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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For almost six years, Argentines have demanded the truth about the mysterious death of their tragic national hero, Diego Maradona, among the greatest soccer players the world has ever seen.Now, prosecutors say they have an answer and are putting their evidence to the test this week in a trial accusing Maradona’s medical team of “simple homicide with eventual intent,” meaning that their actions contributed to his death. Seven defendants, including Maradona’s doctor and nurses and a psychiatrist, face as many as 25 years in prison.Prosecutors alleged that Maradona’s medical team ignored significant warning signs as his health deteriorated in late 2020.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A 34-year-old Pune woman, diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as a teenager, saw her first natural menstrual cycle in February—six months after starting Mounjaro for weight management. This spotlights a broader shift, as more women with the condition turn to GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) drugs for metabolic relief and, in some cases, improved fertility.The trend is accelerating across India, doctors said, even though these drugs are not officially approved for treating PCOS and are prescribed primarily for type-2 diabetes and obesity.“I’ve had PCOS since I can remember, and with that comes infertility,” she told Mint, requesting her name be withheld to protect her privacy.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government is revamping Ayurveda institutes, modernizing hospitals, upgrading research and globalizing traditional systems for medical tourism, as announced in Union Budget 2026.Morbidity codes for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani systems have now been incorporated into the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases, and an index for the International Classification of Health Interventions through traditional medicines has also been agreed upon.This could, in time, position India as a hub for Ayurvedic and traditional medicine treatments.But can treatments at AYUSH centres be claimed in a cashless manner like allopathic procedures?The answer lies in how insurers currently interpret such treatments.Health insurance policies state that “inpatient treatments under Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy are covered.”For cashless claims, treatments must be taken at network hospitals. Reimbursement claims — where patients pay first and submit bills later — can be more complicated.Given the early stage of such claims, insurers and third-party administrators (TPAs) are balancing two competing pressures: honouring AYUSH claims as mandated by the government and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), while protecting portfolios from treatments that are not medically mandatory but taken for rest, restoration or wellness — where billing limits may not be clearly defined.The ecosystem for cashless claims is still evolving.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled nearly ₹1.8 trillion out of Indian equities in FY26 — the largest outflow in 34 years.At first glance, that headline sounds alarming. But for long-term investors, it may signal opportunity rather than danger.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Struggled with illegible and poorly-placed labels for medicines? There may be help on way, as the apex drugs regulator is set to tighten scrutiny of how critical information, such as medicine names and expiry dates, is printed on the packaging, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.The move by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) aims to curb medication errors and improve patient safety in India's $50 billion pharmaceuticals market.According to the plan in the works, the CDSCO and state regulators will step up plant inspections and issue targeted instructions to drug inspectors with a focus on visibility, durability and placement of key information.Following complaints, the apex regulator had appointed a committee that identified a significant gap in the variability of medicine labelling implementation at the manufacturing level.Consumers' complaints ranged from the packaging information being illegible due to a host of reasons to the demand for the medicine name being printed across the package and for a universally-recognized symbol on generic medicines to distinguish them from branded ones.The CDSCO set up a sub-committee in July 2025, chaired by the drugs controller of Telangana, with drugs controllers of Kerala, Odisha and representatives of HLL Lifecare Ltd, the deputy drugs controller of Hyderabad zone and Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) officials as members.In its report, this panel said the CDSCO and state licensing authorities "may issue suitable advisories or internal instructions to GMP inspectors to ensure focused scrutiny of labelling practices, including visibility, durability and placement of

In a first, India plans to publicly disclose findings from inspections of drug manufacturing units, marking a shift towards greater transparency and quality monitoring, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.According to the proposal being discussed, the country’s apex drugs regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), will publish details of inspected firms and audit recommendations on its website, as India's pharmaceuticals sector faces heightened scrutiny over quality.The plan assumes significance for the country's $50 billion pharmaceutical market in the backdrop of Indian-manufactured cough syrups being linked to over 140 deaths in countries, including Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon, due to ethylene glycol poisoning.The office of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), headed by Rajeev Raghuvanshi, conducts these risk-based inspections (RBI) to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules.“It has been desired that CDSCO may examine the feasibility of displaying brief details of firms inspected under RBI along with the recommendations of the inspection team, after due consideration of legal implications," according to the documents reviewed by Mint. "During such inspections, inspection teams make observations and recommendations based on risk assessment.

NEW DELHI: Patients may no longer be forced to buy an entire strip of tablets or capsules when they need only one or a few of them.India’s apex drugs regulator plans to introduce a rule mandating pharmacies to dispense the exact number of tablets and capsules prescribed by allowing the sale of cut strips, according to two government officials and documents reviewed by Mint.Many drugs, including antibiotics, are typically sold in strips of 10 or 15 tablets or capsules when patients may require only five tabs. A proposal on dispensing exact prescription quantities of strip-packed medicines was discussed at a meeting chaired by the Drugs Controller General of India on 20 March.This regulatory shift is significant for India's $50 billion pharmaceutical industry and perhaps even more so for the retail pharmacy market, which was valued at $20 billion-27 billion in 2024.

New Delhi: India has intensified its public health battle against tuberculosis (TB), a disease that the World Health Organization said officially reclaimed its position as the world’s leading infectious killer in 2023, surpassing covid-19. While the initial 2025 target set in the National Strategic Plan served as a catalyst for a 10-fold increase in funding to ₹6,356 crore in FY26 from ₹640 crore in 2015, India remains committed to eliminating the disease well ahead of the global 2030 deadline.To reach this goal, the government is leveraging artificial intelligence, community support, and rigorous airborne infection control.

drug carries a warning that it must be administered only under the supervision of an endocrinologist to ensure that complex metabolic side-effects are properly regulated. There is a concern that if other medical professionals begin prescribing it, they may not be able to properly manage its side-effects,” one of the two officials cited above said, requesting anonymity.According to a Lancet study, India could have the world's second-highest obesity burden by 2035, with 449 million overweight and obese people by 2050, when a third of the country's population will be obese.

Mint.The development is significant for India’s pharmaceutical market, valued at $50 billion and largely dominated by allopathic medicines. By comparison, the homeopathy segment is worth around $847 million.A proposal from the Ayush ministry was discussed last month by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to promote homeopathy medicines across the country.

₹1,800 per month for a starting dose, which translates to ₹450 per week. While some of its competitors have launched injectable vials at lower prices, Alkem’s generic pen undercuts other pen devices launched on Saturday, which are in the range of ₹3,000-4,000 a month.“Affordable pricing will empower healthcare practitioners to offer the therapy to as many deserving patients as they feel,” Alkem's chief executive officer (CEO) Vikas Gupta told Mint in an interview.

₹10 trillion in market capitalization vanished in a single session. Every one of the 30 Sensex stocks closed in the red. All 16 sectoral indices fell.

There is something remarkable about the best salespeople, something quiet. Not the loudest, not the most decorated, not the ones with the fanciest titles or biggest incentive payouts. The truly effective ones, if you spend enough time around them—in liquor distribution, IT services, pharmaceuticals, agricultural inputs, across every sector—you begin to notice a common thread that has nothing to do with technique or personality type.They have pride in their work.

Mint.“The acquisition was strategic in nature for us and they bring their partnerships on the procurement side of running warehouse management and the serviceability of an order that is coming from rural India," said Mohapatra.While the company declined to comment on the financial details of the transaction, it said that it had not raised additional funding to finance the acquisition and that it was done through the company's existing funds.The acquisition brings Saveo's 10,000 platform partners across Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu into CureBay's network of 190 clinics.Most of the integrations of Saveo's pharma distribution business into CureBay have already been completed. “In a few of our markets, we are already hitting the market with the combined power of both the organizations and talent," said Mohapatra.India's rural healthcare market is fragmented with multiple models, including remote patient monitoring, mobile hospitals and more.

The court waived the mandatory 30-day "reconsideration period," usually required by the 2023 guidelines, noting that the patient's family, medical boards, and the state were in unanimous agreement. Active euthanasia involves a deliberate act to end a patient's life, such as administering a lethal injection.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed India’s first court-approved “passive euthanasia”, permitting the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for Harish Rana, a 32-year-old man who has remained in a permanent vegetative state for over a decade after a severe brain injury in 2013.The ruling is expected to have a far-reaching impact on Indian patients in prolonged vegetative states and their families, said legal and medical experts, encouraging more families to seek judicial approval for this.“Passive euthanasia” permits holding back life-saving treatment for individuals who are terminally ill or in a permanent vegetative state, allowing natural death. While passive euthanasia has been legal in India since 2018, the framework was streamlined in 2023 to ease the process.“This ruling could encourage more families of patients in prolonged vegetative states to approach courts for withdrawal of life support.

Bengaluru: Varun Dubey, who has spent the past decade moving between India’s consumer internet and healthcare worlds, now wants to build what he calls an “honest healthcare” hospital system—starting with a membership pass that covers consultations and doctor-prescribed diagnostics for a family.“The customer has three fundamental problems when it comes to core healthcare experience today…i.e. high quality care, seamless and easy to access as possible and of course, affordable,” Dubey said in an interview.Dubey’s argument is that India’s hospital experience today is broken due to crowded outpatient departments (OPDs), long waits, opaque billing and low trust arising from one underlying issue: the cost of setting up and running a hospital.That mismatch between what patients want and how hospitals are run, Dubey says, is why he is building SuperHealth.Launched in October, SuperHealth is positioning itself not as an OPD app but as a full hospital, trying to win patients on experience and trust—less wait times, clearer pricing, and fewer incentives for doctors to overprescribe.

aviation and maritime corridors that connect India with key West Asian markets, complicating travel planning for patients and increasing freight expenses for exporters.While companies have yet to report a sustained demand shock, hospitals and drugmakers say the disruption to mobility and logistics systems underpinning cross-border healthcare and medicine trade raises the risk of softer medical travel volumes and higher export costs if tensions persist.The aviation disruption is particularly significant for India’s medical tourism sector, which recorded approximately 644,387 foreign tourist arrivals in 2024. It is particularly exposed to West Asia, a region that accounts for nearly 18% of inbound patients, or about 115,000 travellers, seeking treatment ranging from complex surgeries to advanced clinical care.As regional airspace comes under heightened security scrutiny, industry leaders say travel uncertainty is beginning to influence patient decision-making.

Mint.Developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), the SaaS-based digital platform—eSushrut@Clinic—is a "Lite" alternative to the often bulky and expensive hospital information management systems (HIMS) currently in the market, and is aimed at bridging digital divide in Indian healthcare, the two officials cited earlier said on the condition of anonymity.With comparisons being drawn to BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) UPI (Unified Payments Interface), one of the most useful features is the built-in “Smart Assistant”. Its Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) helps doctors manage chronic conditions by offering clear, evidence-based treatment guidance.“The platform allows doctors to digitize records and streamline consultations, improving care continuity without replacing human expertise,” said the first of the two officials cited earlier.The new e-platform serves as a government-backed, reliable entry point for small-scale doctors to join the national digital health ecosystem, much like what the BHIM app did for digital payments.

Mint explains this breakthrough initiative for patients with severe facial disfigurement and who have exhausted conventional options to restore critical functions such as breathing, eating, and speaking, besides identity and social acceptance; along with accompanying legal and ethical issues.Face transplantation has transitioned from an experimental procedure to an established clinical practice. Successful procedures have been performed in France (the site of the first partial transplant), the US, China, and Turkey.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Entertainment industry entities are launching new ventures and verticals that aim to either back films for the big screen or programming for streaming platforms even amid the risks of volatility in the movie business, plateauing OTT subscriptions and unsold content inventory. Entrepreneur Ananya Birla launched Birla Studios this month to produce films in Hindi, Gujarati and Malayalam, among other regional languages, and in English.