-DNA "Frivolous and vexatious” — these were the words that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used while addressing this year’s edition of the annual Right To Information (RTI) convention. His choice of words raises several disturbing questions. The PM conveniently ignored the fact that there is no legal definition of what constitutes “frivolous and vexatious” and there is unlikely to be one in the future. Will one person’s understanding of “frivolous” be...
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The dark underbelly of India’s clinical trials business-Malia Politzer and Vidya Krishnan
-Live Mint Incidents at Bhopal and Indore highlight irregularities and ethical violations in some trials In 2004, doctors at the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC), established exclusively for treating the victims of the 1984 gas leak, recruited unsuspecting survivors for clinical trials without their knowledge or consent; 14 participants died during the course of the trials. Together with the episode in Indore’s Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (that Mint reported on 10...
More »Rule changed: Kudankulam 3 and 4 reactors to come under n-liability law -Pranab Dhal Samanta
-The Indian Express Setting aside Russian contentions, the government has decided that the next two reactors in Kudankulam will come under the new civil nuclear liability law, and not be covered by the agreement on Kudankulam 1 and 2. The move, which comes a month before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, is expected to provoke a major price escalation in the deal, with the Russian side likely to go back...
More »Clinical trials: Regulating chaos-Vidya Krishnan and Malia Politzer
-Live Mint The first in a two-part series examining the opaque world of clinical trials in India A hospital in Indore has been able to get away with unethical medical trials in which 32 people have died over five years, according to the state government. This despite several investigations, a state government ban and Supreme Court strictures—a classic example of the lawless nature of the clinical trial business in India. Lata Mehra, who...
More »Supreme Court to examine validity of FDI notification -J Venkatesan
-The Hindu Seeks A-G’s assistance in clarifying issues raised by PIL The Supreme Court will examine the validity of the notification the Centre issued on September 20 of its decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. On Friday, a Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha and Anil R. Dave, without issuing notice, sought Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati’s assistance in clarifying certain issues, and directed advocate M.L. Sharma, who has challenged the...
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