ONE of the best informed on drugs for coronavirus is Yusuf Hamied, chairman of the Indian pharma giant Cipla, who expresses concern that the numbers infected in India are “going up and up”.
He says: “It has not yet peaked. Probably the peak will come in August, September.”
And his prognosis?
“I’m only hearing from sources in America,” he replies. “Two months ago, it was suggested that up to two million Indians could die.”
Does he think that is a realistic assessment?
“No,” says Hamied, “because what nobody realised then is that although Indians are getting corona, the death rate is relatively low because of inbuilt immunity from earlier vaccinations.”
In a country of 1.3 billion, the official figures are that 723,185 people have had the virus. The death toll stands at 20,198, while 441,112 infected have recovered.
Hamied, who is currently at his London home, has disputed a story in the Guardian on June 30, headlined, “US secures world stock of key Covid-19 drug Remdesivir.”
It has caused widespread concern that if and when a vaccine becomes available, the US will again hoover up the world’s supply and leave nothing for others.
The report said: “No other country will be able to buy Remdesivir, which can help recovery from Covid-19, for the next three months at least.
“The US has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world.
“Experts and campaigners are alarmed both by the US unilateral action on Remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available.
“The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.”
Hamied confirms that his company Cipla has been given clearance to manufacture Remdesivir in India. He tells Eastern Eye: “I will tell you where the [Guardian] story was wrong. The drug Remdesivir was invented by Gilead, an American company. It was intended for use at the time of the Ebola epidemic in Africa, and there it didn’t do very well.
“When corona started, they tried it in America. It’s an antiviral drug. They say it was quite successful. So it has become the drug of choice because there is no complete remedy to corona. It is given by intravenous injections. It’s like one of the many anti-viral drugs that we use in diseases such as HIV AIDs.”
He says of the 20-year patent on Remdesivir, “invented 16 or 17 years ago, there are three years left (before the patent runs out)”.
Explaining the background of the engagement between Gilead and India, Hamied reveals: “Gilead about 10 years ago gave a number of Indian companies the right to produce some of their drugs in India, still under patent for HIV, called Tenofovir.
“Before expiry of the patent they gave us what they call a ‘voluntary licence’. That means you can go ahead and manufacture the drug. But you’re restricted to the countries where you can sell the drug.”
Hamied goes on: “Then came hepatitis C. They developed the drug Sovaldi and again came to India and gave 10 Indian companies a voluntary licence for Sofosbuvir and the freedom to market the drug at any price with a small royalty to Gilead.”
He tells the story of Remdesivir: “Again, they have come to India and given Indian companies the right to manufacture and market Remdesivir. They have given us a list of 130 countries where we are allowed to sell.”
He stresses: “It is totally free while the pandemic is on. The minute the pandemic ends they will want to renegotiate the agreement. So they have been very fair, actually.”
This licence was given a few weeks ago. “They’ve given this to six companies – Cipla, Hetero, Mylan, Cadila, Dr Reddy and Jubilant. We were anticipating this. So we did all the homework on Remdesivir.”
The Indian government has cleared two companies to make the drug for “emergency use” in India, one being Cipla. “We are manufacturing it in our Goa factory.”
Depending on demand, he reveals that his company could manufacture 30,000 injections a week and build up stocks, currently at 400,000 injections, to between one and two million.
Hamied says: “The price in America today for a course of six injections is $2,500 (£1,990). And, in India, the average price is around $65 (£52) per injection. It’s in the market.”
Returning to the Guardian story, Hamied explains: “What the American government can do is only ask Gilead, ‘You first supply us.’ They can block export from America. But they can’t stop Cipla and other licensed companies from making it and supplying it wherever they wish. Our product, Cipremi, is not approved in America. We can only take an approved product there if it is US FDA approved.”
As to how good the drug is at helping coronavirus patients, Hamied emphasises: “It doesn’t cure but can give relief. If you don’t take the drug, you may be in hospital for 11 days. And if you take the drug, you’re in hospital eight days.”
He reveals the news from India is not that encouraging because doctors have found it has side effects, leading, for example, to liver problems. “So, instead of giving it for six days, they may reduce that to five.”
Hamied mentions two other drugs being used for coronavirus patients. “There is a drug of Roche which is under patent. The drug is called Actemra – the generic name is Tocilizuma. Cipla is the distributor of the drug. We don’t make it.
“There is a drug called Favipiravir. And this is an antiviral drug, a Japanese drug off patent. And the Japanese and the Chinese and the Russians have claimed that it is very good for corona. One company called Glenmark has got approval in India. Cipla is also making it and likely to get approval any day.”
Finally, on the search for a vaccine for the virus, Hamied says: “Our friends, the Poonawallas, who own the Serum Institute of India, are very optimistic and will be among the leaders to bring out a suitable vaccine for Covid-19.”
A CANADA-based man accused of fatally hitting 114-year-old marathoner Fauja Singh with an SUV in Punjab has been arrested and sent to judicial custody. Officials said the accused had returned to India just three weeks ago.
Jalandhar rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harvinder Singh told a press conference that 26-year-old Amritpal Singh Dhillon was arrested on Tuesday night and his vehicle was seized. He said police treated the case as a challenge and solved it within 30 hours.
Later, Dhillon was produced before a court in Jalandhar and remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.
Dhillon, a native of Kartarpur, had gone to Canada on a tourist visa and later received a work permit valid till 2027. He returned to India late last month and was arrested from his home in Kartarpur.
During preliminary questioning, Dhillon told police he was in a hurry and driving at high speed when the accident happened. “At that time, he was not aware of the identity of the man hit by the car. He told us that he got scared (after the accident) and that is why he did not stop his vehicle there,” the SSP said.
He added that Dhillon was headed towards Jalandhar but returned home through nearby villages after the accident. Dhillon also said he had one of the car’s tyres changed that same day.
The SSP said it was Dhillon’s responsibility to stop the vehicle and take Fauja Singh to a hospital.
Fauja Singh was walking down the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway in his native village Bias when he was hit while crossing the road. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening. Villagers said the impact threw Singh five to seven feet into the air.
His son Harvinder Singh told reporters in Jalandhar on Wednesday that Dhillon could have taken his father to hospital immediately. “Maybe that could have saved his life. Had he not fled, we were anyway not going to have taken any action against him (the erring driver),” he said.
The SSP said Dhillon had no previous criminal record. He added that it was possible Dhillon was not accustomed to Indian driving conditions. “It is possible that since in India there is left-hand drive (rule) while in Canada it is right-hand, one could not get a grip on the driving (conditions) here,” he said. Dhillon was alone in the car at the time of the incident.
The police said Dhillon is on a work permit in Canada and works as a labourer. His mother and three sisters also live in Canada.
The vehicle, a Punjab-registered Toyota Fortuner, was identified using CCTV footage, headlight fragments and other parts recovered from the spot. “In one of the CCTV footage, the registration number of the vehicle was readable, and we tracked that. The vehicle's owners changed more than once (due to resale),” SSP Singh said.
On the timeline of events, the SSP said Fauja Singh had gone out for a walk after lunch. “Around 3.08 pm, when he reached the main road, the vehicle hit him. Some passers-by and some of his family members took him to a hospital in Jalandhar, where he succumbed to injuries.”
Expressing grief over Singh’s death, the SSP said he should not have died in this manner. “Fauja Singh earned his name worldwide, and we all are very proud of it.”
Political leaders across parties expressed condolences. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Singh was extraordinary for his unique persona and for inspiring Indian youth on fitness.
Fauja Singh began his marathon career at 89 and gained worldwide recognition for his endurance and achievements, earning the nickname 'Turbaned Tornado'. Born in 1911 into a farming family, he was the youngest of four siblings and became the first centenarian to complete a marathon. He ran in events in London, New York, and Hong Kong.
In 2011, at the age of 100, he took part in an invitational meet in Toronto named in his honour, where he broke several world records for his age group. Singh returned to India around three years ago after spending much of his running career in Britain. Last year, he joined Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in a walkathon to raise awareness against drug abuse.
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A new survey shows growing cultural and emotional ties to India among US-born Indian Americans.
A NEW report has shown that Indian Americans born in the United States are displaying stronger identification with their Indian heritage than in previous years.
The 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, conducted online with 1,206 respondents, found that 86 per cent of US-born Indian Americans said that being Indian is “very” or “somewhat” important to them. This marks an increase from 70 per cent in 2020. The share who considered their Indian identity as “not too important” or “not important at all” dropped from 30 to 15 per cent.
The report, titled Indian Americans: A Social Portrait, was published in June 2025 and draws on data collected between September and October 2024.
Shifts in self-identification
The report notes a decline in the use of the term “Indian American” as a primary identity. In 2020, 43 per cent identified as “Indian American,” while in 2024, this dropped to 26 per cent.
Meanwhile, 22 per cent now identify as “Asian Indian,” 20 per cent as “Indian,” and 14 per cent as “Asian American.”
Among US-born Indian Americans, nearly half said they feel equally Indian and American.
Twenty-four per cent said they feel more Indian than American, and another 24 per cent said they feel more American than Indian.
In 2020, 31 per cent had said they felt more American than Indian, and 19 per cent had said they felt more Indian than American.
Cultural connections remain strong
The survey found that 81 per cent of Indian Americans said they had eaten Indian food in the past month.
Sixty-five per cent said they had watched Indian television or movies in the same period.
Thirty-eight per cent said they had participated in or enjoyed Indian dance, music, or art in the past six months.
Only 7 per cent said they had done none of these activities.
Ongoing ties with India
Fifty-five per cent of respondents said they communicate with friends or family in India at least once a month.
Thirty-nine per cent reported having travelled to India in the past year.
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The criminals used sophisticated tactics to disguise their identity
THE National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed details of a “groundbreaking collaboration” with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and American teams to bust a fraud call centre scam operating from Noida in north India that targeted British victims.
The international investigation began early last year after NCA officers in the US received information from Microsoft, which was compared with City of London Police’s Action Fraud Reports. The NCA and FBI Attaché in Delhi shared intelligence with the CBI, leading to “urgent action” and the arrest of two people.
UK victims alone are believed to have lost over £390,000 in the scam. More than 100 British victims were contacted by frauds offering to fix their computers for a fee, following screen pop-ups suggesting their devices were infected or hacked.
“In reality, the fraudsters were posing as employees of Microsoft, offering software solutions to an attack that had never taken place,” the NCA said.
The criminals used sophisticated tactics to disguise their identity, including spoofed phone numbers and Voice Over Internet Protocol to route calls through multiple servers across several countries. After identifying that the same call centre was targeting US citizens, a partnership was agreed to share intelligence.
Nick Sharp, deputy director of the National Economic Crime Centre, said, “This case demonstrates the success we can have when we harness expertise from across the public and private sectors, and work hand in hand with partners abroad to target fraudsters, wherever they are.”
The collaboration involved 18 months of work between the CBI, NCA, FBI and Microsoft to identify the group, analyse data and target IT infrastructure used by fraudsters.
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Lord David Cameron presenting shield to Sir Anwar Pervez with Bestway Group Board Members
FORMER prime minister Lord David Cameron led an emotional and heartfelt tribute to Sir Anwar Pervez at a glittering event at the Royal Albert Hall, marking the business titan’s 90th birthday alongside the 50th anniversary of the Bestway Group.
The grand celebration brought together around 800 guests, including senior politicians, diplomats and leading figures from the grocery, pharmacy and finance sectors – industries where Bestway holds a dominant presence – to honour the extraordinary life and achievements of the self-made entrepreneur whose journey from rural Pakistan to British business royalty has inspired generations.
“Only in Britain could someone go from being a bus conductor to a billionaire businessman purely through their own blood, toil, tears and sweat. That was Sir Anwar’s way – the hard way, the long way, the best way,” Lord Cameron said in his keynote speech.
The Royal Albert Hall event marked the culmination of several weeks of tributes to Sir Anwar, including a reception in the Churchill Room of the House of Commons and tea in the Royal Box at Royal Ascot with Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Praising Sir Anwar’s “extraordinary record in promoting healthcare and education both in the UK and in Pakistan,” Cameron described him as the “real king of convenience” and “ambassador of shopkeepers.” He lauded Bestway as a business that had grown big while supporting the small – empowering thousands of independent retailers in the UK and overseas.
“Yours is a business that isn’t just entrepreneurial, it enables other entrepreneurs,” he said. “Every small shop run by families like yours, working around the clock like you, that is who you help. And you don’t just give them a good price. You give them a profile, a voice. Your status confers upon them a status of their own.”
Cameron’s speech touched on the core values that have defined Sir Anwar’s life – enterprise, family, and community.
Sir Anwar Pervez
“When we think of that generation who answered the call for workers, we tend to discuss and focus on how little they arrived with. Tonight, I want to focus on how much they brought with them, the values that drove them, that sustained them, the values with which they helped to rebuild this country, the values that Sir Anwar embodies,” he said.
“Sir Anwar proves what most entrepreneurs know. There is no such thing as overnight success, just night after night of hard work, late shifts, early starts, long hours, grit and grind.”
Cameron also drew a parallel between Sir Anwar and the late Margaret Thatcher, noting that both understood the power of family-run enterprise. “You have created the paragon of the family firm,” he said. “Family members are the reason you do it, that very deep desire of humans to look after our own, to care for families, to pass something on to future generations.”
The evening, hosted by TV and radio presenter Dermot O’Leary, featured performances by mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, organist Anna Lapwood, and Qawwali maestro Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, bringing together musical talent from both the UK and Pakistan. But it was the legacy of the businessman at the centre of the celebration that took centre stage.
Lord Zameer Choudrey, chairman of Bestway Group and Sir Anwar’s nephew, paid personal tribute to the man he called their “guide, inspiration, and father figure.”
“It is solely because of Sir Anwar that I was afforded the opportunity of moving across to the UK at the age of 12, from which point I witnessed firsthand the incredible journey Sir Anwar and Bestway has been on,” Lord Choudrey said.
“It has been a journey that has been underpinned by determination, hard work and vision. He could easily have paused the journey at any moment, but his vision and pursuit of growth needs to be recognised and applauded.”
Founded in 1976, Bestway Group began as a single convenience store in west London and has grown into one of the UK’s most successful family-owned conglomerates, with an annual turnover of more than £5 billion. Today it is the UK’s largest independent cash and carry operator through Bestway Wholesale, and the second-largest retail pharmacy chain in the country through Well Pharmacy. In Pakistan, the group is a dominant player through Bestway Cement, the country’s second-largest cement producer, and United Bank, the largest private bank and third-largest bank overall.
Employing over 47,000 people and serving more than 12 million customers across the UK, Pakistan and the Middle East, the group is also the largest overseas investor in Pakistan.
“The business that he has founded or has acquired has led to the creation of thousands of jobs and supported communities across the UK and Pakistan. More importantly, the businesses are reflection of his values and ethics,” said Lord Choudrey. “He has embedded in each the Bestway culture of resilience and forward progress. These values will endure.”
Lord Zameer Choudrey, Sir Anwar Pervez and Lord David CameronBestway
Equally impressive is the charitable impact. The Bestway Foundation, established under Sir Anwar’s guidance, has donated over £50 million to causes in health, education, and social mobility. Each year, it supports over 3,000 university students and provides free healthcare to 35,000 people. “He has never forgotten those who have helped him and never takes anyone for granted. He has always felt responsible for the community he has operated in. I know he reflects his great pride in the achievements of Bestway Foundation,” said Choudrey.
The evening brought together business and political figures – including London mayor Sadiq Khan, former chancellor Sajid Javid, exminister Tariq Ahmad, and Baroness Warsi – along with friends and family from Bestway’s five-decade journey.
As Cameron concluded in his tribute: “When I look at your life, the values you’ve lived by, and I think of the difficulties we face as a nation today, it is so clear that we need more of what you brought and what you have lived your life by – enterprise, family, community.”
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A post office sign hangs above a shop in Belgravia, in London. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
THE government is exploring whether to transfer control of the Post Office to the people who run its branches, according to a new consultation launched this week.
Minister Gareth Thomas said the move would create "a fresh vision" for the service while rebuilding trust following the Horizon scandal that devastated hundreds of sub-postmasters' lives, reported the BBC.
The 12-week public consultation examines two main options for restructuring the currently state-owned organisation. The first involves creating a partnership between government and a mutual body led by postmasters, potentially including other staff and community representatives. The second proposes a charter system similar to the BBC, where government sets guidelines but gives up direct ownership.
"We all know, sadly, the grim legacy... so this is about fixing the fundamental problems," Thomas was quoted as saying, referencing the scandal where faulty Horizon software led to wrongful prosecutions for theft and false accounting.
The consultation follows last week's public inquiry report highlighting the devastating impact on sub-postmasters and their families. Any structural changes would not occur until 2030 at the earliest, allowing time to replace the troubled Horizon system over the next three to five years.
Despite the ownership review, Thomas stressed that the government considers the current network of 11,500 branches "broadly right" and does not anticipate closures. The minister announced an additional £118 million in funding to support ongoing improvements.
The Post Office currently serves 99.7 per cent of the population within three miles of a branch, with 4,000 locations open seven days weekly. Services include banking transactions for major lenders, foreign currency exchange, benefit payments, and passport applications.
Research accompanying the consultation suggests the Post Office provides £5.2 billion in annual social value to households and £1.3bn to small businesses. However, the organisation struggles financially, requiring substantial taxpayer subsidies as postal volumes decline and customers increasingly use online services.
The mutual ownership concept was first discussed in 2012 after the Post Office separated from Royal Mail. Well-known British mutuals include John Lewis Partnership and the Co-operative, where employees have greater involvement in decision-making and business performance.
Rose Marley, chief executive of Co-operatives UK, described the potential change as "genuinely transformative." She argued that employee-owned businesses prove more productive and suggested the Horizon scandal would have been less likely under shared ownership.
"A stakeholder-led Post Office would be far better placed to surface concerns early and protect those on the front line," Marley said. "It would hardwire in a culture of transparency and shared responsibility."
The consultation seeks views on future services, particularly banking support as high street bank branches continue closing. Currently, customers can deposit and withdraw money from most bank accounts through Post Office counters.
Thomas revealed last year that nearly half of branches were unprofitable or made minimal profits from Post Office business, contributing to stagnant postmaster pay. The organisation is already converting its remaining directly-owned shops to franchise models used by most branches.
Meanwhile, the government said it would not pursue "potentially expensive" ownership changes until the Post Office achieves "financial and operational stability."