India, June 8 -- In a nation celebrated as the "pharmacy of the world," where medical advancements coexist with ancient healing traditions, millions of ordinary Indians still struggle with the simplest of health needs

You walk into a chemist shop with a simple prescription one tablet, maybe two. The pharmacist looks you and says, "We do not sell one tablet. You have to buy the whole strip." There is no room for discussion. You are forced to pay for more than you need, knowing some of it will expire unused in a corner of your cabinet. You leave, annoyed, not just at the pharmacist but at a system built to bleed the sick.

This is not an isolated incident. It is how the pharmaceutical business operates, built not around patients but around...