Business & Economy
Health, pharma sectors
divided over Patents Bill
What is India News Service,
Thursday, 24 March 2005, 1400 hrs IST
Has India played into the hands of companies who see the country as no more than
a market of 50-odd million "paying public"? Or with the passing of the
Patents (Amendment) Bill in both Houses of Parliament, has the country truly
taken its initials steps in a long international journey?
As the Rajya Sabha too passed the Patents Bill
on Wednesday \97 clearly it is not just Parliament that reflected a house
divided. The emotive case for affordable medicines continued to drive a sharp
wedge between other stakeholders in the health and pharmaceutical segment too.
"It is a very sad day for India when the
(Patents) Bill was passed. It spells long-term disaster for India in segments
such as food, agriculture and health," says Dr Yusuf Hamied, Cipla's
Chairman and Managing Director and a vociferous campaigner in the affordable
drugs movement.
Cipla had virtually become a household name in
the African countries, as its generic or chemically similar AIDS drugs took on
multinational companies selling in the market, recounts a representative with an
international health advocacy organisation.
Companies such as Cipla and Ranbaxy sold AIDS
drugs at a much lower price than its MNC counterparts and that made a difference
between life and death, he points out.
"Not only are Indians affected by this
Bill, but also people of Third World countries. The Amendment is not straight
forward and has several discretionary measures," observes Dr Hamied.
Reliance
group shares shine in a dull market: In
a lacklustre market on Wednesday, Reliance group companies' shares shot into
limelight in anticipation of an early settlement between the Ambani
brothers.
Clause
49: SEBI extends deadline for compliance to Dec 31: Granting a nine-months
breather to corporates regarding the implementation of the amendments in Clause
49 of the Listing Agreement, SEBI has postponed the deadline for conforming to
the new regulation to December 31.
Red
tape hinders Chinese investors\92 entry into India:
Despite the immense potential in India, Chinese companies are reluctant to
invest here due to bureaucratic hurdles, limited visa period and procedural
delays in comparison to other countries.
29
biotech firms head for Himachal: With
Himachal Pradesh opening the door for IT-based industries, as many as 29 biotech
companies, including UK-based Biosys, and several international units have come
forward to invest in the state.
Key
provisions under Clause 49: In an attempt to review and improve the quality
of corporate governance norms among listed companies, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India had constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr
N.R. Narayana Murthy in late 2002.
Birla keen on setting up power plant in UP:
To expedite proposals from potential investors, the Uttar Pradesh Development
Council (UPDC) decided to constitute a high-powered Capital Investment Board
with the Chief Minister as Chairman and UPDC head Amar Singh as its Deputy
Chairman.
Sir
M Visvesvaraya\92s pass book says it all!: Sir M Visvesvaraya needs no
introduction. Anything said about him is less. But did you know what his bank
account looked like between the years 1918 and 1919?
Business papers
Business Standard
Economic Times
Business Line
Financial Express
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