-The Guardian Had Novartis won, it would have set a precedent for patenting of other medicines in India, delaying their reaching the poor   The battle for affordable, life-saving medicines for poor countries was once waged on first-world city streets with banners and placards. But for some years now it has been a long-hard legal slog in offices and courtrooms. A decade or so ago, it was mostly about access to Aids drugs. Firms...

-The Hindu Considering the knowledge of English as a mark of social advancement and that of the vernacular as backwardness disenfranchises significant sections of society In a village in Ghazipur district that borders Varanasi, there is a young man who teaches English and "personality development" to the sons and daughters of local shopkeepers, farmers and truck drivers. The classes are held from 6 to 8 in the morning and again in the...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court order rejecting a plea to grant patent protection for Glivec, a cancer-fighting drug from Novartis, is a landmark. It will greatly strengthen the quest for access to affordable medicines in India. The decision affirms the idea that a patent regime loses its social relevance when a drug is priced beyond the reach of the vast majority of a country's people. That pharmaceutical companies employ high pricing...

-The Hindu The Justice Verma Committee report acts as a blueprint for the radical transformation of gender relations within the framework of constitutional guarantees and gender equality. However, the adoption of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 by Parliament on March 19, 2013, does not go beyond legal change. Prof. Hasan argues that if political parties are serious about the rights of women, the Women's Representation Bill must be passed...

-The Hindu   The government needs to open its eyes and realise that the technological utopia it envisions in the low-cost tablet is no cure for poor education, poverty or inequality The last few days have brought the Aakash tablet back into the media limelight. Last Friday, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister M.M. Pallam Raju said that troubles with the manufacturer could doom the project. But the next day, former HRD Minister Kapil...