-Down to Earth Delisting fruits and vegetables from APMC Act in Congress-ruled states will not benefit farmers Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi last December said fruits and vegetables will become affordable if states allowed farmers to directly sell their produce to consumers. He also directed the chief ministers in Congress-ruled states to delist fruits and vegetables from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act. The Act makes it mandatory for farmers to sell...

-The Business Standard To get priority under CSR, new policy envisages major role for private sector The government has decided to accord agro forestry equal status with agriculture by setting up a national-level board to promote national agro forestry policy. Besides agro forestry is proposed to be treated as priority area under Corporate Social Responsibility programmes (CSR) and thus the policy envisages a major role for the private sector. To this effect a...

-The Indian Express India's role in pharmaceutical patent wars has broadened access to healthcare. Recently, there were rumours that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) was getting ready to announce "trade enforcement actions" or sanctions against India over its intellectual property rights regime. The Obama administration has been under pressure from the US Chamber of Commerce and lobby groups, like the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, to take a tough stance...

-Press Information Bureau (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved setting up of 3500 model schools in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) in 27 States/UTs with certain modifications. This is under the scheme for setting up of 6000 model schools at block level as a benchmark of excellence. This decision will ease the extra financial burden of the State / UT Governments resulting in effective implementation...

-The Business Standard The IEO which has been modeled on the lines of Mexico's CONEVAL India's first independent evaluation office (IEO) was formally launched on Wednesday. The office is mandated to suggest radical changes in the government's social sector initiatives, as well as in its interface with the private sector through public-private partnership projects. The IEO, modelled on the lines of Mexico's National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy, will give...