-Economic and Political Weekly While the Supreme Court decision in the recent Novartis case has cleared the way for production of generic drugs in India, doctors have to prescribe cheaper alternatives to costly brands if patients with limited means are to benefit. What is being hailed as a victory in the struggle for affordable medicines in the country will actually be one only when there is a pro-patient slant to the...

-The Times of India The National Advisory Council (NAC) on Friday approved mandatory public consultation on new laws and rules before they are brought to Parliament. This will for the first time provide an institutional structure for civil society representatives to express their views. The "pre-legislative process'' was brought in the wake of increasing dissatisfaction over legislations piloted by the government, especially the Lokpal Bill. The move was initiated by NAC...

-The Hindu The lawsuit by publishers seeking to stop Delhi University from distributing photocopied course packs goes against the spirit of education for all Late last year, leading publishing houses including Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press brought a copyright action against Delhi University and a tiny photocopy shop licensed by it, seeking to restrain them from supplying educational course packs to students. This lawsuit sent shock waves across the...

-The Hindu In the Bhullar case, the Supreme Court has created a category of ‘terrorists' among those sentenced to death without providing a constitutional basis for it Writing on extra-judicial killings in the Economic and Political Weekly in March 1996, K.G. Kannabiran narrated a very interesting anecdote from his experience on the Civil Rights Committee appointed by Jayaprakash Narayan to investigate fake encounters orchestrated during the Emergency against naxalites. While interacting with...

-Live Mint   Panchayati raj minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo on how the system can function more effectively With the amendments that effected mandatory constitutional powers to panchayats and urban local bodies marking 20 years, V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Union minister for panchayati raj, acknowledged in an interview that the units of local self-governance could function more effectively. He also suggested that the three-tier system of panchayats could be improved to meet challenges...