-Down to Earth A high level UN panel on Access to Medicines wants members to make full use of TRIPS flexibilities to protect public health If ever India needed a clear endorsement of its laws on intellectual property rights (IPRs) and their application in meeting public health priorities, it has come from the highest quarters. The report of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel (HLP) on Access to Medicines has, directly...

-The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement demonetising high denomination notes on November 8, 2016, will do little to address the prime objective of flushing out black money but will adversely affect the economy in the short term, especially the informal sector, which is predominant in India, says M. Govinda Rao, a Member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission and Emeritus Professor, National Institute of Public...

-Livemint.com Supreme Court directed the Centre to suspend the licenses of firecracker manufacturers and sellers and not hand out fresh licenses till further orders New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday banned the manufacture and sale of firecrackers in the national capital region (NCR) to stem air pollution in Delhi and neighbouring towns. A three-judge bench headed by T.S Thakur, Chief Justice of India, directed the Centre to suspend the licenses of firecracker...

-The Indian Express These enterprises — whom she broadly categorises as ‘rural commercial capital’ — enjoy privileged access to formal credit networks. In her insightful study of the working of agricultural markets in West Bengal, British development studies scholar Barbara Harris-White has documented in detail how trade in farm produce is controlled through a web of rural and semi-urban agro commercial enterprises. These enterprises — whom she broadly categorises as ‘rural commercial capital’...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Days after it was revealed that the Centre is likely to dismantle the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Agency (NPPA), its chairman said the decision was ‘rushed’ and the agency was not consulted. “There were two meetings and the NPPA was not a party to them. Both meetings were held at short notice. This has been a rushed decision. For any policy change, there needs to be consultation. I understand...