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Research: A Sustainable Model for Delivering High-Quality, Efficient Cataract Surgery in Southern India
Cataracts are a leading cause of reversible blindness in India, where millions of people can be effectively treated for this condition with surgery. The Aravind Eye Care System in southern India developed an efficient system for delivering high-quality and low-cost cataract surgery. We provide a detailed accounting of costs of cataract surgery at the system and a cost-utility analysis. Total costs per operation were US$120, or $195 per quality-adjusted life-year gained. Using these data and population-based estimates of cataract prevalence, we calculate that eliminating cataract-related blindness and low vision in India would cost $2.6 billion and would yield a net societal benefit of $13.5 billion. Factors contributing to the highly cost-effective care at the Aravind Eye Care System include the domestic manufacturing of supplies, the use of a specialized workforce and standardized protocols, and the presence of few regulatory hurdles. Lessons learned from the system can help improve the delivery of cataract surgery and other ambulatory care surgeries in India and abroad.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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India’s Big Banks Sets Their Sights on Small Towns, Villages
Billionaire Uday Kotak did something unusual last month. He signed off on his Kotak Mahindra Bank valued at Rs 1.4 lakh crore for buying BSS Micro Finance, a tiny lender which does not even have 1% of the assets the bank has.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Barclays Launches Fintech Accelerator Programme in India With 10 Fintech Startups
Rise Accelerator, a FinTech- focussed accelerator programme started by Barclays announced its first cohort today, comprising 10 FinTech startups.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- fintech
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Quark Venture, With Help From China, Sets Up $500M Life Sciences Fund in Canada
Investment co Quark Venture and China’s GF Securities are setting up a global $500 million life sciences fund in what the pair are describing as the largest of its kind in the country.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
- Region
- South Asia
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Revealed: How Dirty Production of NHS Drugs Helps Create Superbugs
The NHS is buying drugs from pharmaceutical companies in India whose dirty production methods are fuelling the rise of superbugs, and there are no checks or regulations in place to stop this happening.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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Indian Microfinance Institution Ujjivan to Launch Biometric ATMs
Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd., (Ujjivan), a leading pan-India microfinance institution, which is in process of transforming into a small finance bank (SFB), today announced that it will provide the benefits of ATMs to its unbanked and under-served customers across the country by using biometric enabled machines.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Pepsi to Reduce Sugar Content in Juices and Carbonated Drinks in India by 2025
PepsiCo will reduce sugar content in its juices and carbonated drinks in India by 2025 as part of a global pledge announced by Chief Executive Indra Nooyi on Monday amid a backlash against such products over an obesity epidemic and illnesses such as diabetes. Several countries are also considering a sugar tax to reduce consumption of sugary drinks.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- nutrition
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USAID Launches Catalyst to Drive Cashless Payments in India
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday announced the launch of a new initiative “Catalyst: Inclusive Cashless Payment Partnership” (www.cashlesscatalyst.org).
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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