IN the digital age, the implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005, is deeply linked to the technology that will be adopted to store public documents and information in digital formats. Thus, the National Policy on Open Standards in E-Governance is critical to “ensure reliable long-term accessibility to public information”, wrote RTI activists, under the aegis of the National Campaign for People’s Rights to Information (NCPRI), in a letter...

EU trade commissioner said it will soon resolve the issue of confiscation of Indian drugs being exported to developing countries. EU Trade commissioner Catherine Ashton said a team of customs officials from the European Commission will be in New Delhi shortly to discuss the issue. “We talked about this issue. Our commitment on pharma, on generics is to find a solution that works for India,” she said after a meeting...

Civil society” is a very loaded term. First of all, it implies that all those that are not part of it, are somehow uncivil, or possibly not part of society. Secondly, the use of the term implies that those covered by the term — and, truthfully, usually using it about themselves — have some particular worthiness that makes them able to more efficiently determine society’s direction than other members of...

Govt can help by raising public spending on healthcare The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which represents a large section of the country’s pharmaceutical companies, has taken the rather unusual step of asking the government to come to the aid of the industry, which has seen a string of foreign acquisitions of Indian players. None of these acquisitions is hostile. So, where does the government come in, particularly when there is no...

Who is afraid of the multinational seed giants? Practically everyone, it seems, barring governments. The more enlightened agricultural scientists, the legion of activists, small farmers and plant breeders across the world have all been worried by the fast dwindling biodiversity and consolidation of the global seed trade through patenting. Now, the UN has joined the chorus of concern but unfortunately its notes, perhaps because it was distant and bass, or...