Kʼtaka health officials bust prenatal sex determination racket in inter-state decoy operation:Report
Bengaluru: In a first for the Karnataka health department, a team of officials conducted an interstate decoy operation with the help of their Andhra Pradesh counterparts and uncovered a racket involved in prenatal sex determination.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Thursday, the investigation began after a pregnant woman from Mandya district revealed during a routine health check-up that she had learned the sex of her unborn child during a visit to Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh. Disturbingly, she also admitted to discontinuing her medication after discovering she was carrying a girl child.
Asha workers in Malavalli, who noticed the woman’s deteriorating health, alerted senior health officials after learning about the illegal procedure. The woman and her husband reportedly obtained the sex determination test through a contact whose identity was initially unknown.
Following this, Dr Vivek Dorai, state nodal officer, Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT), planned a decoy operation in coordination with Dr K.V.N.S. Anil Kumar, his counterpart in Andhra Pradesh.
As part of the operation, the same Mandya couple was asked to reconnect with the original agent. Karnataka officials provided the couple with Rs 9,000 in cash after marking the serial number of the notes. The couple contacted the agent again, expressing interest in another sex determination test.
The agent accepted Rs 7,500 and facilitated contact with a medical officer to carry out the test. She later informed the couple that the foetus was female and reportedly revealed that a medical termination of pregnancy could be arranged through one Dr Baby, a registered medical practitioner based in Guntakal. She even shared a contact number for the procedure.
Later, the officials checked the cash in the hands of the agent and confirmed that she had the currency with the pre-recorded serial numbers, the report added.
The Karnataka health department has since handed over all findings to the Andhra Pradesh officials for further investigation and possible legal action.
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Hyderabad–B’luru, Chennai-B’luru among seven high-speed rail corridors announced in budget
New Delhi: India will expand its high-speed rail network with seven new corridors as part of efforts to promote faster and environmentally sustainable passenger transport, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget 2026 in Parliament on Sunday.
Outlining the government’s infrastructure plans, Sitharaman said the proposed high-speed rail corridors are aimed at improving connectivity between major economic and cultural centres, while also helping reduce the carbon footprint of long-distance travel.
“The government proposes to develop environmentally sustainable passenger transport systems through seven high-speed rail corridors,” the finance minister said in her Budget speech.
According to the announcement, the identified routes include Mumbai–Pune, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi, Varanasi–Siliguri, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Chennai and Chennai–Bengaluru. These corridors are expected to link key metropolitan cities with fast-growing urban and industrial hubs.
