-The Indian Express Instead of cancelling hospital licences, bring in patient centric laws, institutional capacity to enforce them. The grievous error in declaring a live baby dead by the capital’s Max hospital, following closely on the heels of Fortis hospital charging exorbitant amounts for the treatment of a seven-year-old child diagnosed with dengue, seem to have pushed things to a tipping point. The government responded by cancelling the licence of Max — a...

-The Hindu Business Line Blames UPA for NPA mess; says industry bodies should have been more vigilant New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not mince words when he addressed industry captains at the 90th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here on Wednesday. In a speech that lasted slightly over 45 minutes, Modi put to rest all concerns pertaining to use of individuals deposits for...

-The Hindu In the cotton belt of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, pesticide poisoning through inhalation has caused 21 deaths in three months. Serish Nanisetti reports on the deadly cocktail of absent Regulation, government apathy, and farmers’ desperation that continues to claim lives Geeta Bandu Sonule doesn’t cry any more. Not even when she relives the final moments of her husband Chandrakant Bandu Sonule (40), who died two months ago, after spraying pesticide on...

-TheWire.in While synergising state and business interests through ‘single window’ mechanisms helps investors, it can compromise the role of regulatory agencies like the state pollution control board. On November 16 ,2017 Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched an online system called GO-SWIFT for supporting the state’s existing ‘single-window clearance system’. Odisha continues to be ranked high among different states in India on the ease of doing business index. It is part of a...

-The Hindu Deregulating bamboo production does not address the issue of building a transparently governed forest sector Governments everywhere tend to look for quick-fixes, overlooking complexities and ignoring the big picture. The move by the Centre to “de-regulate” bamboo production by amending the definition of “trees” under the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927, is a great example of this tendency. In November 2017, the Central government issued an ordinance whereby “bamboo” was...