Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

More than 60 million Indians may have caught coronavirus: study

More than 60 million people in India -- 10 times the official figure -- could have contracted the novel coronavirus, the country's lead pandemic agency said Tuesday, citing a nationwide study measuring antibodies.

According to official data India, home to 1.3 billion people, is the world's second most infected nation, with more than 6.1 million cases, just behind the United States.


But the real figure could be much higher, according to the latest serological survey -- a study testing blood for certain antibodies to estimate the proportion of a population that has fought off the virus.

"The main conclusions from this sero-survey are that one in 15 individuals aged more than 10 have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by August," Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director-general Balram Bhargava said at a health ministry press conference.

Bhargava said evidence of virus exposure was more prevalent among people tested in urban slums (15.6 percent) and non-slum urban areas (8.2 percent), than in rural areas, where 4.4 percent of those surveyed had antibodies.

The blood tests were collected from just over 29,000 people in 21 states or territories between mid-August and mid-September.

The new figures are a sharp jump from the first sero-survey results, which the ICMR said showed that around 0.73 percent of adults in India -- about six million people -- were infected by May.

Other antibody studies conducted in the capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai have suggested more infections than the official numbers say.

Scientists warn, however, that antibody tests should be treated with caution because they also pick up exposure to other coronaviruses, not just the one that causes Covid-19, the disease which has killed more than 1 million people worldwide since it emerged late last year.

India -- which has one of the world's most poorly funded healthcare systems -- has gradually lifted a strict lockdown imposed in late March even as infections steadily climb, to revive its battered economy.

More For You

​Dilemmas of dating in a digital world

We are living faster than ever before

AMG

​Dilemmas of dating in a digital world

Shiveena Haque

Finding romance today feels like trying to align stars in a night sky that refuses to stay still

When was the last time you stumbled into a conversation that made your heart skip? Or exchanged a sweet beginning to a love story - organically, without the buffer of screens, swipes, or curated profiles? In 2025, those moments feel rarer, swallowed up by the quickening pace of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
sugary drinks and ice cream

Researchers from the UK and US analysed data from American households between 2004 and 2019

iStock

Global warming may drive higher consumption of sugary drinks and ice cream, study warns

Highlights:

  • Hotter days linked to greater intake of sugary drinks and frozen desserts
  • Lower-income households most affected, research finds
  • Climate change could worsen health risks linked to sugar consumption
  • Study based on 15 years of US household food purchasing data

Sugary consumption rising with heat

People are more likely to consume sugary drinks and ice cream on warmer days, particularly in lower-income households, according to new research. The study warns that climate change could intensify this trend, adding to health risks as global temperatures continue to rise.

Sugar consumption is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and has surged worldwide in recent decades. The findings, published in Nature Climate Change, suggest that rising heat could be nudging more people towards high-sugar products such as soda, juice and ice cream.

Keep ReadingShow less
Camellia Panjabi's cookbook elevates
vegetables from sides to stars

Camellia Panjabi (Photo: Ursula Sierek)

Camellia Panjabi's cookbook elevates vegetables from sides to stars

RESTAURATEUR and writer Camellia Panjabi puts the spotlight on vegetables in her new book, as she said they were never given the status of a “hero” in the way fish, chicken or prawns are.

Panjabi’s Vegetables: The Indian Way features more than 120 recipes, with notes on nutrition, Ayurvedic insights and cooking methods that support digestion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Spotting the signs of dementia

Priya Mulji with her father

Spotting the signs of dementia

How noticing the changes in my father taught me the importance of early action, patience, and love

I don’t understand people who don’t talk or see their parents often. Unless they have done something to ruin your lives or you had a traumatic childhood, there is no reason you shouldn’t be checking in with them at least every few days if you don’t live with them.

Keep ReadingShow less
HH Guruji performed the Dhwaja Ritual at Ambaji Temple

HH Guruji performed the Dhwaja Ritual at Ambaji Temple

Mahesh Liloriya

The holy town of Ambaji witnessed a spiritually significant day on Sunday as His Holiness Siri Rajrajeshwar Guruji, head of the International Siddhashram Shakti Centre, London, performed the Dhwaja ritual at the historic Ambaji Temple in Gujarat, one of the most revered Shakti Peeths of India.

Keep ReadingShow less