Swaminathan is a bank employee in Chennai, with a family including his wife, daughter and parents. His 83-year-old mother, Balambal, is severely diabetic and has been on medication for years now. From Rs 500 a month about 10 years ago, the cost of her medicines has shot up to Rs 2,000 rupees now. With spiralling costs of medicines becoming a major concern for the common man, the government now plans to bring down the prices of 108 drugs for diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases.
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