-The Telegraph YOGAPUR (Patna): Chief minister Nitish Kumar wants "light" in every household but there is darkness right under his nose. Barely 30km off Patna, Yogapur's inhabitants - mostly Mahadalits, Dalits and backward classes whom Nitish has tried his best to empower - have never seen power (electricity) in their village. The chief minister has vowed not to seek votes in the 2015 elections if his power dream tripped. But, it seems, there...
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In story of Saradha's crores, Bengal's forgotten hundreds -Madhuparna Das
-The Indian Express West Bengal is not new to chit fund scams. What is unique to the Saradha Group scandal is how it targeted the poorest and the most marginalised, leaving them on the verge of devastation. From 17-year-old agents who raised money from depositors to 50-year-old widows who invested money, the Saradha Group didn't discriminate in roping them in. Since the house of cards started collapsing, two agents and two...
More »The Larger Implications of the Novartis Glivec Judgment-Sudip Chaudhuri
-Economic and Political Weekly The Supreme Court judgment on the Novartis-Glivec case is remarkable because it has gone beyond the specific technical and legal issues surrounding patents and has put the matter in a much larger political and economic perspective. The deeper implication of the judgment is that it is not only justified to deny patents when incremental innovation is trivial as in the Glivec case. The judgment has linked the...
More »The Cost of Drugs: Beyond the Supreme Court Order -Sanjay Nagral
-Economic and Political Weekly While the Supreme Court decision in the recent Novartis case has cleared the way for production of generic drugs in India, doctors have to prescribe cheaper alternatives to costly brands if patients with limited means are to benefit. What is being hailed as a victory in the struggle for affordable medicines in the country will actually be one only when there is a pro-patient slant to the...
More »Global scientists back 10-year moratorium on field trials of Bt food crops-Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu They say Supreme Court-appointed panel's recommendations reasonable Even as the final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on open field trials of genetically modified crops is awaited, 51 independent international scientists with expertise in genetic engineering and biosafety protocols have approved the panel's Interim Report. The report has called for a 10-year moratorium on open field trials of Bt food crops until adequate regulatory mechanisms and safety...
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