-The Hindu Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has termed "historic" the Supreme Court's rejection of Novartis' claim for patent for its anti-cancer drug Glivec. He said the Indian Patent Act was in conformity with its international obligations under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. "It is a historic judgment. It reaffirms the position of Indian law and, in particular, provisions of Section 3D, which Mandates... a substantive...

-The Hindu   Success stories from the right to education law give no joy when assessments show that children are ill-versed in the 3Rs and classrooms remain discriminatory Three years ago today, India, for the first time in history, made a promise to its children. With the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education coming into effect on April 1, 2010, every child was guaranteed the fundamental right to eight years of...

-The Times of India The free trade agreement that European Union is pushing India to sign could put an end to India's status as the pharmacy of the developing providing affordable medicines, especially HIV drugs to countries like Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and several others. The negotiations with EU are on at a feverish pace this week in Brussels even before the parliamentary standing committee looking into the free trade...

-The Hindu After the recent gubernatorial changes, as many as 15 of those now ensconced in Raj Bhavans are former civil servants, police officers or Army officers; four of them are ex-IAS officers, eight are former IPS officers, and one is an ex-Army chief. With the appointment of the former Central Bureau of Investigation boss, Ashwani Kumar, and ex-National Security Guards chief Nikhil Kumar as Governors of Nagaland and Kerala last week,...

-The Hindu Citizens march from Vrindavan to Delhi to demand a right to their lifeline – the Yamuna Why are thousands marching presently from Vrindavan to Delhi? Not for jobs, special privileges or land rights. But for their lifeline river Yamuna, which for many of them is integral to their daily chores, as to them the river is much more than a mere physical entity. It is well known that the folklore associated...