Letters to The Editor — October 3, 2023 Premium

Drug major’s decision

The decision by Johnson & Johnson not to enforce patents on TB drug bedaquiline is a boon for low- and middle-income countries. Treatment for MDR/XDR is expensive and of long duration. The move will create avenues for the production of generic bedaquiline, which will have a great impact on TB control in India.

Dr. Thomas Palocaren,

Vellore, Tamil Nadu

Vachathi verdict

The Vachathi judgment represents the relentless struggle and triumphs of poor tribal people who had the support of people and a party, the CPI(M), committed to the welfare of the most downtrodden. The determination to seek justice despite deep poverty is outstanding. This is not to deny the role of courts. The Vachathi incident proves beyond doubt that a people’s movement is the essence of democracy.

N.G.R. Prasad,

Chennai

Technology dependence

There has been a rise in incidents that can be attributed to navigation apps providing misleading directions. While technology has transformed the way we navigate the world, it is imperative to also highlight the potential risks associated with a blind reliance on such navigation apps especially while travelling in unfamiliar terrain and in adverse weather. Further, one should understand that no technology is infallible. In the case of the accident in Kerala (‘South’ page, October 2), the service provider, being one of the most widely used platforms in the world, has a significant responsibility to ensure the safety of users.

Lalgudi Muralidharan,

Lalgudi, Tamil Nadu

CaIculation

am writing this as a former Deputy Registrar General in charge of the Civil Registration System. The article, “India’s statistical performance at the global stage” (October 2) says that “the publication of the Office of the Registrar General of India), ‘Vital Statistics of India’, cites the coverage of births under CRS for 2019 at approximately 93%....”. The publication calculates the percentage based on all births registered in the year, irrespective of the year in which they occurred. Once the births that occurred more than a year earlier and registered in 2019 are removed from the numerator, the percentage comes down from 93% to well below 90%. I had written about this issue in detail in an article, “Inadequacies of the civil registration system” published in this daily (May 25).

K. Narayanan Unni,

Kochi, Kerala