This report identifies options that negotiators and policy-makers could pursue in order to reach a permanent solution at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the problems some developing countries say they face when buying food at government-set (or government-administered) prices under their public stockholding programs for food security purposes. The …
It is clear that small-scale industries (SSIs) can no longer afford to remain dirty and defiant. The same is true for the government. Not only is it a question of the livelihood of 20 million people but also about cleaning up India's environment, which again affects people. What is required …
proponents of the global intellectual property rights (ipr) system have long claimed that patents and copyrights are essential for promoting innovation. Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, will think twice about investing millions in research for new drugs if they are not assured of making economic gains from a monopoly on the …
The Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals (gaap) Act may be a bitter pill to swallow for patent holders in the pharmaceutical industry. But it is definitely a shot in the arm for the generic drug segment. The legislation
the African continent, rich in its biodiversity, incurs losses worth billions of dollars every year due to ineffective legislations against biopiracy. At the Second South-South Bio-piracy Summit at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) in Johannesburg recently, it was observed that biopiracy
The uk has finally stood up to the arm-twisting it has been subjected to at the hands of us biotechnology corporations. Top government functionaries of the country publicly voiced their resentment at being coerced into carrying out trials of genetically modified (gm) crops. The outburst came hard on the heels …
INDIAN AGRICULTURE UNDER SCAN This site scores quite a few firsts. The obvious one - it discusses Indian agriculture, or to be precise the politics and economics of Indian agriculture. Then, it is run by a group of left-oriented Indian economists and some other like-minded experts. To top all this, …
Emil Salim, chair of the global preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) and former Indonesian environment minister has urged India's Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to lead the delegation of the developing world in Johannesburg. He has, meanwhile, exhorted countries not to bow to the internal …
In a strange twist to the raging lumber dispute between the us and Canada, both nations have interpreted a recent World Trade Organisation (wto) ruling on the issue as a vindication of their respective stands. While the us contends that it has scored a "technical point', Canada says the body …
In a major blow to the us biotech industry, the European parliament recently approved one of the world’s most stringent regulations on labelling of genetically modified organisms (gmo). The parliament has also decided to retain the ongoing moratorium on the import of numerous gm products till the regulation comes into …
the term patent is not usually well received in India. It immediately brings to mind images of biopiracy, of large transnational entities making profits out of knowledge and natural resources protected and conserved by the poor. Communities have nurtured knowledge and health systems over millennia, a prime example being ayurveda. …
the bitter spat that ensued over poor maintenance of animals in research laboratories saw two heads roll in the Union cabinet. The two ministers had been taking potshots at each other ever since the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (niv) was raided by the Committee for the Purpose of Control …
The fear of an epidemic is sweeping Israel with the first case of mad cow disease having been reported in the country. The disease was found in a cow in a farming settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. However, to allay apprehensions, officials contended that no infected meat had reached …
amid uproar, parliament recently passed the controversial Patents (Second Amendment) bill. Even though Union commerce minister Murasoli Maran gave an assurance that all safeguards to ensure easy availability of drugs at affordable prices were incorporated in the bill, there were voices of dissent. It was argued that the government had …
In one fell swoop the us has dealt a crippling blow to the Canadian lumber industry, slapping a 27 per cent duty on softwood timber imports from the country. The us salvo is the latest move in a protracted dispute spanning almost 20 years. Its significance for Canada can be …
There is disappointment down under over the us farm bill which has recently become a law. The us bill will provide new subsidies for domestic farmers over the next decade. It raises subsidy rates for soyabean, wheat, corn, cotton and barley. Australian trade minister Mark Vaile says that a dithering …
India can really get going when it needs to, even in the midst of troubled times both inside and outside. This was proved last week by the smooth passage of the Patents (Second Amendment) Bill through both houses of Parliament. Some amendments were accepted, others were discussed and clarified in …
UPDATE Unsustainable Tower of Babel Barely a hundred days before the biggest environmental event of the decade takes place in Johannesburg, negotiators are floundering in a sea of unpromising text. Three preparatory committee (prepcom) meetings have resulted in little more than a shopping list of issues that need to be …
