-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...

-PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of U.K.-based Vedanta Group, to pay Rs. 100 crore as compensation for polluting environment through its copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu but refused to direct its closure. A bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik said that the environment has been polluted for a long time due to the discharge from the plant of the multinational company and it has...

-The Business Standard Court denies Swiss drug firm patent protection for its anti-cancer drug Glivec; domestic industry hails verdict The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Novartis AG's appeal for patent protection of its anti-cancer drug, Glivec, putting an end to a seven-year battle between the Swiss drug maker, several domestic generic manufacturers, as well as patient groups fighting for affordable medicines. A Bench of judges Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai said in a...

-The Times of India HISAR: A 32-year-old woman was beaten up by four men for stopping them from molesting her niece in Hisar town. The victim, Rekha Rani, is admitted in the Hisar civil hospital with head injuries. The assault happened on Saturday night when Rani, a resident of Indra Nagar colony, was out with her two teenaged nieces to buy grocery. The victim in her complain said four men in two motorcycle...

-Reuters Global drugmakers, battered by recent intellectual property decisions in the country, are girding for a landmark court ruling on Monday with broad consequences for their ability to sell lucrative patented medicines in the country. Supreme Court is due to decide on April 1 whether or not Swiss giant Novartis AG's cancer treatment Glivec deserves a patent in the country. "Big Pharma is nervous because nothing has gone in their favour in the...