According to a Friday statement by the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Health ministry is coming up with a plan wherein it would conduct a nationwide screening of all the 30-40 year-old people of the rural areas, for diagnosing potential cases of lifestyle diseases like diabetes.

Addressing the health secretaries on Friday, Azad said that the proposed move comes in the wake of a notable rise in the cases of non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes, Azad added that it was time India stepped up its efforts to combat diabetes.

Noting that the mandatory screening for diabetes in rural areas would necessitate the use of glucometer, the Minister said that state governments could use laboratories to test diabetes in people living in urban areas.

Talking about another gargantuan task that his Ministry will undertake, Azad mentioned the proposed conversion of immunization data into a name-based exercise. As such, rather than reporting only the number of children inoculated, the states will have to furnish details like name of the child, his/her father's name, place of residence, city, and phone numbers of family or neighbors.

Adding that India is targeting 25 million children every year for vaccination under the RI program, Azad further said his Ministry also intends developing a system for tracking pregnant mothers and children, so that the status of ante-natal and post-natal care in the country can be appropriately ascertained.