Having spent over three decades practising Oncology in the US and India, Dr BS Ajaikumar is hardly one for the limelight. Just last month, however, Dr Ajaikumar, chairman and CEO of Healthcare Global Enterprises (HCG), India’s largest private chain of cancer hospitals, found himself the villain of the piece on social media.
He was branded “morally bankrupt” for challenging a government price control order in court. An unpopular move, given that the government order is expected to benefit 22 lakh cancer patients in the country and lead to annual savings in the ballpark of Rs 800 crore ($114 million) for the affected people.