-The Hindu "Farming is fascinating. The only thing is that it requires continuous hard-work and devotion without any distraction" says Mr. Barun Singh, a government bank manager-turned-farmer. Mr. Barun Singh maintains a vermi-composting unit in a portion of his 10 acre land. A dairy unit is attached to the composting unit so that the cattle dung can be easily utilized for the process without much labour involvement. Waste materials like dried leaves, rotten...

-The Business Standard USFDA's zero tolerance policy requires our drug firms to reorient not just processes but organisational cultures to serve that market credibly The following two quotes from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) news releases may help put the Ranbaxy controversy in perspective. The first sums up what it is that drives the FDA and the second is typical of the challenge the pharmaceutical industry faces. (1) "The consent...

-The Hindu Seven years after the first warning in June 2006 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and five years after the Department of Justice initiated legal proceedings against the company, Ranbaxy is back in the news for the same wrong reasons. Last fortnight it pleaded guilty to felony charges in the U.S., admitting to selling adulterated drugs with intent to defraud, not reporting that its drugs failed...

-The Hindu   Ranbaxy's fraudulent practices may have jeopardised millions of lives in India, Africa and the U.S. Exactly two weeks ago, the pharmaceuticals industry was rocked by revelations that one of the world's largest generic drug manufacturers, Ranbaxy Laboratories, pleaded guilty to seven federal criminal charges stemming from its fraudulent production practices dating back to 2008, and agreed to pay U.S. regulators $500 million in fines. Much has since been said about Ranbaxy's...

-Live Mint Cherry-picked indicators of progress cannot convey the complexities of development in India's diverse states Which Indian states have fared better than their peers and which ones have done relatively worse is a perennial question for discussion. There is more at stake than mere grading of states here. Investment flows, central government funds and praises for being a good state are all linked to this seemingly straightforward question. It seems to...