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The article discusses issues related to the shortage of human resources for health in India in relation to efforts by the Indian government to move towards universal health coverage. It presents a background of the country's commitment to providing a universal, affordable health care to its citizens. It cites the lack of a significant improvement in public health education due to the fact that it is restricted to medical colleges. The state of human resources in health is also described.

Mohan Rao traces the history of the last five years of India's population momentum in relation to state and central policies. He argues that despite the Cairo rhetoric taken up in New Delhi this does not find reflection in policies in the states, and indeed in many other policies emanating from the centre. Looking at the laws and practices and the struggles of women's health groups in Indian states, he suggests that doomsday demo graphic discourses continue to dictate reproductive health policy based on the assumption that social and economic problems stem primarily from population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India has the highest tuberculosis (TB) burden, accounting for one-fifth of the global incidence and two-third of the cases in Southeast Asia with an estimated 1.9 million new cases every year. Identifying and treating latent TB infection (LTBI) can reduce the risk of development of active disease by up to 90%, thereby decreasing a major burden to the prevalence of the disease, and thus reducing potential sources in future. Aim: Early diagnosis of LTBI by tuberculin skin test (TST) and a newer interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Materials and Methods: Seventy-seven clinically asymptomatic household contacts (≤18 years) of confirmed pulmonary TB patients were enrolled to compare the performance of TST and IGRA to diagnose LTBI. At baseline, all participants underwent testing for IGRA and TST. Results: TST showed positivity of 22%, while IGRA demonstrated positivity of 40% in the diagnosis of latent TB. Kappa value at 95% confidence interval was 0.4753, indicates a moderate agreement between the two tests. This indicates that IGRA is a better predictor of latent TB. Maximum positive percentage was in the age group of 16–18 years in both the tests followed by 1–5 years. Conclusion: IGRA is a better predictor or diagnostic marker of LTBI. Although TST remains the preferred method of testing LTBI, IGRAs like ETB-Feron; a more efficient diagnostic test can be preferred based on patient affordability, logistics, and individual preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]