-Outlook The National Water Resources Council chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to adopt tomorrow the draft National Water Policy, 2012 that stresses on the need to evolve a broad over-arching national legal framework on water. The draft announced by the government in January this year was revised twice based on the recommendations made by the National Water Board. The Prime Minister chairs the meeting of the Council which has all...

-The Times of India The government is all set to crack the whip on India's shameful pharma-doctor nexus. The National Development Council (NDC), led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will meet on December 27 to discuss bringing a legislation requiring drug companies to mandatorily disclose payments made to doctors for research, consulting, lectures, travel and entertainment. Doctors involved in ghost writing to promote pharma products will also be disqualified. The official NDC document...

-PTI The retail sector, where the government permitted foreign direct investment in multi-brand, courted controversies during the year with several opposition parties making it a political issue in Parliament. Even before its entry into multi-brand retail, the global chain Wal-Mart was grappling with various issues, including spending money in the US on lobbying for entry into India. Adding action to the drama was Swedish furniture chain IKEA's hectic bargaining with the government over...

-Huffington Post As we start 2013, many people will be thinking about plans and promises to improve their diets and health. We think a broader collection of farmers, policy-makers, and eaters need new, bigger resolutions for fixing the Food system -- real changes with long-term impacts in fields, boardrooms, and on plates all over the world. These are resolutions that the world can't afford to break with nearly one billion still...

-Outlook Raipur: Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly today passed the Food Security Bill aimed at providing Food and nutritional security to around 50 lakh families in the state. Chief Minister Raman Singh told the House that the provisions of the bill ensured that adequate quantity of quality Food will be available at affordable prices to nearly 50 lakh families. The new provisions will add a burden of Rs 2,311 crore on the state exchequer. Hailing Chhattisgarh...