The apex decision-making body of the communications ministry has cleared the proposal to grant more powers to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and enable the watchdog to act like a civil court. This puts TRAI on par with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Competition Commission of India and permits the telecom regulator to 'summon persons, examine them on oath, demand documents and evidence on affidavits...
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Govt uses special powers to slash cancer drug price by 97%-Rupali Mukherjee
In a landmark decision that could set a precedent on how life-saving drugs under patents can be made affordable, the government has allowed a domestic company, Natco Pharma, to manufacture a copycat version of Bayer's patented anti-cancer drug, Nexavar, bringing down its price by 97%. In the first-ever case of compulsory licencing approval, the Indian Patent Office on Monday cleared the application of Hyderabad's Natco Pharma to sell generic drug Nexavar,...
More »Jayanthi rewrites Jairam, ‘no-go’ is now ‘inviolate’ by Priyadarshi Siddhanta
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...
More »RTI exemption: BCCI may be on a weak wicket by Himanshi Dhawan
Did the Supreme Court confirm that sports bodies selecting national teams were public authorities? At least the people opposing the move appear to think so. Minutes of anIndian Olympic Association (IOA) meeting in May 2011 -- accessed through RTI -- suggest that the members were informed of the SC order and were studying the contents. The interpretation could have a bearing on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI)...
More »U.N. Human Rights Council Exhorted to Defend Peasants’ Rights by Isolda Agazzi
Decades after peasants’ networks have advocated for a new legal instrument to protect the rights of small farmers to land, seeds, traditional agricultural knowledge and freedom to determine the prices of their production, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) may decide to start drafting a declaration on peasants’ rights next week. "The idea of an international declaration on peasants' rights comes from our (base) because many small farmers don’t have...
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