Far from being dead and gone, slavery exists in many forms and is flourishing. A disturbing report on modern slavery compiles facts and figures and documents data about new forms of slavery all over the world. Even more disturbing is the fact that India figures in very high on slavery index. It says that almost 61% of those living in modern slavery are in 5 countries: India, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Some multinational companies (MNCs) have been delaying the launch of life-saving drugs in India years after getting monopoly rights, while cheaper generic versions of exorbitantly-priced medicines are going off the shelves under the product patenting law. Corporates such as Japanese firm Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, US-based Bristol Myers-Squibb (BMS) and Swiss firm Novartis are deferring the launch of medicines critical for treatment of serious non-communicable diseases like cancer, HIV,...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The runaway growth in states of subsidised solar pumps, which provide quality energy at near-zero marginal cost, can pose a bigger threat of groundwater over-exploitation than free power has done so far. The best way to meet this threat is by paying farmers to "grow" solar power as a remunerative cash crop. Doing so can reduce pressure on aquifers, cut the subsidy burden on electricity companies, reduce...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Union government to enforce improved emissions standards for vehicles across India after a non-government organisation carried an air pollution monitoring instrument inside the courtroom and found pollution levels exceeding safe limits. During the hearing of an ongoing PIL on air pollution this afternoon, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed that the level of particulate matter (PM) smaller...

-The Times of India India's intellectual property (IP) law has been hailed as one of the most progressive for safeguarding public interest, and several nations like Argentina, the Philippines and Brazil are looking to learn from it. Senior advocate and former UN special rapporteur on the right to health Anand Grover talks to Rema Nagarajan about the pressure the country is facing to change its IP laws, primarily from the US. *...