New Delhi: In a major policy shift, the Center will now screen all children from birth to 18 years for diabetes and provide free, lifelong treatment through the public health system, and expand its flagship Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) to address the growing burden of the disease in younger age groups.The guidance document, released by the Union Health Ministry at the National Public Health Summit, lays down a structured national framework for the screening, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of childhood diabetes. It integrates community- and school-based screening with district-level care, aiming to ensure early detection and continuity of treatment.The rollout is part of the centre’s revamp of RBSK 2.0, which adopts a lifecycle approach from birth to 18 years and expands its “4D” framework to include mental health and behavioral conditions as well as non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. The guidelines also flag increased lifestyle risks – including poor diet, low physical activity and increased screen exposure – and introduce digital tracking and structured follow-up systems to strengthen continuity of care.Under the protocol, mobile health teams will screen children in schools and Anganwadi centers for symptoms such as frequent urination, excessive thirst, fatigue and weight loss – the “4T” warning signs. Suspected cases will undergo immediate blood glucose testing and will be referred to district NCD clinics for confirmation and treatment.This step has been taken amid increasing concern regarding diabetes in the young population. While type 1 diabetes is the most common type in children and requires lifelong insulin, the document notes an increase in type 2 diabetes in teens, largely due to increasing obesity and sedentary habits.Experts say prevention will be important. Dr Jugal Kishore, professor and former head of community medicine, director of Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, said, “Obesity among children is increasing rapidly and with it we are seeing more diabetes. Lifestyle changes need to start early, especially at the school level, as habits formed over the years shape long-term health. It will be important to strengthen school-based health programs and ensure consistent implementation.”District hospitals are positioned as the backbone of care, offering a comprehensive free package that includes diagnostic services, lifelong insulin therapy, glucometers, test strips and regular follow-up. The program also includes counseling and training for families on insulin use, monitoring and emergency care.This framework combines early detection with advanced care and standardized treatment to prevent complications. Officials said timely diagnosis leads to normal development and better outcomes. The initiative aims to reduce mortality, reduce financial burden and ensure uninterrupted care, now the focus is on implementation.

Counting of votes is underway for four states and one union territory.

New Delhi: As counting began for the high-stakes elections in 823 constituencies across four states and one Union Territory, early postal ballot trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance Leading in West Bengal while wildcard entrant Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) was leading in Tamil Nadu.Meanwhile, trends show the BJP leading on 25 seats in Assam, while the Indian National Congress-led alliance is leading on seven seats.There is a tough fight between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala and both are leading by more than 50-50.In Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was ahead of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance, while the contest remained tough in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party and this All India Trinamool Congress.These figures are based on preliminary mail ballot trends.As soon as the counting started, information about patrolling by armored vehicles was received in Malda, West Bengal. Strong rooms were opened in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry before the counting process.A verbal clash broke out between polling agents at a counting center in West Bengal, with TMC alleging that its agents were not allowed to take files and pens inside, while BJP agents were allowed to do so. A TMC polling agent said the rules should be applied uniformly.However, the BJP accused the TMC agents of not carrying identity cards required for entry and alleged that they were creating unnecessary disruption.In Tamil Nadu, heavy three-tier security was deployed since Monday morning for the counting process. Security personnel were deployed at the entry points, barricades were installed at various places and vehicles were being checked.Loyola College was one of the major counting centers where EVMs were placed for the votes cast by around 4.8 crore voters. Queen Mary College and Anna University were also designated as counting centres.

Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari 2.0 in West Bengal.

New Delhi: All eyes are on the high-stakes contest between Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee And as Suvendu Adhikari, opposition leader of the assembly, the counting of votes will take place on Monday.all india Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Banerjee contested re-election from Bhabanipur seat, where polling was held in the second phase on April 29. Meanwhile, Adhikari campaigned as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for both Nandigram and Bhabanipur.In 2021, Banerjee contested against Adhikari in her home constituency Nandigram. She lost to the BJP leader by 1,956 votes. Now, Adhikari is taking on Banerjee in Bhabanipur, the CM’s home constituency. Bhawanipur has been Banerjee’s stronghold for a long time. She has been representing this seat as MLA since 2011 and has not lost any election there. After becoming CM in 2011, he won a decisive by-election from Bhawanipur by 54,213 votes.In 2016, his margin narrowed as he defeated Congress candidate Dipa Dasmunshi, supported by Left parties, by 25,301 votes, while the BJP got 26,299 votes.In 2021, TMC retained Bhabanipur, with Sovandeb Chattopadhyay defeating BJP’s Rudranil Ghosh by 28,719 votes. BJP’s vote share increased to 35.2%, indicating growing presence.Banerjee later returned to contest the Bhabanipur by-election, winning by 58,835 votes and securing her third term as CM.There has also been a change in voters in Bhabanipur, with 41,068 names removed from the list, reducing the voter base by nearly 20% to around 1.6 lakh. An analysis by Suptik Halder with Ashin Chakraborty and Sabir Ahmed found that 56.7% of the voters marked under the ‘under jurisdiction’ category are Muslims, while their share in the constituency’s population was 20% as per the 2011 census.Earlier findings had shown that Muslims constituted 22.7% of voters marked as ‘absent, transferred, or dead/duplicate’ (ASDD), while the ‘unmapped’ share was about 26%, roughly in line with their population share. However, this rose sharply to 52% in the ‘logical inconsistency’ list.According to Chakraborty, despite Bhabanipur being a mixed community constituency, there is a disproportionate representation of Muslims under scrutiny. Halder said booth-wise analysis of 2021 and 2024 data shows that if voters are unable to vote under the decision, TMC’s victory margin could reduce significantly, and may even disappear at some booths.

New Delhi: BJP It is trying to defeat the opposition in West Bengal, one of its few remaining strongholds, while its rivals are expected to retain their hold in eastern and southern India with the results of five assembly elections – Bengal, Tamil NaduAssam, Kerala and Puducherry – set to take a look at the broader political mood of the nation.The results in areas concentrated in India’s south and east will echo nationally as the match-up, apart from pitting the BJP against its rivals, also involves intra-opposition battles. The results could have a serious impact on the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party faction, as the Congress has courted controversy by being soft in its partnership with the DMK and persistent inconsistency with the TMC in contrast to the Mamata-positive mood of other allies like the Samajwadi Party, JMM and RJD.At stake on Monday are the fate of two regional giants – DMK (TN) and TMC (Bengal) – who are also key members of the anti-BJP alliance.The MK Stalin-led DMK was considered safe in its southern bastion TN until superstar Vijay’s newbie TVK made a late charge to make the mandate uncertain. While the DMK is confident that Vijay has largely cut into the AIADMK votes, which will make its job easier, there are doubts in some quarters about how the “silenced” women have made their choice.An increase in such demographic shift towards the new party could pose a serious test to the DMK. Without Vijay’s entry, the DMK was likely to repeat its victory in the Lok Sabha against Jayalalitha’s post-AIADMK.But the most keenly watched thing will be the result in Bengal. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s extended campaign, the BJP is looking to expand its national footprint by conquering a new territory which has been its long-cherished dream. At the same time, Mamata Banerjee, who had launched an aggressive campaign to counter the BJP’s allegations, will be tested for her renowned resilience and connect with the grassroots. Exit polls have created confusion about the future of Bengal elections by giving different verdicts in favor of both the parties.BJP’s victory in Bengal will be one of its most important assembly victories. The state sends the third-largest contingent of MPs to the Lok Sabha, which will be a big plus for the party ruling at the Center in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.For the Congress, Kerala could be the end of its victory drought. Exit polls have predicted a victory for the Congress over the ruling Left Front. If the Left party loses, it will be without a government for the first time since 1977. But now the Congress’s failure – its third consecutive defeat in the state, which is otherwise famous for removing the ruling party from power – will be a debilitating blow to the already weak national party.Exit polls are almost unanimous in predicting a third consecutive victory for the BJP in Assam, the only state where it has a government in this round of elections. This would be a major achievement for the BJP, which won a majority in the state against the Congress in 2016, and has since marginalized the once dominant party with its campaign of religious polarization.Nevertheless, the exciting contest for Bengal will complicate the battle for other states. The state’s cultural roots and personality have been central to the BJP’s identity, but its standing as an unbreakable ‘secular’ fortress has been a sore point for the party. Now the taste of a victory will be even sweeter, and it will attest to the continued resonance of its agenda under Modi’s leadership.On the contrary, if Mamata succeeds in thwarting the BJP challenge, she will enhance her stature as one of the few grassroots opposition leaders capable of blunting the saffron onslaught at its sharpest in an election to be held under the shadow of SIR. A fourth consecutive victory, three of which are with the BJP government at the Centre, will tarnish his credibility in the opposition camp.The Union Territory of Puducherry is another assembly in the fray and the political fallout from its outcome is likely to be limited.

From teachers to doctors, SIR deletion has taken away voting rights from people in Bengal (file photo)

KOLKATA: A senior central government official at a PSU, an assistant teacher at a government school, a medical professional preparing for the national entrance exam and an insurance agent whose license depends on his voter status – all moved the Calcutta High Court last week with their livelihoods in danger after their names were removed from Bengal’s voter list during the SIR.Justice Krishna Rao told his lawyers that the petitions would be heard at a later date, with no relief given before the elections or, in the doctor’s case, before his examination.With the removal of SIR, voting rights have been taken away from 27 lakh people in the state. The four pending petitions now highlight a dimension that goes beyond voting rights.

petitioner flag fear of citizenship in election cleaning

The petitioners argue that for employees and licensed professionals, removal of names from the voter list brings their citizenship into question, leading to departmental action, termination of service and even cancellation of license.One of them, a 40-year-old PSU assistant general manager from Bhagabangola assembly constituency in Murshidabad, has been in service for more than a decade.His name had appeared in the draft roll published on December 16 last year, but he was called for hearing on a “clerical discrepancy” in his father’s name in the 2002 records. He submitted 11 documents but could not make it to the final list. His appeal before the designated tribunal yielded no results.“The sudden removal of my name from the list has created a cloud of doubt about my citizenship, which… may jeopardize my service benefits, or become a hindrance in continued employment,” his petition said.One such petition has been filed by an assistant teacher. Their lawyer, seeking an urgent hearing, told Justice Rao on April 28, “SIR has taken away a lot from these people, their right to vote is a significant loss. Now, these people are worried about their jobs and whether this deletion will complicate things in their professional lives.”A 52-year-old insurance agent from Tehatta, Nadia, whose name was included in the 2002 list, approached the court over the possibility of his license being cancelled.His lawyer said, “His position is not only a source of livelihood but also of public trust… The arbitrary removal of his name from the voter list directly threatens the validity of his insurance license and agency appointment.”For a 32-year-old medical professional from Nadia’s Kaliganj constituency, proving that he is a “true citizen” is a prerequisite for appearing in the Joint Entrance Examination for Institutes of National Importance, conducted by AIIMS Delhi and scheduled for May 16. His parents and three brothers passed the SIR exam, but he did not.The young man, who holds house staffships at Kolkata’s Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, is hopeful that the judicial intervention will “not only restore (his) legal right to vote but also protect (his) career”.

Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta.

New Delhi: Senior lawyer and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has said in his forthcoming book that the extraordinary court reverence shown to judges by lawyers across the world has imbued some judges with a false sense of divinity, turning some into ‘My Lords’ goons – an attitude that avoids contempt but can still create sensitive irritants on the bench.To illustrate his theme of “goons on the bench”, Mehta has compiled incidents from foreign courts that can hold a mirror to the Indian judiciary. In ‘The Bench, the Bar and the Bizarre’ he writes, “Judicial bullying takes many forms. Some judges constantly interrupt counsel, while others firmly cross the line of insult.”

Public expects highest standards from judges: SG

He says that although the judicial system is primarily for litigants, they cannot seek protection of their constitutional and statutory rights but can plead through their counsel with “His Excellency’s permission”. “Even a patent legal absurdity coming from the bench is met (by the lawyers) first with ‘We bow before your Lordships’ before the lawyer dares to ‘take the liberty’ of presenting an ‘alternative proposal for His Lordship’s gracious consideration’,” he says.Satirical in tone, this book is arguably a bold take, that too by a serving law officer, on the widely shared lament in the Bar that condescending judges on the bench are weaponising their elevated position and power asymmetry. Mehta, whose nearly eight-year tenure as SG – starting in 2018 – is the second longest after the famous CK Daftari’s 13-year tenure as the first SG, says the judiciary is the most respected branch of the state.He says, “That respect can be achieved through the blunt instrument of contempt powers, or it can be sustained by building genuine trust of stakeholders, arising from fairness, neutrality and civility in the treatment of litigants and lawyers.”He also says that judges in various countries have always expressed resentment over any external monitoring of their work or mechanism to hear complaints against them and see it as an “intrusion into the independence of the judiciary”.TOI has an exclusive copy of the book which has traveled across jurisdictions across the world and carefully selected several interesting and incisive examples from court dramas.Mehta also acknowledges the problems of judges. “In almost all jurisdictions, courtrooms are crowded and crowded places that provide nothing but a pleasant working environment. Judges work under pressure of cases with minimal infrastructure and scarce institutional support. Their resources are often completely disproportionate to the volume and complexity of the cases they are expected to decide,” he says.Remuneration of judges, especially at the trial level, is modest and often fails to keep pace with inflation. Mehta writes, “Added to this are the daily provocations of unreasonable litigants and irritable lawyers, which can test even the most disciplined judicial temperament.”But showing sympathy, Mehta says the difficulties being faced cannot be an excuse for judges to be rude in the courtroom. He says that judges are made by this system, its pressures, flaws and provocations.Mehta says the public expects the highest standards of conduct from judges, as they can vote out an arrogant or wrong politician, but not an arrogant or wrong judge. On the lines of Arun Jaitley’s favorite trope of unjustly arrogant judges being “tyrants of the unelected”, Mehta writes, “He is neither directly accountable nor answerable to the people. Any deviation from ideal judicial restraint risks eroding the trust that sustains the institution of the judiciary.“Referring to the huge power imbalance inside the courtroom, the SG says, “When a judge becomes arrogant, abusive, obstructive or intolerant during arguments, it is not a competition between equals. The lawyer has few options and is obnoxious. To react in turn is to jeopardize his client’s interests and his own professional existence… It is usually left to a brave litigant, rather than the lawyer, to draw the attention of a higher body to such judicial behaviour.“