For Vasai resident Prabhakar Wagle, a personal experience opened his eyes to how the healthcare system is tilted against those who are financially disadvantaged.

"Sixteen years ago, my hand got burnt in an accident. My family first admitted me to a local hospital [in Vasai], but I had to be shifted to Parel's KEM." At KEM, says Wagle, an auto driver by profession, the doctor treating him asked the family to arrange for extra blood. For this, they had to borrow R2,100 from friends and relatives to buy three litres of blood from a local blood bank. Today, the same amount of blood would cost R6,000.