-Frontline   The Supreme Court's ruling against Novartis' patent claim for the cancer drug Glivec paves the way for generic drug companies to keep crucial, life-saving drugs affordable to the common people. By V. VENKATESAN IN their 112-page judgment delivered on April 1, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai of the Supreme Court began with a simple proposition: in order to understand what the law really is, it is essential to...

-The Guardian Land rights not just issue for developing world as report shows public subsidies help a few firms 'grab' vast tracts of EU land Vast tracts of land in Europe are being "grabbed" by large companies, speculators, wealthy foreign buyers and pension funds in a similar way to in developing countries, according to a major new report. Chinese corporations, Middle Eastern sovereign wealth and hedge funds, as well as Russian oligarchs and...

-The Hindu     The shortened lifespan of the quarry workers of Uttar Pradesh is spent breaking stones and residing among the pollution- laden boulders Mired with sandy roads and rocky terrain, the landscape in south-western Allahabad creates a remarkable mirage under the blue sky. Some of the larger rocks here have sizeable craters formed in them -- a sign of their depletion over time, by an activity that is hazardous yet critical to the...

-The Economic Times Tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deohas reportedly written to the governors of nine states asking them to cancel mining concessions granted in violation of the law. The Forest Rights Act of 2006 mandates the permission of the gram sabha of a tribal community for using their habitat for purposes other than customary use. So, if mining leases have been granted without the permission of gram sabhas on tribal land,...

-The Indian Express A day after the deadline for implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act expired, representatives of the Delhi State Public Schools Association (DSPSA) met Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Education Minister Kiran Walia, seeking a reprieve. Speaking to Newsline, Walia said, "We have already brought down the minimum area requirement to 200 square meters. Beyond this, there are concerns of fire safety and other issues." She said the delegation...