-PTI Mumbai: Doctors in Maharashtra will now have to mention generic names of medicines as against prescribing only a certain brand, giving patients a choice. With a generic prescription, patients can go in for low-cost options for the same medicine. The state government, in a statement yesterday, said as per a decision of the state medical council under clause 1.5 of the Indian Medical Council Regulations, doctors should prescribe drugs with generic names...

-The Financial Express How can the cotton and soybean farmers of Vidarbha and Marathwada supplement their incomes so they can get out of the trap of debt and self-engineered death? That was the theme of Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s ninth edition, four-day agricultural exhibition at Nagpur, called Agrovision, to which I was invited.  A promising beginning has been made. In October last year, the National Dairy Development Board commenced operations. It...

-TheWire.in Developed countries want to include new issues like e-commerce, investment facilitation and government procurement in the discussion. New Delhi: Battle lines have been drawn between developed and developing countries over the agenda for the forthcoming WTO ministerial conference at Buenos Aires, with India saying it will oppose discussion on new issues like e-commerce, investment facilitation and government procurement. If India remains firm on its stand, the upcoming ministerial, to be held from...

-Down to Earth Jean Dreze on why he prefers a solidarity society, rather than a welfare state * Are you actually an advocate of the welfare state? Ideally, I would prefer to think in terms of a solidarity society rather than welfare state, for two reasons. First, private non-profit institutions can play a very useful role in the social sector. In many countries, some of the best schools and health centres are run...

-The Hindu At Ministerial Conference next month, will push back on ‘severe’ curbs on right to give price subsidies At the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) highest decision-making body, India will not agree to severe restrictions on its right to give price subsidies to farmers through the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to procure grains from them for food security purposes, according to highly-placed official sources. The WTO’s Ministerial Conference is...