-Economic and Political Weekly The cultivation of geneticallymodified crops, especially food crops, is not just a domestic issue; it has an impact on global food trade as well. Sukhpal Singh (sukhpal@iimahd.ernet.in) is at the Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIM, Ahmedabad. There is no doubt that the application of biotechnology can lead to yield improvement, cost cutting and lower crop losses, besides providing more processable raw materials and designer products. That is why...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today agreed to take up "as early as possible" a plea challenging a recent NDA government decision that is alleged to have paved the way for a sharp rise in the prices of life-saving drugs. Petitioner Manohar Lal Sharma, a lawyer, has demanded a CBI probe into a September 22 government order that he says frees a list of medicines from pricing control. His public interest plea alleges...

-FirstPost.com With the hype of his Madison Square Garden show overshadowing everything else, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit was dubbed as a great bilateral victory for India. As the popular consensus went, Modi wowed both the Indian Americans and American politicians and even managed to get a joint op-ed article with President Barack Obama in the Washington Post stressing the importance of the partnership between the two countries. Was it really...

-The Indian Express Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit is likely to throw up highly contentious intellectual property rights issues. Indeed, for the last several years, US drug majors and their European counterparts have lobbied hard to demonise the Indian patent regime. But the government must continue to defend the law and stand its ground. Particularly since our own industrial moguls have caved in and are less vocal about their opposition...

-The Hindu Business Line Fate of 108 drugs brought under price control in July still unclear In a booster for pharmaceutical companies, the Government has ensured that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) no longer enjoys sweeping powers to control drug prices. The NPPA on Tuesday withdrew the guidelines it issued on May 29 that allowed the Authority to control drug prices in public interest. Based on this, it had subsequently capped prices...