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New Jersey has one of the lowest concentrations of family physicians at about 17 per 100,000 of population, according to the American Board of Family Medicine. Leadership in the Department of Medicine — the largest clinical department at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School — is meeting the challenge by developing three new programs through which physician trainees can become double board-certified in four years rather than five, preparing them to enter the health care workforce sooner.

The department plans to increase the number of dual-track offerings in its residency program, the multiyear training phase that immediately follows medical school. This effort to expand dual-track training opportunities aims to address critical health-care shortages by preparing internal medicine residents to become board-certified in a second specialty via accelerated pathways, currently available at just a handful of institutions, nationwide.

The announcement was made during the annual Department of Medicine Housestaff Commencement, a ceremony celebrating graduating residents and fellows held on June 11.

New Jersey Medical School is one of five institutions in the United States approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to provide the combined internal medicine-preventive medicine residency (IM/PM), and the Department of Medicine pathway is one of three available in the Northeast. The program graduated its second resident at the June commencement.

“Preventive medicine is a key aspect of all primary care, and medicine specialists benefit greatly from strong skills in public health and epidemiology,” said Mirela Feurdean, IM/PM program director and an associate professor at the school.

The combined internal medicine residency-nephrology fellowship track, which was introduced in July 2025, is the second recent dual-training addition. It has the distinction of being one of just three in the country approved by the ACGME – preparing physicians to earn the combined qualification in just four years when at least five years is standard – and comes with a guaranteed fellowship placement.

During the commencement, Department of Medicine Chair Marc Klapholz shared plans for a third program in the coming year: a combined internal medicine-infectious disease training pilot cohort that will be the first of its kind in the nation, pending council approval.

“A distinctive feature of this proposed pathway is the natural overlap between internal medicine and infectious disease training,” said Daniel Matassa, codirector of the proposed program. “Both specialties emphasize strong clinical reasoning and diagnostic acumen over procedural skills, which sets them apart.”

The three new dual-track initiatives join the existing internal medicine-pediatrics residency program in the Department of Medicine, which — though celebrating 20 years this July — is still one-of-a-kind in New Jersey.

“We’re excited to be pioneering education models that help address the workforce shortages faced by each of these specialties, while sacrificing none of the rigor,” said Kristin Wong, director of the internal medicine-pediatrics residency and vice chair of education, who helped bring the three new programs to fruition.

During the June commencement of 58 residents and 27 fellows, Robert L. Johnson, interim chancellor of Rutgers Health and dean of New Jersey Medical School, encouraged graduates to lean into their training, training that has kept pace with and prepared them for the challenges of modern medicine, as evidenced by the dual-track programs.

“The fact that you can do this thoughtfully, ethically, and with compassion, is why you’re ready,” he said.

New Delhi, July 18: GAIL (India) Limited and Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the critical minerals sector, marking a significant step toward strengthening India’s resource security and supporting the country’s clean energy and industrial growth ambitions.

The partnership aims to explore opportunities across the critical minerals value chain, including the identification, sourcing, development, and acquisition of strategic mineral assets in India and overseas. By leveraging the expertise and capabilities of both organizations, the collaboration seeks to ensure a reliable supply of critical minerals essential for emerging technologies, renewable energy, electric mobility, and advanced manufacturing.

Under the MoU, GAIL and KABIL will jointly evaluate investment opportunities, exchange technical expertise, and develop strategies for the sustainable procurement and development of critical mineral resources. The initiative is expected to enhance India’s long-term access to strategic raw materials while strengthening the resilience of its supply chains.

The agreement aligns with the Government of India’s vision of securing critical mineral resources, promoting energy security, and supporting the country’s transition to a sustainable and self-reliant economy. The collaboration is expected to play a key role in ensuring the availability of minerals vital for future technologies, industrial development, and economic growth.

India, July 18: Scan4Health, one of India’s fastest‑growing integrated diagnostics companies, today announced the appointment of Abhay Singh Kumpawat as Chief Product & AI Officer (CPAO). In this newly created leadership role, Abhay will head Product, Artificial Intelligence and Growth to accelerate Scan4Health’s vision of creating a clinical‑intent driven, AI‑first diagnostics platform across India.

An IIT Roorkee alumnus, Abhay brings more than 15 years of experience across product management, engineering, growth and Artificial Intelligence. His career spans consumer technology and digital product leadership, where he combined data, behavioural insights and experimentation to build products adopted by millions of users. Abhay’s core strength is understanding user behaviour and designing technology that solves meaningful human problems rather than focusing solely on acquisition metrics; he intends to apply the same consumer‑first philosophy to healthcare by building AI‑powered experiences that patients trust, clinicians embrace and health systems can scale.

Scan4Health was founded by Dr. Charu Jora Goyal, a nuclear medicine physician with deep expertise in advanced oncological imaging. The company specialises in advanced radiology, pathology and nuclear medicine, and is building technology across the entire diagnostic journey — from patient discovery and appointment booking to imaging workflows, reporting, preventive health and long‑term patient engagement. With diagnostic demand expected to rise significantly in India, particularly for oncology, Scan4Health believes early diagnosis, intelligent clinical workflows and improved patient navigation will be critical to easing pressure on specialist resources.

Scan4Health’s strategy emphasises that Artificial Intelligence should augment clinicians, not replace them. The company will prioritise investments in AI‑assisted diagnostics to support radiology, pathology and oncology imaging, intelligent patient engagement to simplify discovery and booking, consumer‑first digital experiences informed by behavioural science, automation across imaging and reporting operations, and data‑driven clinical workflows that enable personalised preventive healthcare and sustained patient follow‑up. These initiatives aim to make high‑quality diagnostics more intelligent, accessible and scalable for every patient.

Commenting on his appointment, Abhay Singh Kumpawat said: “Scan4Health’s clarity of vision and clinical intent are what drew me to the company. When I met Dr. Charu Jora Goyal it became clear we share a belief that technology can fundamentally improve patient outcomes in a large and diverse country like India. Every successful product I have helped build began with understanding people first. AI is only valuable if it solves real patient problems. My focus at Scan4Health will be to build intelligent products that simplify healthcare for patients, strengthen clinicians with better tools and help scale quality diagnostics across India.”

Abhay Singh Kumpawat is an IIT Roorkee graduate and technology executive with over fifteen years of experience across product, engineering, growth and AI. He has helped scale consumer technology platforms to millions of users by combining behavioural science, product thinking and data‑driven experimentation. His work focuses on the intersection of consumer understanding, product strategy and AI, helping organisations build technology that people trust and adopt.

New Delhi, July 17: The first three days of Bharat Tex 2026 have transformed Bharat Mandapam into the epicentre of the global textile and apparel industry, witnessing an overwhelming response from domestic and international stakeholders. The world’s largest integrated textile event has recorded exceptionally high visitor footfall, vibrant business activity, extensive buyer-seller engagement, and dynamic knowledge exchange, reaffirming India’s emergence as a trusted global destination for textiles in sourcing, manufacturing, innovationa, and investment.

Spread across more than 16 lakh square feet, Bharat Tex 2026 has brought together 1,647 exhibitors, nearly 95,000 business visitors with over 20,000 repeat visits, 11,315 buyers, including 6,090 international buyers, 3,461 delegates and participants from 138 countries, reflecting unprecedented global confidence in India’s rapidly evolving textile ecosystem. More than 28,500 B2B meetings, over 100 B2G and G2G interactions, and several strategic investment discussions have kept the exhibition halls bustling throughout the first three days. Bharat Tex 2026 catalysed around INR 14,300 crore of textile investment commitments with 30+ MoUs signed by various States, including Karnataka, Bihar , Maharashtra  and Andhra Pradesh, reinforcing the event’s role in driving decentralized, state-led growth in India’s textile and apparel sector. Further, RE&UP announced an investment of INR 4,800 Crores in India. Also, the serious business enquiries worth approximately $ 2.8 Bn were generated during the event.

The event has attracted remarkable participation from Indian states, with Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participating as State Partners, while several other states and Union Territories showcased their textile strengths through dedicated pavilions. The presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Mohan Yadav, and Hon’ble Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri Bhagwant Singh Mann, along with senior ministers from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, further highlighted the importance of Bharat Tex as India’s premier textile platform.

International participation has been equally impressive, with ministerial delegations from New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Russia, Cambodia and Portugal, alongside representatives from the European Union, and over 30 industry and international business delegations from countries including the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, South Korea, UAE, Australia, France and Germany, among others.

Knowledge sharing remained a defining feature of the event, with 100 high-impact knowledge sessions featuring more than 600 policymakers, global experts, industry leaders, CXOs and academicians. Panel discussions, roundtables and masterclasses addressed key themes including global trade dynamics, sustainability, circularity, technological innovation, artificial intelligence, responsible sourcing, investment opportunities, technical textiles, and more. One of the standout attractions was the Sanrachna Hackathon at the TBD Pavilion, which showcased the ingenuity of India’s young innovators in technical textiles. Students and innovators from across the country presented practical solutions ranging from protective garments for farmers and advanced diabetic wound-care products to lightweight insulated mattresses for extreme climates.

Recognised by Union Minister of Textiles Shri Giriraj Singh and Minister of State for Textiles and External Affairs Shri Pabitra Margherita, the initiative demonstrated the transformative role of collaboration between academia, industry and government in advancing next-generation technical textile solutions. In a significant initiative promoting inclusive growth, Bharat Tex 2026 organised specialised exposure visits for more than 250 entrepreneurs and weavers from Aspirational Districts across India. The programme enabled MSMEs to engage directly with buyers, exhibitors and industry experts, providing valuable insights into international quality standards, branding, product innovation and export opportunities, thereby strengthening grassroots entrepreneurship. Further reinforcing India’s growing influence in global apparel manufacturing, the Board Meeting of the International Apparel Federation was hosted alongside Bharat Tex 2026.

A landmark milestone during the event was the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Bharat Tex Trade Federation and Première Vision Paris, one of the world’s most prestigious textile and fashion sourcing platforms. The strategic collaboration aims to deepen India–European Union textile partnerships by enhancing market access, sustainable sourcing, design intelligence and buyer-seller engagement, creating new global opportunities for Indian manufacturers, exporters and MSMEs.  Bharat Tex 2026 also hosted meaningful discussions on positioning India’s heritage textiles as premium global brands. Renowned designers Rahul Mishra and Vaishali Shadangule, along with industry leaders, emphasised that India’s rich heritage of handlooms, handicrafts and traditional weaving can become the country’s strongest differentiators in international markets through craftsmanship and cultural storytelling.

The exhibition floor continued to buzz with business activity across specialised thematic pavilions. CMAI’s Brands of India Pavilion in Hall No. 4 emerged as one of the major attractions, bringing together more than 70 leading Indian apparel brands and offering buyers an unparalleled showcase of India’s vibrant fashion and apparel ecosystem. For the first time, the pavilion also featured a dedicated showcase of India’s rapidly growing Intimate & Innerwear segment, with leading brands from Mumbai and Delhi presenting the latest product innovations. Global and Indian brands, including Westside, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, US Polo Assn, Arrow, Flying Machine, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England, Reebok, American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani, Jaypore, W for Woman, Bewakoof, Dollar, Bodycare, Duke and several others, attracted buyers and retailers. Sustainability remained at the core of Bharat Tex 2026 through the Eco-Stitch Sustainability & Circularity Hub, jointly presented by CMAI and the Global Alliance for Textile Sustainability .

Built around the theme “Sustainable, Circular and Competitive Bharat,” the pavilion brought together recyclers, manufacturers, brands, innovators, technology providers and ecosystem partners across dedicated thematic zones including India Impact Wall, Circularity at Scale, From Waste to Global Wardrobe, Made in Circular Bharat, Material & Innovation Library, and the Circular Bharat Forum, showcasing practical pathways towards a more sustainable textile future.

With bustling exhibition halls, packed conference sessions, vibrant networking opportunities, and strong business engagement throughout the venue, Bharat Tex 2026 continues to reinforce India’s vision of becoming the world’s preferred destination for textile manufacturing, sourcing, innovation and responsible growth while further strengthening the country’s leadership in the global textile and apparel value chain.

Port Blair, July 17: The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are emerging as a key region in India’s growth story, offering significant opportunities in strategic security, maritime connectivity and economic development.

With its unique location in the Indian Ocean, the island group holds immense importance for strengthening India’s maritime presence and improving connectivity with regional and global partners.

Beyond its strategic value, the islands are witnessing growing attention for infrastructure expansion, tourism development, trade opportunities and sustainable economic initiatives. These efforts are expected to create new avenues for investment, employment and local development.

Experts believe that the region’s vast potential in areas such as the blue economy, marine resources and tourism can contribute significantly to India’s long-term economic objectives.

Government initiatives focused on improving connectivity and infrastructure are aimed at transforming the islands into a more accessible and vibrant economic centre while preserving their ecological balance.

The continued development of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands reflects India’s vision of strengthening coastal regions, promoting sustainable growth and enhancing its role in the Indian Ocean region.