-Economic and Political Weekly The Supreme Court judgment on the Novartis-Glivec case is remarkable because it has gone beyond the specific technical and legal issues surrounding patents and has put the matter in a much larger political and economic perspective. The deeper implication of the judgment is that it is not only justified to deny patents when incremental innovation is trivial as in the Glivec case. The judgment has linked the...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: Stung by the Saradha episode, the government has decided to drastically amend legislation governing the market regulator's power to police chit fund companies. The finance ministry will push for the legislation to be cleared in the current session of Parliament and, if that fails, to issue an ordinance immediately afterward. Government managers believe the explosion of Ponzi schemes in West Bengal and in Uttar Pradesh is enough...

-The Hindu     They say Supreme Court-appointed panel's recommendations reasonable Even as the final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on open field trials of genetically modified crops is awaited, 51 independent international scientists with expertise in genetic engineering and biosafety protocols have approved the panel's Interim Report. The report has called for a 10-year moratorium on open field trials of Bt food crops until adequate regulatory mechanisms and safety...

-The Hindu Business Line There can be no denying the need for a legal framework to ensure that the likes of Saradha do not take the entire financial system for a ride. But that said, there will always be greedy investors, willing to be taken in by the tall promises of unscrupulous operators. The latter's task is made easier by loopholes in the law. Hence, Ponzi operators used the legal loopholes...

-The Times of India The National Advisory Council (NAC) on Friday approved mandatory public consultation on new laws and rules before they are brought to Parliament. This will for the first time provide an institutional structure for civil society representatives to express their views. The "pre-legislative process'' was brought in the wake of increasing dissatisfaction over legislations piloted by the government, especially the Lokpal Bill. The move was initiated by NAC...