-The Financial Express A patent law that is transparent, based on principles of good science & encourages innovation is in India's interest In 500 BC, in the Greek city of Sybaris, it was proclaimed that "encouragement was held out to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury, the profits arising from which were secured to the inventor by patent for the space of a year." England followed with the Statute...

-The Hindu It deems key accused in Gujarat hooch tragedy unfit for bail Taking a serious view of the hooch tragedy in Gujarat, the Supreme Court said high courts and trial courts should show no leniency in granting of bail to accused in illicit liquor cases. The apex court cancelled bail to the key accused in the extant case, in which 147 persons died and 205 suffered serious health damage after consuming spurious...

-The Hindu Though more people in India are in the textile sector, than in any other of the economy, bar agriculture, hostile and indifferent government policies are giving it short shrift Handloom weavers from all over the country are on a 72-hour hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from today in protest against the government’s textile policy. The protest is led by Rastra Cheneta Jana Samakhya, the State Handloom Weavers’...

-Down to Earth The treated water recharges aquifers It is a common sight that greets those visiting the villages in the semi-arid Mewat district of Haryana—streams of waste water emerging from doorsteps of homes, running through streets, and forming puddles here and there. Village Rawli is one such village. It has no sanitation facilities or sewers. Children play in these puddles while their parents watch them without any sign of concern. They...

-The Hindustan Times The much-anticipated two-day debate on the government’s decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail got off to a spirited start in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with both the Opposition and the Congress fiercely defending their stands. But, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had the government on tenterhooks a day ahead of the vote on a resolution opposing the FDI move. Even as...