-DNA The 97th constitutional amendment made RTI Activists happy because they believed that it brought co-operative housing societies under the purview of the RTI Act. In February, the state passed its own ordinance implementing the amendment. State chief information commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad does not stand with the Activists' consensus. He spoke with dna's Ashutosh Shukla about cooperative societies, pending second appeals and voluntary disclosure. Your opinion on housing societies coming under RTI? I don't think that...

-The Economic Times Tribal affairs minister VKishore Chandra Deo is best known for engaging Cabinet colleagues through carefully-crafted letters to get his point across. From preventing the dilution ofForest Rights Act to a directive to governors to stop mining in tribal areas, the 66-year-old Activist-minister believes in winning over Cabinet colleagues politely. And he has proved one doesn't have to be outspoken, like some of his colleagues, to get work done....

-The Economic Times The recent patent rulings in India may get frequently challenged in international courts if the government yields to the European Union's demand of including matters related to intellectual property in the investors-state dispute mechanism in their proposed trade pact, health Activist groups have warned. An investor-state dispute resolution mechanism typically allows foreign investors to sue countries for compensation if national laws, policies, court rulings of the country infringe upon...

-The Indian Express She was gangraped by 16 boys, nine of them juveniles. She was beaten, cut up and her genitals mutilated. She made it to hospital, but was sent home with first-aid. When she survived to fight, she ran into an indifferent administration and influential accused. Schools denied her admission, and others mocked and threatened her. Chances are you haven't heard this 16-year-old's story. Three days after the brutal attack on...

-The Hindu Well before the Supreme Court rejected Novartis' application for patent for Glivec (Gleevec in the U.S.), drawing attention to the dichotomy of generic and patented drugs, Activists have been demanding access to expensive drugs used in the treatment of cancer, hepatitis C and serious HIV. Trastuzumab is one such, used in the treatment of HER2+ type of breast cancer, which affects about one in four patients with the disease. Rough...