Urging the states to join the scheme, the minister said they would gain in terms of resources, national portability, state-of-the-art technological platforms, implementation systems and world-class analytics systems at no additional cost.They would also benefit from a well-proven fraud monitoring-and-control system and the exchange of key learnings and best practices of other states towards equitable healthcare, he added.

India’s national health and wildlife ministries are working to test and identify bats with the virus, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in New Delhi.“There is no need for panic,” he told reporters.

Speaking exclusively to ANI, M Mohapatra, Director General, IMD’s meteorology, said: “Severe heatwave condition is persisting in many parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, southern Uttar Pradesh, northern Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Jharkhand.” 
Mahapatra also predicted that around June 6, monsoon will be hitting Kerala. The southwest monsoon is expected to hit Odisha coast within two weeks after its onset in Kerala. 

With almost all of rural India depending on monsoon rain for agricu monsoon rain for agriculture and domestic purpose, there is a desperate need for water management on a war footing. It is estimated that 200,000 Indians die every year due to inadequate access to safe water.