-The Times of India MUMBAI: For the first time ever, some of India's biggest pharmaceutical companies, cutting across their respective associations and representing nearly half the Rs 93,000 crore market, have come together to push for ethical marketing practices to clean up the industry's image. The forum, comprising of 40 to 50 domestic and MNC firms, had its first closed-door meeting on October 14. It has made a "voluntary and moral commitment"...

-The Hindu Business Line The entire Tea industry in India faces an uncertain future. And young people don’t want to work in tea gardens anymore After a steady run for nearly a decade, the Tea industry is now facing tough times. Both, production of gardens in the organised sector and leaf prices are virtually stagnating. And exports no longer hold out much promise. Between January and July this year, all-India production was 553.21...

-The Hindu Though outlawed in 1976, bonded labour lives and thrives in the State, as highlighted by the Sivaji Ganesan committee. However, the State continues to maintain an Ostrich-like attitude, failing to conduct periodic surveys and implement rehabilitation programmes The State of Karnataka in 2000 woke up to news about a certain medieval-era brutality being committed on bonded labourers, when the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha unearthed the case of five labourers being...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre is examining a proposal to confine television ads for condoms to late-night hours. The I&B ministry has taken up the matter amid what officials claimed was a "flood of complaints" from sections of viewers, including politicians. "There is currently no restriction on condom advertisements. They can be shown at any time of the day and on any kind of channel, but this might change in the future...

-The Times of India MORADABAD: The western UP district of Moradabad has for some time now been getting 50% of all printed circuit boards in India. No wonder then that it generates a staggering 9 tonnes of hazardous waste daily, with officials saying close to 50,000 people are involved in it. Most of the recycling is illegal and residents have now begun to panic. Confirming their worst fears, latest research by...