India’s FTAs pip generic drugs production Lot More For Less     * Generic drugs from India play a major role as antiretroviral drugs across the developing world     * A 2010 study says 80% of the medicines used by donor-funded programmes to treat people with HIV were sourced from India     * It’s cut down treatment costs drastically, from $10,000 to $80     * Stronger IP regimes may hamper production of generics *** The right of...

-IANS   The West Bengal government Tuesday tabled a legislation in the state assembly in its bid to return a portion of the land acquired by the erstwhile Left Front regime from "unwilling owners" for setting up the now abandoned Tata Motors small car factory in Singur . The 'Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011' was placed in the house by Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee. The bill seeks to scrap...

-The Indian Express   Amidst heated exchange of words and walkout by opposition members, West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill scrapping the previous Left Front government's deal with Tata Motors to return land to 'unwilling' farmers in Singur, fulfilling a key election pledge of Mamata Banerjee. The Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Bill, 2011, enabled the government to return land to farmers who had unwillingly parted with their land and also...

-The Telegraph   The Raj Bhavan secretariat had expressed “procedural doubts” about the now-discarded Singur ordinance on Thursday and the governor had signed it only after an assurance from minister Partha Chatterjee that the law department had not come across any potential red flags, Writers’ Buildings sources said today. The government had to drop the ordinance yesterday because it is unconstitutional to promulgate one while the Assembly is in session. It decided...

Roadblocks Ahead     * The MIDC has been winding up its plans to set up SEZs     * As many as 28 SEZ proposals, in the government and private sector, were withdrawn or projects denotified in the last six months     * Farmer protests, land acquisition problems, economic downturn and non-feasible tax regimes are cited as reasons for developers backing out. CM Prithviraj Chavan too exercises great caution. *** Mandated to create industrial opportunities in...