-PTI   Aiming to preserve the indigenous knowledge of tribals and products manufactured by them with the help of natural resources, government is planning to patent some of these under the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). "Tribal Affairs Ministry has taken an initiative to patent the forest by-products and indigenous knowledge of making these products through the Intellectual Property Rights," Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said here. "The use of products and the...

-The Indian Express Pitching for immediate reforms in the Centre's flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said the complaints of corruption and irregularities regarding the scheme cannot be ignored. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhi also expressed concern over the delay in wage payment to MGNREGA workers, emphasising the need to ensure that they get it within 15 days. "Talks about reform in MGNREGA have been on for quite...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, UIDAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...

Is the majority of India veg or non-veg? Well, contrary to impression, the land of Gandhi and Buddha is predominantly non-veg. It may well have been majority vegetarian country at some point of time but the new trend is that more and more people are taking to non-vegetarian diets. A new policy paper, “Veg or Non-Veg? India at the Crossroads,” published by Brighter Green, a New York-based public policy action...

The government, the largest owner of landed property in the country, is preparing a comprehensive land sale policy to raise revenues and check corruption in government-owned property deals. The finance ministry will shortly move a cabinet note for bringing in a new uniform policy on 'land alienation' by government agencies, with an eye on removing discretionary powers of individual ministers and bureaucrats, said a government official. In big cities, large tracts...