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States need to follow a non-partisan approach for better
governance
The Economic Times, July 30, 2012
By Pradeep S Mehta
Not many know that the words 'Central government' does not
exist in our Constitution, but we have 'Union government'
and states. Our founding fathers had envisioned the idea
of a true federal political structure. However, due to
fears of fissiparous tendencies, which have been a part of
India's history, the practice has been that all our laws
define the Federal government in New Delhi as the Central
government and not Union government.
More...
'Good citizen' IKEA turns its back on SMEs
Business Standard , July 22, 2012
By Riji Sen Gupta
The story about IKEA’s discussions with the government for
relaxing the “local sourcing” clause for it to invest in
India has come as a surprise to many of us. IKEA, the
Swedish home-furnishing multinational — the world’s
largest — wants to enter the Indian market with an
investment worth euro 1.5 billion (Rs 10,500 crore). At a
time when the government’s coffers are strained, it is
quite likely that it will give in to IKEA’s demand over
reducing dependence on local small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) in the first 10 years of its operation. India
requires all single-brand retail firms to source 30 per
cent of the merchandise they sell locally from small
vendors. IKEA has indicated that it will need the whole
period of 10 years to meet this requirement, and hence
requested the government to relax this stipulation on a
yearly basis.
More...
A policy coherence unit can resolve turf wars among
ministries, helping businesses
The Economic Times, July 19, 2012
By Pradeep S Mehta
Policy incoherence in our governance system is serious. It
is spurred by turf claims, some of which are simply
irrational. In the exercise of reforming business
regulations, another major effort by the Planning
Commission is to ensure policy coherence mechanisms so
that all the horses drawing a coach, even when blinkered,
can trot in unison. Even if we have very good policies,
they exist in silos – developed and administered by
different branches. Or sometimes, a very good policy is
rejected by some branch because it would curtail its own
discretionary and rent-seeking powers.
More...
Unhealthy abuse of dominance
Financial Express, July 09, 2012
By Pradeep S Mehta
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), since its
establishment, has already taken action against many firms
for abusing their dominant positions such as the famous
DLF case. However, the health sector is more critical,
given the extent to which the poor are vulnerable to
abusive behaviour by the firms. In addition to particular
cases, it is also critical for CCI to inter alia invest
heavily in getting acquainted with the whole rubric of the
interface between competition and IPR, which would prove
useful in dealing with abuse of dominance in the health
and similar sectors.
More...
Healthcare industry is a
rip-off
The Hindu
Business Line, July 02, 2012
By Pradeep S Mehta
The absence of
regulatory oversight in the health industry needs urgent
attention. A standard pricing policy is required in the
healthcare sector to reduce costs. A proper regulatory
system with strong enforcement mechanisms needs to be
introduced to improve the quality of service delivery and
keeping unscrupulous elements at bay. Local authorities at
the State level should be properly empowered to ensure
that minimum standards of services are offered across
healthcare institutions. A speedy adoption of Clinical
Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act 2010, by
the States would bring some uniformity in quality of
healthcare services across private and public sectors.
More...
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