-The Indian Express There is no alternative to boosting domestic production, farmers desperately need the incentive, and the country could do with saving on urea. Pulses are once again on the boil, with consumers paying around 50 per cent more for tur (pigeon pea) and urad (black gram) dal than they did a year ago. Even chana (chick pea), which had turned cheaper in the past three years, has seen a 40...

-The Hindu India’s IPR regime, never in the background, has come under sharp focus recently for a variety of reasons. It is ten years since India amended the Indian Patents Act, 1970 to bring its laws in line with the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The most important of those amendments related to the introduction of product patents for 20 years, including for pharmaceutical products. Significant safeguards were...

-The Indian Express Without better quality schooling, attempts to curb child labour can only go so far. The Union cabinet has cleared amendments to the child labour act, introducing stricter penalties on employers, outlawing all work done by children below 14 and banning children from doing any hazardous work — up from an existing list of 18 hazardous industries and processes. However, it makes an exception: children are allowed to help in...

-Press Information Bureau/ Cabinet The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval to a comprehensive New Urea Policy 2015 for the next four financial years. The Policy has multiple objectives of maximizing indigenous urea production and promoting energy efficiency in urea units to reduce the subsidy burden on the Government. Savings in energy shall reduce the carbon-footprint and would thus be more environment friendly....

-Down to Earth The crash in potato price is triggering a wave of suicides in several states. Will the NDA government's ambitious Price Stabilisation Fund help farmers? Soon after the National Democratic Alliance government announced its ambitious Price Stabilisation Fund to contain price volatility in the domestic market, the scheme faces its acid test. A bumper crop has led to a free fall in potato prices in several states this year. Between...