India Today [November 26, 2018] | Death by Sugar

138 Pages·2018·15.878 MB·English

by  India Today

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DEATH BY
SUGAR
The DIABETES EPIDEMIC is now a national
health crisis. Diet, lifestyle and even pollution
may be among the causes but can medicine
or government policies find a cure?
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DEATH BY
SUGAR
The DIABETES EPIDEMIC is now a national
health crisis. Diet, lifestyle and even pollution
may be among the causes but can medicine
or government policies find a cure?
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FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
www.indiatoday.in
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa W hen we last did a cover story on
GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh diabetes in 2003, India had 33
MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha
million diabetics, more than
CONSULTING EDITOR: Ajit Kumar Jha (Research)
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit, the population of Canada. Fif-
Sandeep Unnithan, MUMBAI: M.G. Arun
teen years later, this figure has climbed to
DEPUTY EDITORS: Prachi Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop
HYDERABAD: Amarnath K. Menon CHANDIGARH: Asit Jolly 82 million, equal to Germany, the world’s Our October 6, 2003 Cover
SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, Alokparna Das
17th most populated country. India houses
JAIPUR: Rohit Parihar
SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee the world’s second largest population of Indiandiabeticsaccountforawhopping
MUMBAI: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; PATNA: Amitabh Srivastava
diabetics after China. From a lifestyle 2,111 years of healthy life lost to premature
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha
KOLKATA: Romita Sengupta; BHOPAL: Rahul Noronha; disease, diabetes has turned into a violent death or disability per 100,000 population.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jeemon Jacob
ASSISTANT EDITOR: PUNE: Aditi S. Pai virulent epidemic, figuring in the prime We are staring at a public health crisis of
PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor), minister’s speeches and the government’s unimaginable proportions.
Rajwant Singh Rawat, Yasir Iqbal (Principal Photographers),
Chandra Deep Kumar (Senior Photographer); MUMBAI: Mandar Suresh health action plans. What was earlier seen as a rich man’s
Deodhar (Chief Photographer), Danesh Adil Jassawala (Photographer);
KOLKATA: Subir Halder (Principal Photographer); Our cover story 'Death by Sugar' ex- disease has now engulfed social barriers.
CHENNAI: N.G. Jaison (Senior Photographer) amines the havoc wrought by this disease It’s not hard to see why. Post-liberalisation
PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher),
Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher), in recent years and detects some alarming India has seen rapid urbanisation, greater
Shubhrojit Brahma (Senior Photo Researcher)
new trends. One of them is that diabetes disposable incomes, increasingly seden-
CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty
ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director); can be aggravated by air pollution. A new tary lifestyles and easy access to cheap
Angshuman De (Art Director); Devajit Bora (Deputy Art Director);
study on 1.7 million individuals published junk foods laced with sugar. Tonnes of it.
Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director);
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer) in The Lancet Planetary Health this July India is the world’s sugar capital. Last year,
Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator)
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), shows how inflammation from lethal air Indians consumed 26.5 million tonnes of
Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator), particles puts severe pressure on the pan- the white stuf, more than twice what the
Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator)
creas, leading to diabetes. US consumed.
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact) New research shows that ultra-fine pol- The implications of a large diabetic
IMPACT TEAM lutants classed by PM2.5 can breach the population are grim—it means increased
Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West)
General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), protective barrier of blood vessels, trigger- healthcare spending and a less productive
Upendra Singh (Bangalore),
ing inflammation and greater risk of heart population. Research has established a 36
Kaushiky Gangulie (East)
GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra events, lung disease and cancer. Pollutants per cent jump in years lost to diabetes due
Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing)
interfere with the body’s ability to process to excess weight in India. Statistically, In-
SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales) sugar. This is a double whammy because dians are at a higher risk from diabetes—in
Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations)
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (North) India is now home to 14 of the world’s 20 2016, the incidence in India is about twice
most polluted cities. the global average.
Diabetes is also being aggravated by Executive Editor Damayanti Datta,
another silent killer—obesity. About 20 who has tracked the steady march of this
per cent of Indian adults are overweight, disease in our pages over the past decade
up from just 9 per cent in 1990. About 38 and spoke to a cross-section of experts,
Volume XLIII Number 48; For the week in every 100 overweight Indian adults have says she finds the link between the
November 20-26, 2018, published on every Friday diabetes, compared to just 19 globally. deadly PM 2.5 air pollutants and diabetes
● Editorial/Corporate Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex, The more fatty tissue you have, the more especially frightening. “India is second
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Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200;
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Fax: [phone] ● E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn, 2016. There has been an 80 per cent rise in over. While a cure for diabetes still eludes
New Delhi ● Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai,
Chennai-600018; Phone: [phone] ● 201-204 Richmond T owers, 2nd Floor, years of healthy life lost to premature death researchers, the disease can be mitigated
12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037,
22218343; Fax: [phone]; ● 52, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 4th Floor, or disability due to diabetes during this through a healthy lifestyle, eating the
Kolkata-700071; Phones: 22825398; F ax: 22827254; ● 6-3-885/7/B, S omajiguda,
Hyderabad-500082; Phone: [phone], period, the highest among non-communi- right food, and plenty of exercise. More
23410982, 23411498; Fax: [phone] ● 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016; cable, chronic, lifestyle diseases in India, importantly, it calls for intervention from
Phones: 2377057, 2377058 ; Fax: [phone] ● 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor,
Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone: along with a 131 per cent rise in death rate. the state to detect its onset. A diabetes
26560393, 26560929; Fax: [phone] ● Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All
rights reserved througho ut the world. Reproduction in any m anner is p rohibited. A new study between 1990 and 2016 has mukt Bharat? That’s a public health goal
Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living Media
India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, detected a potentially explosive increase of worth pursuing.
18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana)
diabetes—in every Indian state.
and at A-9, Ind ustrial Complex, Maraimalai N agar, District
Kancheepuram-603209, (Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaught
Excess blood sugar leading to isch-
Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Raj Chengappa.
● IN DIA TODAY does not take the re sponsibility for returning unsolicited aemic heart disease, chronic kidney
publication material.
disease, stroke, tuberculosis, cancers, Al-
All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of
competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only zheimer’s, dementia and cataracts among (Aroon Purie)
NOVEMBER 26, 2018 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)1
I N S I D E
UPFRONT LEISURE
RAFALED THE AMATEUR’S
FEATHERS PG 3 CALLING PG 69
DEATH BY Q&A: HASAN
SMOKE PG 6 MINHAJ PG 78
BEST B-SCHOOLS
24
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THEY MEAN
BUSINESS
The IIMs are still top of the
heap and competition has made
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ECONOMY
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CAN NBFCS
BE SAVED?
The NBFC crisis will hang heavy
over the upcoming RBI board
meeting. Is a solution in sight?
INTERVIEW-SARBANANDA SONOWAL
COVERSTORY
20
The ‘ALL ‘INDIANS’ WILL
BE SAFEGUARDED’
Coming of an The Assam chief minister on the
NRC and challenges ahead as he
enters the second half of his term
Epidemic
As diabetes tightens its lethal hold on Indians, new research and
treatments are leading a fightback. How best can we beat it?
Sugar cube sculpture by NILANJAN DAS
CoverbyNILANJANDAS
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2 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 26, 2018
U P F R O N T
TIGER DEATH
TROUBLE BY SMOKE
PG 4 PG 6
LEARNING FROM POV: THE
EMERGENCY MISSING VOTERS
PG 8 PG 11
NI NOT A SMOOTH TAKE-OFF?
A
dit The Rafale jet at the Istre-LeTube
e
r airbase in France onNov13
C
e
r
u
t
c
Pi
RAFALE
he Elusive Smoking Gun
By Sandeep Unnithan
T he government was left breathing Court-monitored probe into the was a case of crony capitalism.
easy on November 14 after the bypassing of procedures when Prime “On the basis of today’s proceed-
Supreme Court heard a petition Minister Narendra Modi announced ings, and on the basis of the petitioners’
on the Rs 59,000 crore deal to buy 36 that he was buying the jets off-the- arguments, there is no evidenceyetof
Rafale jets from France. A three-judge shelf from France during a state visit any wrongdoing by the government.
bench of the Supreme Court, headed in April 2015. An Inter Governmental Should a probe be ordered onthisbasis,
by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, hearing Agreement (IGA) was entered into it would reflect poorly on theSupreme
the petition filed by lawyer Prashant with France in September 2016. The Court’s impartiality,” says SanjayBadri
Bhushan and former Union ministers deal, the petitioners charged, favoured Maharaj, defence analyst andlawyer.
Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, did Reliance Industries, which had set up a Earlier, while hearing the peti-
not find significant deviations in the joint venture in Nagpur to execute the tion on October 31, the court had
procedure to buy the jets. offsets (investments made by the for- said that it would not go intothesuit-
The petition filed in the apex court eign arms buyer into India, estimated ability of the platform and its utility
on October 24 called for a Supreme at around Rs 30,000 crore) and hence, to the IAF, and it was only interested
UPFRONT
in the procedure followed and the issue of offsets.
In what came as a huge relief to the govern-
ment, the court said it was not going to reveal the
price of the aircraft. The price per Rafale jet has been
one of the most contentious issues of the deal so far.
The price was submitted to the court in a sealed en-
velope by the Attorney General K.K. Venugopal.
The IGA barred the revelation of the price, Venugo-
pal told the court. He said it was for experts to de-
CLAWS OUT
cide what aircraft and weapons could be bought. FP Avni’s body with the
A
On November 12, the government handed over a dart stuck in it
14-page document to the petitioners on the procedure
it had followed before signing the IGA with France. WHODUNNIT
The document did not mention whether the IAF had TIGER
been consulted before the PM made the announce-
ment, a point that is likely to be seized upon by the
TROUBLE
petitioners. Another key fact that emerged in Venu-
gopal’s deposition was that India had not received a
sovereign letter of guarantee from France for the deal,
which is usually given by IGA partners to assure a fin-
ancial obligation. What Hours after a Maharashtra (PCCF) (wildlife) A. K. Mishra,
India got was a ‘letter of forest department team on September 4, had ordered
With the
comfort’ from France, gunned down the tigress that the tigress could be killed if
government
but that does not hold Avni on the night of November it wasn’t possible to safely tran-
defensive
the same importance. 2, a political slugfest ensued on quilise her. This was challenged
on the deal,
In the hearing, last- whether the alleged man-eater by tiger conservationist Jerryl
the court’s
ing nearly five hours, was sacrificed in accordance Banait, but the Supreme Court
ruling will the bench, which also with procedures laid down by later upheld the PCCF’s order.
have a huge comprised Justices K.M. the Supreme Court. A dis- Mungantiwar claimed that
efect on the Joseph and S.K. Kaul, tressed Union women and child Asgar fired a single shot to fell
examined defence min- development minister Maneka the tigress when she charged the
upcoming
istry and IAF officials Gandhi blamed Maharashtra forest department team after
elections
on whether there had forest minister Sudhir Mungan- a dart failed to tranquilise her.
been deviations from the tiwar for the “ghastly murder”. However, an autopsy revealed
procedure. The first made-for-India Rafale jet made While the latter retaliated by that the dart had not even punc-
its maiden flight in France on November 13, a day accusing Gandhi of “cooking up tured the animal’s skin. This
before the Supreme Court hearing. stories based on half-baked in- instantly drew allegations that
In an interview to news agency ANI at the Dass- formation”, the killing provoked the dart was fired as a cover up
ault plant in Istres, CEO Eric Trappier responded to all sorts of protests from wildlife after the tiger had been killed.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that activists and others. The autopsy report also
he was a liar. “I don’t lie,” Trappier said. “The truth I Remarkably, the state forest revealed that Avni had not eaten
declared before and the statements I made are true. department had failed to track for at least four to five days. The
I don’t have a reputation of lying. In my position as a down Avni (tagged T1), despite 119 kg tigress died due to exces-
CEO, you don’t lie.” The Dassault CEO said that the deploying some 200 guards, sive internal haemorrhage and
price of the 36 Rafale jets was 9 per cent less than paragliders, 104 trap cameras, cardio-respiratory failure. The
the earlier contract for 126 aircraft where Dassault four elephants and two Italian gunshot, fired from below the
finished as finalist. The earlier contract was for 18 sniffer dogs over the past two left side of the animal’s torso,
jets to be purchased in flyaway condition while 108 years. It had also requisitioned pierced the shoulder and punc-
jets would be locally assembled by the Hindustan the services of two sharpshoot- tured her lungs.
Aeronautics Limited. ers—Shafat Ali Khan and his While wildlife lovers pro-
The apex court reserved its order at press time, but son Asgar. tested Avni’s killing in Mumbai
clearly its ruling will have huge ramifications for the In view of reports that Avni on November 11, residents in
upcoming state and Lok Sabha polls for the govern- had killed and partially eaten 13 villages fringing the forests in
ment which has been on the defensive on the deal. It people between June 2016 and Yavatmal celebrated the beast’s
could implicate the government for bypassing proce- August 2018, the state’s princi- death. Farm activist Kishor
dures or let it off the hook entirely. (cid:132) pal chief conservator of forests Tiwari, who heads the state-
14 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 26, 2018
PULLQUOTE
“Namechangingisanattempt to
demolishtheideaofIndiawe grew up
run-corporation, Vasantrao Naik Sheti with.It’sanassaultonthe country’s
Swavlamban Mission, accused Gandhi compositeGangaJamunaculture and
of being against the tribals of the area. “It tryingtotellMuslimstheydon’t belong
has nothing to do with the tiger,” he said,
here.Butbesureitisasmuch my
insisting that the Union minister was
countryasyours.Weare just not
raising the issue only to help her spiritual
goinganywhere”
guru, Prema Sai, who is aspiring for a
BJP ticket from Yavatmal.
Mungantiwar has, meanwhile,
constituted an expert panel to determine FormerJammu and Kashmir chief minis-
terMEHBOOBA MUFTI had an impas-
whether or not established protocols and
sionedresponse on social media to news of
standard operating procedures were fol-
morenamechanges mandated by the Yogi
lowed. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh.
also rose to his minister’s defence, reject-
Earlierthisweek, the state cabinet approved
ing calls for Mungantiwar’s resignation. therenaming of Allahabad and Faizabad
After all, he said, the minister did not go asPrayagraj and Ayodhya, respectively.
down in person to kill the tigress. T Othercitiesare waiting eagerly in the wings.
A
H Ahmedabad,the Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay
But political observers say this could B
D Rupanihassaid, could become Karnavati
also be an opportunity for Fadnavis to BI
A beforethegeneral election. While name chang-
corner Mungantiwar, a known protégé of
eshavebeenmooted for Agra and Hyderabad
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. among others. The ‘tehzeeb’ Mufti recalled
The forest minister has stayed clear of so fondly appears passé. But even the BJP’s
any controversy till now, and is said to be allies rolled their eyes at the name changes. A
‘glorious’ past, however romanticised, cannot
keen to build an image as a future leader
be resuscitated by the symbolic changing of
of Maharashtra. (cid:132)
names. Nor can history be so easily erased. So
—Kiran D. Tare
what, many are asking, is the point?
UPFRONT
GUEST COLUMN
MANY ANSWERS TO THE
POLLUTION CRISIS
BHARTI
CHATURVEDI
It’s the same story this year as it was last year. And the standards. Electric vehicles could be an exception.
year before: the air pollution is killing us. The World The waste issue is also much more complex than it seems.
Health Organization (WHO) has even pointed out that Solutions here are driven by managing the condition of urban
a hundred thousand under-five children in India died from workers. Tested solutions exist for security guards and the
air pollution in 2016. If this isn’t an emergency, I don’t homeless—key people who burn waste in the winter. These
know what is, except for active war, bombing and the end of range from warm kits and better kiosks to decent housing
water. What should India do? in the medium-term and decent, safe night shelters at once.
We need a broader, systems approach. The stubble Monetary Incentives and land for local composting are key to
burning crisis is a case in point. I’ve been meeting dozens of preventing organic waste from burning at landfills as are local
farmers and agricultural labourers over the past five weeks, material recovery facilities. In India, it’s the poor that recycle
often in their burning fields, asking what gives. Of the many waste. Ensuring their masterplan space and supporting them
solutions they proposed, the big one is as legitimate enterprises are part of the
the need for a shift in Punjab’s farming. fight against air pollution. Construction
It is not viable to grow a water-guzzling emits significant dust. Even when it
crop like rice, suck up the depleted water is stopped, the malba pollutes. Every
tables and then struggle with the stubble. construction or demolition activity
Until this shift takes place, farmers will should prepay waste handling fees per
ask for better MSPs to incentivise the tonne, with a municipality appointed
cultivation of hand-threshed varieties, contractor paid to pick up the malba
where the stubble is not bruised by for recycling. We need an urban re-jig,
machines and can be fed to cattle; using both in terms of land use and local
MNREGA for labour to remove stubble financial incentives. Can the Swachh
because labour is too expensive in Punjab Bharat Mission also help us with
for most farmers to hire farm hands; and swachh saans?
a re-think on sowing dates. People and their lifestyles matter.
Then there’s Delhi, which often We saw the suicidal actions of many
grabs the headlines as the most on Diwali night, as fireworks went
polluted city in the world. Let’s not fall Lifestyles do up endlessly. How can you first create
into this trap and stay so focussed on matter: the suicidal illness and then expect Lakshmi to
the capital. According to analysis by burning of fire visit you? In many cities, we see traffic
urbanemissions.info, a non-profit that jams of private vehicles and polluting
crackers on Diwali,
focuses on making data and science on trucks driving through unchecked. Our
for instance. You
air pollution accessible, India has 134 industries still pollute extensively. Our
can’t create illness
air monitoring devices, though it needs coal plants are slow to upgrade and
4,000. It is likely that several industrial and hope Lakshmi reduce emissions, postponing deadlines.
belts and coal mining areas fare much will visit you India is in an emergency, but seems
worse than Delhi. Let’s measure and shrouded in disbelief. Our government
address the pollution away from the must become a stronger administrator
spotlight , where so many of our fellow-citizens suffer. and aggressively push implementation. It’s time to stop
We speak of the metro systems in Kolkata and Delhi, all sporting events and outdoor events when it’s polluted,
or buses and trains. Safe, reliable public transport, not run stop any trees being cut and parks destroyed. We need the
on existing dirty fuels, in every city can be a game changer. National Clean Air Plan of the government rolled out with
This is where money has to be pumped in. And goading the milestones and targets. We need tough love all around. ■
public to use it is key too, including by refusing to register
private vehicles for five years in 100 non-attainment cities Bharti Chaturvedi is Founder and Director, Chintan
listed by the government for consistently falling below the Environmental Research and Action Group
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
#DEEPVEER KI SHAADI
Winter Wedding
The coming together of Bollywood’s
next power couple
45
Charity on
Their Minds
Instead of gifts #Deep-
The estimated number
Veer have asked their
of guests Deepika Padu-
guests to donate to Live
kone and Ranveer Singh
Love Laugh Founda-
invited to their wedding at
tion, the non-profit
Villa del Balbianello on the
that Padukone set up
shores of Lake Como, Italy.
after her battle with
Family, close friends and
depression. It aims to
colleagues—including their
raise awareness about
stylists—are part
mental health
of the celebrations
Guest Appearance
Farah Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali were two
of the special guests. Khan gave Deepika her
break with Om Shanti Om (2007). Bhansali brought
the two together first in Goliyon Ki Raasleela
Ram-Leela (2013), on the sets of which their
romance bloomed. Singh’s biggest hits have all
come with Bhansali, who also cast the couple in
Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat
The Italian Sabya
Connection Naari
DeepVeer are not the first Like Rani
celebrity couple to take their and Anushka,
wedding to the land of pasta. Deepika, who
Rani Mukerji and Aditya has been the
Chopra, and Anushka face of many
Sharma and Virat Kohli also Sabyasachi
chose Italy for wedding cer- Mukherjee
emonies. Isha Ambani and campaigns,
Anand Piramal had their relied on him
engagement-centred cele- for all her trous-
bration by Lake Como seau needs
Shaadis Galore
DeepVeer is just the beginning of a
lavish wedding season. In Decem-
ber, Priyanka Chopra and Nick
Jonas are expected to be in Jodhpur
for their big day. Later, Mukesh Am-
bani and Ajay Piramal will host a
soirée in Udaipur before re-
turning to Mumbai for the
wedding of their kids