CCI will remove policy hurdles that distort markets and hurt economic growth
Economic Times, September 20, 2012

By Pradeep S Mehta

Every new policy proposal is greeted by apprehension coupled with ignorance and turf issues. The proposed National Competition Policy (NCP) formulated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs too may become a victim of this phenomenon. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has reportedly picked holes in the draft policy when it should, in fact, be the strongest supporter. Looking at our dismal economic scenario, one of the contemporary and important policy prescriptions by the government is to adopt competition reforms through an NCP. The NCP, when implemented, will usher in the second big wave of economic reforms after 1991. In the medium term, it will also curb inflation that is currently a big issue in India. More...

Green implications of compulsory licensing
Financial Express, September 10, 2012

By Pradeep S Mehta

The Rio+20 summit was a disappointment for many, but it is pertinent to keep repeating its larger sustainable development agenda for the safe future of humankind. Nation states need to continue taking steps to mitigate adverse environmental effects, and learn about successes and failures from each other, from different fields. One such learning is from the recent grant of a compulsory licence to a cancer drug in India. One of the three grounds on which compulsory licence was granted to Natco for the drug Nexavar was that Bayer, the patentee, had failed to ‘work the patent’ in India. This provision has the potential to facilitate unused patents, covering Environmentally Sound Technologies, as well as provide a way forward for their transfer, dissemination and diffusion. More...