The medicine price regulator, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), has found a price fixing mechanism suggested by its parent ministry, chemicals and fertilisers, has failed to meaningfully lower the prices of key cancer medicines. A group of ministers (GoM) headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is expected to meet soon to finalise a pricing policy on drugs. The NPPA study findings may compel the ministry to seek other effective ways of...

-The Economic Times India has lifted the week old ban on cotton exports following intense political protests, but stiff riders have been put in place to discourage overseas hoarding.  Exports will be allowed only of consignments that had been registered before the ban after scrutiny and revalidation to eliminate ``fictitious'' transactions while issue of fresh registration certificates has been put on hold. The group of ministers headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee,...

Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s “go, no-go” policy to keep some areas out of bounds for mining is back — with a different name. The environment ministry under Jayanthi Natarajan plans to demarcate some “inviolate areas” which will not be considered for green clearances. The ministry had agreed to the recommendations of the B K Chaturvedi committee that all mining projects should be considered on merit. However, it has told a...

-The Economic Times The government has decided to lift the ban on cotton exports from Monday, just a week after imposing it, buckling under pressure from farmers, traders and politicians.  "Keeping in view the facts, the interests of farmers, industry and trade, a balanced view has been considered by the group of ministers to roll back the ban and a formal order will be made public on Monday by the government," Commerce...

Notification today; GoM will work out riders   Allies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance have again forced the Manmohan Singh government to take a step back, this time over the ban on cotton exports. The government has now announced that a new notification revoking the ban imposed on March 5 will be issued on Monday, in what is considered a victory for Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who stoutly opposed the decision, along...