India, March 30 -- Patiala

Under pressure to meet its target for screening patients for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) under the National Programme for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) by the March 31, the Punjab health department has asked its employees to work through the government holidays, including Sunday and Monday (March 29-31).

Out of a target population of 92.34 lakh people, only 34 lakh individuals have been screened so far in the state. Of those, just 25 lakh have had their data uploaded to the NCD portal. The situation is made more urgent by a gap in the data collection from Aam Aadmi Clinics, where an additional 35 lakh patients have been screened but their information has not been linked ...