scientists and researchers.
For more details, check out the full story on the link mentioned below:
India developing AI-driven tools for early prediction of preterm births, says Dr Jitendra Singh
New COVID Variant With 75 Mutations Sparks Concerns, Doctors Urge Vigilance Not Panic
A new variant of COVID-19 with nearly 75 spike protein mutations has raised concerns over immune escape, meaning it may partially evade protection from vaccines or prior infections. First identified in South Africa, the strain shows significant genetic divergence from earlier variants like JN.1.
However, experts say this does not signal a return to pandemic-level crisis. With widespread hybrid immunity and improved healthcare preparedness, the risk of severe outcomes is significantly reduced compared to earlier waves, reports TOI.
While immune escape may lead to increased reinfections, illness severity is expected to remain mostly mild to moderate, similar to recent Omicron trends, with symptoms like fever, cough, and fatigue. However, vulnerable groups—including the elderly, pregnant women, and those with comorbidities—remain at higher risk of complications. Experts emphasise continued genomic surveillance, timely vaccination, and booster doses to prevent severe disease. Rather than panic, a balanced approach focusing on awareness, preparedness, and protection of high-risk populations is key to managing the evolving virus.
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