India is coming to grips with a stage of nutrition transition. According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), preventable micronutrient deficiency is arising public health precedence in India. However, the foremost public health concern is the lack of national prevalence data. The present study was carried out to estimate the pooled age-wise prevalence of six preventable micronutrient deficiencies (vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, iodine and folic acid) in India. A systematic review was carried out on PubMed and Global Index Medicus databases using the Boolean search strategy. Statistical analyses were done using R software, version 3.6. 2. PRISMA guidelines were strictly adhered to during the review. A preliminary literature search yielded 4302 articles; however, 270 original research articles were found eligible to be included in quantitative synthesis. The estimated overall prevalence was 17 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0⋅07, 0⋅26] for iodine deficiency, 37 % (95 % CI 0⋅27, 0⋅46) for folic acid deficiency, 54 % (95 % CI 0⋅49, 0⋅59) for iron deficiency, 53 % (95 % CI 0⋅41, 0⋅64) for vitamin B12 deficiency, 19 % (95 % CI 0⋅09, 0⋅29) for vitamin A deficiency and 61 % (95 % CI 0⋅07, 0⋅26) for vitamin D with high heterogeneity. We classified the population into infants (0–5 years), adolescents (<18 years), adults (>18 years) and pregnant women. Iron deficiency was most prevalent (61 %) in pregnant women. The results of the present study reinforce the data on micronutrient deficiency in India and warrant the immediate need for further active public health interventions to address these deficiencies. The study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020205043).

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Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare services from a distance, by use of information and communication technology. There have been no statutory regulations or official guidelines in India specific for telemedicine practice and allied matters so far. For the first time, the government of India released telemedicine practice guidelines for Registered Medical Practitioners on March 25, 2020, amid the COVID‐19 outbreak. This review would initiate the discussion on the features of the guidelines, their limitations, and their significance in times of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The guidelines are with a restricted scope for providing medical consultation to patients, excluding other aspects of telemedicine such as research and evaluation and the continuing education of healthcare workers. The guidelines have elaborated on the eligibility for practicing Telemedicine in India, the modes and types of teleconsultations, delved into the doctor‐patient relationship, consent, and management protocols, and touched upon the data security and privacy aspects of Teleconsultation. After releasing the guidelines, the telescreening of the public for COVID‐19 symptoms is being advocated by the government of India. COVID‐19 National Teleconsultation Centre (CoNTeC) has been initiated, which connects the doctors across India to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in real‐time for accessing expert guidance on the treatment of the COVID‐19 patients.

Background: Self-directed learning (SDL) is defined as an instructional stratagem where the medical students, with guidance from the teacher, choose what and how they will learn. The current study is aimed at finding the readiness for SDL among medical students and its association with their socio demographic characteristics.Methods: An Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 II Bachelor of medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students and 100 III MBBS students of Theni Government Medical College. The readiness assessment of the students was found by using Fischer’s 40 items SDL readiness score (SDLRS) instruments. The instrument has 40 items under three domains self-management (9 items), desire for learning (16 items) and self-control (15 items).Results: Only 29% were aware of SDL. Around 55% showed high readiness for SDL (>150). Females had higher readiness for self-directed learning than males (60.9% versus 39.1%) but the mean SDLR score was similar 152.5 versus 151.6. III MBBS medical students had higher score than II MBBS medical students (58.2% versus 48.8%, mean SDLR score 149.9 versus 154.2, p=0.011). Demonstrating higher readiness for SDL was not associated with area of residence, stay, presence of doctor in the family, type of schooling, medium of school education, age and gender.Conclusions: There is need of hour to address medical students’ SDL skills to update their competencies. SDL readiness scales help medical faculty to assess students’ learning capabilities and improve teaching learning strategies.

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