-The Hindu   The government does it purely on the strength of a certificate issued by the district administration Even as the recent affidavit submitted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) before the Supreme Court in the Vedanta case has caused dismay among tribal communities and activists for the dilution of its stand on diverting forest lands of tribal communities, the Ministry has gone a step further and allowed diversion...

-Live Mint SC rejects Novartis's patent plea for Glivec, says it does not meet any standard of novelty or inventiveness In a landmark judgement, India's apex court rejected Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's legal challenge aimed at securing a patent for blockbuster anti-cancer drug imatinib mesylate, branded Glivec in the country. The verdict, which is seen as a setback to multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in India, may influence a rash of pending disputes...

-The Hindu The Justice Verma Committee report acts as a blueprint for the radical transformation of gender relations within the FRAmework of constitutional guarantees and gender equality. However, the adoption of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 by Parliament on March 19, 2013, does not go beyond legal change. Prof. Hasan argues that if political parties are serious about the rights of women, the Women's Representation Bill must be passed...

-The Hindu   Despite apparent similarities, the reports of two centrally appointed committees are split on the relationship between knowledge, skills and social needs Two major reports with overlapping concerns were submitted to the central government during the last decade. They were drafted by committees appointed by two different offices of the same government. One was chaired by Yash Pal, and the other by Sam Pitroda. The titles of the two committees indicated...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Turf war between Big Pharma and generic companies, which was largely restricted to exorbitantly priced life-saving drugs for cancer and HIV, is now spilling over to other chronic ailments like diabetes, and threatening to change dynamics of the nearly Rs 70,000 crore Indian pharma market. Triggering a full-blown patent fight with US-based Merck, domestic generic company Glenmark has launched a more affordable version of the multinational's blockbuster...