-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The consumer affairs ministry is preparing a "strong" case against Nestle on the Maggi issue, which it will file in the national consumer forum. Sources said the ministry would file a petition on behalf of consumers, seeking damages from the multinational for selling an unsafe product, adopting unfair trade practices and running misleading advertisements. Consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan held a meeting with top officials...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India is set to have a stronger consumer protection law with its own version of class action suits. As the term is usually defined, a class action suit is one in which one or several persons sue on behalf of a larger group of persons, referred to as "the class". However, the Indian version will not allow individuals to sue on behalf of a larger...

-Economic and Political Weekly The National Democratic Alliance government has constituted the IPR Think Tank which, among other things, is to draft the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy. India may not have a policy per se but it has a strong legislation on IPRs, a functioning patents office and mechanisms to grant patents as well as protect consumer interests. The Think Tank has other issues it needs to address, but is...

-Vikalp The recently concluded Bali Ministerial marks an important milestone in the WTO negotiations. The National Food Security Act, 2013 in India has brought the issue of food security and hunger within developing countries to the forefront of the negotiations in the WTO. In this context, the G-33 proposal addressing the issue of non-recognition of food security concerns of developing countries within the global trade rules reflected a meaningful unity within...

-The Hindu The Bali ministerial conference in December presents a crucial opportunity to bring about changes in WTO rules Ending hunger and poverty requires major national policy initiatives in developing countries. The United Nations Secretary-General has articulated a broad zero hunger vision, endorsed and embraced as a priority by national leaders in many developing countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Production of food by small cultivators in developing countries has a...