-The Hindu IPR Policy will promote indigenous knowledge on water conservation steps. The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy will send a clear message to Washington that India’s IPR regime is not regressive, Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The comments come ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. next month when the issue of greater protection and enforcement of IPR may come up for discussions. Sitharaman, however, said India...

-Business Standard Water harvesting needs attention, not just irrigation The charter of demands recently submitted by chief ministers of drought-hit states to the central leadership, including prime minister Narendra Modi, seeks liberal assistance for the states' drought relief efforts. These focus on managing the immediate crisis. While that is a valid concern, too few states sought aid for medium and long-term drought mitigation and adaptation measures which are vital to blunt the...

-The Indian Express MPs must not run down a law that promises a more informed citizenry The Right to Information (RTI) Act has undoubtedly been a most empowering legislation for citizens. The law has initiated the vital task of redistributing power in a democratic framework. It is perhaps this paradigm shift in the locus of power that has resulted in consistent efforts by the powerful to denigrate it. The latest attack on...

-Business Standard Claims Bill did not respect rights of people under the Forest Rights Act and gave unbridled control over thousands of crores to forest bureaucracy On Friday, prime minister Narendra Modi regretted that the Compensatory Afforestation (CA) Bill could not be passed in the budget session of Parliament. On Saturday, outgoing Rajya Sabha member from Congress Jairam Ramesh hit back at the NDA, saying the reason the bill could not be...

-The Hindu The new Intellectural Property Policy, unveiled by the Finance Minister is in compliance with TRIPS. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released India’s National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy recently. The Policy which is in compliance with WTO's (World Trade Organisation) agreement on TRIPS (Trade Related aspects of IPRs), aims to sustain entrepreneurship and boost prime minister Narendra Modi's pet scheme 'Make in India.' Here are the highlights: >> The Policy aims to...