-Live Mint Why do the central and state govts deliberately undermine the constitutionally created panchayats? The collector of any district in India would be heading 100 to 150 committees related to various development initiatives in the area. Collectors often don't get time to prepare for or preside over the meetings of these committees-imagine what happens to implementation then. On the other hand, the heads of district panchayats and municipalities in the...

-Live Mint Lack of decentralization means municipalities lack power, resources to meet rising aspirations of ‘middle' India Othakadai, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)/Hubli (Karnataka): S. Paramasivam , president of the Othakadai panchayat, has big plans for his area. "Rainwater harvesting, removal of encroachments on roads, waste recycling, covered drainage, bigger primary health care centres and community parks," lists the 58-year-old, who has spent 30 years in the stainless steel business that dominates industry...

-Economic and Political Weekly The Saradha group's collapse has possibly bankrupted lakhs of small investors robbing them of their life svaings, and has rendered thousands of its agents jobless. The scam highlights the failure of the government and its regulatory agencies to reign in the mushrooming chit fund companies in West Bengal. It also brings under the scanner the Trinamool Congress' proximity with the tainted group. In the wake of the...

-The Business Standard The Novartis verdict by the Supreme Court emphasised the importance of flexibilities in drug patent laws, in contrast to Western countries which are seeking TRIPS-plus hardening through free-trade agreements As curtains on the six-year-long legal tussle with Swiss drug giant Novartis AG finally came down earlier this month, the Indian government did not waste a second in hailing the Indian patent law which it said was in "full...

-Economic and Political Weekly While the Supreme Court decision in the recent Novartis case has cleared the way for production of generic drugs in India, doctors have to prescribe cheaper alternatives to costly brands if patients with limited means are to benefit. What is being hailed as a victory in the struggle for affordable medicines in the country will actually be one only when there is a pro-patient slant to the...