Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was right when he maintained in his meeting with the media that the judiciary should not stray into the realm of policy formulation for food management. But the same plea cannot apply to the media which brought the issue of rotting of foodgrain to public Attention and virtually put the government in the dock for criminal wastage of grains in its warehouses. Policy deficiencies are clearly...

The discussion paper on compulsory licensing of patents will have achieved its purpose if it can lead to a proactive policy in the area of drugs and health. IN a proactive move to ensure a fair balance between protection of intellectual property rights and protection of the public interest, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has chosen to put out a discussion...

We need to make sure nutrition is not easily neglected. And that means putting pressure on leaders throughout society to focus on nutrition. I have just finished a trip to India to help contribute to the efforts on ending malnutrition. The politicians and media were talking about the sparkling new economic growth and development figures. There was no such Attention given to the “other” growth and development figures — those related...

The Supreme Court (SC) surprised many on Monday when it appreciated the Centre’s effort to implement its suggestion and allocate additional 25 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice at a reduced price to people living below poverty line (BPL) within six months. The court had at an earlier hearing taken exception to the Union agriculture ministry’s silence on its suggestion to consider allocating “free” or at low cost wheat likely to...

Realising it was losing the turf war with the hyperactive Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on a subject that has become a top priority for the United Progressive Alliance government, the once comatose Tribal Affairs Ministry has, in recent weeks, suddenly begun to assert its rights over its responsibilities. The first sign of this realisation was reflected in Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria shooting off letters in quick succession on...