-The Business Standard Interview with Founder chairman of Cancer Patients Aid Association Though the legal battle over Glivec's patentability may be over for now, Y K Sapru, the man spearheading the fight against Swiss multinational Novartis, isn't resting. Sapru, founder chairman of Cancer Patients Aid Association, or CPAA (which moved the Supreme Court to keep the prices of the cancer drug low), tells Sushmi Dey what the judgment means to cancer patients....

-The Business Standard Politics means sugarcane gets Maharashtra's scarce water The drought in a large part of Maharashtra, said to be the worst since 1972, may have been triggered by poor rainfall in the last monsoon season - but it has been compounded by mismanagement of the available water. Nearly one-third of the state's population living in the 15 drought-hit districts in and around the Marathwada region is facing a severe scarcity...

-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...

-Live Mint SC rejects Novartis's patent plea for Glivec, says it does not meet any standard of novelty or inventiveness In a Landmark judgement, India's apex court rejected Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's legal challenge aimed at securing a patent for blockbuster anti-cancer drug imatinib mesylate, branded Glivec in the country. The verdict, which is seen as a setback to multinational pharmaceutical companies operating in India, may influence a rash of pending disputes...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court on Monday rejected pharma giant Novartis AG's plea to preserve its patent over a life-saving cancer drug, Glivec, drawing a huge sigh of relief from thousands of patients in India and in dozens of developing countries as the fear of an almost 15-fold escalation of drug costs receded. It is the biggest setback for multinational pharma companies, which have been denied patent protection...