-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 Hindu Business Line   The media have got it wrong on price control reversal Recently, there has been a flutter in various media channels and newspapers as to how the Modi Government has reversed certain drug price control measures announced in July 2014. As a result, we are told, prices of these drugs would increase much more than pre-July levels. This was supposed to be a sequel to Modi's visit to the...

-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...

-DNA The Union government decision to decontrol prices of 108 drugs -- used to treat tuberculosis, AIDS, diabetes and heart ailments -- has jacked up their prices. In some cases, prices have seen an unbelievable rise. The price of Glivec, an anti-cancer tablet, for example, has risen from Rs 8,500 to Rs 1.08 lakh. Plavix, used to treat blood pressure and heart ailments, will cost Rs 1,615, against the earlier Rs 147. An...