This refers to your cover story on diabetes and 100 years of insulin (Bitter Sweet, July 26). The discovery of insulin’s therapeutic properties by Canadian medical scientist and Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Grant Banting and his associates has saved countless lives over the last century. A virtually untreatable disease for most of its history, a diabetes diagnosis, as the author writes, carried with it a death sentence. Although comprehensive data is lacking, it is estimated that nearly half-a-billion people worldwide have diabetes, and roughly 10 per cent of them have Type I. Today a patient can expect to live for decades, with a near-normal life, if their disease is properly managed. In 1921, the patent for insulin was sold to the University of Toronto for a mere $1 so that no one else could patent it and secure a profitable monopoly. Numerous ‘improvements’ later, like DNA sequencing, insulin is now produced by an oligopoly of a few companies. With exclusive patents prohibiting generic competition, insulin prices have soared. But the benefits of ‘improved’ insulin are debatable, according to experts, and there’s nothing preventing competing companies from selling older, long off-patent versions of insulin. The Indian generic pharma industry should take the lead not only to produce affordable and quality generic insulin, but also to export to other countries where it is unaffordable due to the persistent price increase.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bangalore</font
This refers to Spoonful of Sweet Positivity, your story on India’s diabetes epidemic. One out of every five persons older than 65 suffer from diabetes. By 2045 there could be 700 million diabetics globally. No wonder it is called the ‘silent killer’. India, with 12 per cent of her burgeoning population being diabetic, is rightly called the ‘diabetic capital’. However, this disease, which harms almost every organ if allowed to have its way, need not be a killer. Taking on diabetes with insulin jabs is the most physiologically appropriate way of controlling high blood sugar, though there are also orally administered hypoglycemic agents. Patients’ poor compliance with insulin jabs is the most important factor behind diabetes debilitating or killing them.
Dr George Jacob, Kochi
Diabetes—particularly Type II—often without any symptoms, negatively affects the whole body, mainly the eyesight, kidneys and the cardiovascular system, and is hence known as a silent killer, controllable but not curable. About 100 years ago, diabetes was as dreaded as Covid-19 is today due to sheer mismanagement. Since it is not infectious, vaccination therapy was not possible. Thanks to scientists and researchers, who have always made efforts to control and cure fatal diseases to make life healthier and happier, thereby improving longevity, insulin was discovered as a means to manage diabetes by controlling blood sugar levels. Chronically neglected patients have no option but to receive irreversible insulin treatment, which is quite expensive. The diabetes pandemic is a curse of modern civilisation. As domestic appliances and gadgets have made life easier and more comfortable in all conceivable ways, the scope for physical activities is limited. There are remote controls for almost everything, even for opening and closing doors and gates. The markets are flooded with junk food. Those who are financially well off but unmindful of their health are more vulnerable to diabetes. There is a lot of literature suggesting lifestyle changes, what to eat, what to avoid and so on. I think the potential of alternative systems of medicine such as Ayurveda and Unani along with yoga must be explored so that diabetics don’t have to be dependent on insulin injections all their life.
M.N. Bhartiya, Alto-Porvorim (Goa)
This refers to your story on how infighting threatens to derail Captain Amarinder Singh’s re-election bid in Punjab (Forced Hand, July 26). The Congress high command (read the Gandhis) has been rather slow to douse the factional fires simmering for so long in the state. The rival camp, led by perennial turncoat Navjot Singh Sidhu, has damaged the prospects of the grand old party in its bid to retain power. The Shiromani Akali Dal, having broken away from the BJP on the issue of farmers’ protests, can count on the support of the farmer community in the primarily agrarian state. With the BJP down and out in Punjab, AAP too has a chance to expand its footprint. There is a strong possibility of a hung assembly, where any party that is able to get the permutations and combinations right can wager its chances at power.
Kamna Chhabra, Gurgaon
As the faultlines widen within the Congress in Punjab, with chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu going separate ways and holding meetings with their supporters much to the chagrin of the party high command, the rivlary stands exposed with Sidhu now having been made state party chief. Various attempts by the party high command through the AICC in-charge for Punjab to broker peace between Sidhu and the CM have not yielded desired results so far. Amarinder has made it clear that Sidhu has caused enough damage by demeaning the state government with derogatory remarks, which, if not corrected, would have a direct bearing on the poll outcome for the Congress. Unless the Congress sets its house in order in Punjab, it would be tough for the party to retain power this time, with SAD-BSP and AAP going all out to wrest the initiative with impressive poll promises.
K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad
This refers to your story on India’s push for eco-friendly vehicles (Right Turn to E-Highway, July 26). It is an open secret that electric is the future of transportation. Despite not announcing the launch date, Ola Electric has received 100,000 bookings from potential two-wheeler buyers in less than 24 hours—a testimony of interest among buyers. While new entrants like Ola Electric and Ather Energy are making serious investments, old horses like Hero, Bajaj and TVS are also foraying into electric vehicles. Hopefully, we would see more car manufacturers follow what Tata has done with Nexon to make greener vehicles a real success. The government needs to come out with a clear road map so that all stakeholders know what to expect. It must also create the required infrastructure in all major cities, like setting up charging points at all petrol pumps. Lastly, reduction in the cost of the final product by providing subsidies to automakers will go a long way in making buyers shift from petrol or diesel to electric vehicles, as pricing remains one of the biggest deciding factors for Indian buyers.
Bal Govind, Noida
Despite the government’s efforts at making the electric vehicle market attractive for both customers and manufacturers, the e-highway still seems miles away. While the extreme paucity of charging stations is a dampener, it can also be said that vehicle owners in the country are yet to warm up to the idea. Though pollution levels will come down appreciably if this market expands, the average Indian has never been so environment conscious to let this be the deciding factor while making a purchase. More sops and aggressive marketing are required for electric vehicles to take charge.
Vijai Pant, On E-Mail
In the column Going Ballistic (July 26) by Gagan Narang, it is wrongly mentioned that India won two silver medals in shooting at the 2012 London Olympics. India won a silver (Vijay Kumar, 50-metre rapid fire pistol) and a bronze (Narang, 10-metre air rifle). The error is regretted.
