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In a decision that will benefit thousands of people in the country, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has finally put a ceiling on prices of cardiac stent—a small mesh tube that's used to treat narrow or weak arteries. Cardiac stents are often used as part of a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a procedure that restores blood flow through narrow or blocked arteries. In a notification published on Tuesday, the authority set the price of bare metal stent to Rs 7,260 and drug eluting stents (DES) including metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS)/ biodegradable stents to Rs 29,600. Earlier, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had notified the inclusion of stents in the list of essential medicine on July 19, 2016. This decision came after the Delhi High Court asked the government to take action responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Birendra Sangwan. The PIL was seeking price control of stents. The whooping pri...

It takes less than 20 milligrams of rhino horn to prosecute poachers. This is all scientists need to discover a rhinoceros’ unique DNA pattern, a sort of genetic fingerprint investigators can use to link criminals involved in poaching and trading of rhino horn to individual mutilated or killed rhinos. This technique might sound like it came out of a forensic crime TV series, but it was developed and implemented by researchers in South Africa, and will soon be used in India as well, with the state of Assam playing a lead role. South Africa currently is at the epicenter of a poaching epidemic driven by East Asian demand for rhino horn as a status symbol or a traditional medical treatment. Between 2007 and 2015, rhino poaching in South Africa increased almost 90-fold, from 13 rhinos killed in 2007 to 1,175 in 2015, according to United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) data. In comparison, poaching of Asian rhinos currently occurs on a much smaller scale. In India’s Assam state, wh...

In a latest push to make Hepatitis C drugs affordable to millions of patients, civil society groups filed five new challenges to patents in India and Argentina. These challenges were meant to alleviate the production and distribution of affordable generic versions of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medicines, including sofosbuvir, daclatasvir and velpatasvir. In India, the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK) together with the Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+) and supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), filed four cases: two patent challenges on daclatasvir, one on velpatasvir and a further challenge on sofosbuvir. Separately, in Argentina, Fundación Grupo Efecto Positivo (FGEP) filed a patent opposition on sofosbuvir with support from I-MAK. Petitioners argue that these efforts are aimed to overturn the abusive strategies of pharmaceutical corporations like Gilead who exploit flaws in the patent system to obtain unjustified patents that block gen...

Even the bottom of the ocean is not safe from human pollution. A joint study by the researchers at the James Hutton Institute and University of Aberdeen found “extraordinary” levels of contamination in the form of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in two of the deepest trenches in the ocean—Mariana Trench in the North Pacific and Kermadec Trench in the South Pacific The PCBs, which are created by electrical equipment and during waste incineration, were banned in 1979 as these ‘tough chemicals’ had increased cancer risk and other health issues. These persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have not only resisted degradation but also spread far and wide, reaching the Arctic and Antarctic. During two expeditions in 2014, a team of researchers collected wildlife from these trenches. On analysing shrimplike crustaceans, called amphipods, many kinds of PCBs were detected. The most contaminated samples from the Mariana Trench—which is nearly 11 kilometres deep—had PCB concentrations 50 times...

If the words ‘feminism’ and ‘feminist’ have a negative connotation, it is precisely because we are operating in a deeply patriarchal society Being a feminist today is as bad as being a fan of Shah Rukh Khan in the year Ra.One was released. Constant mockery is replaced by exasperated sighs, followed by collective rolling of eyes. And finally people just pretend you’re invisible. But the analogy ends right there. (Un)Funnily enough, Shah Rukh Khan recently said he doesn’t want to be considered “pro-feminist”. God forbid. People steer clear of this label, not because they are Foucauldians but for two reasons. One, that they don’t seem to believe in gender equality, and two, because they are afraid of how people would react. About five years ago, during my college days as a coordinator of the women’s development cell, I had helped organise a ‘Reclaim the Night Walk’, and I am still called ‘Triple M’ (short for Mahila Mukti Morcha) by my cousins. One peep about how my cousin-sister s...

Donald Trump’s victory is the assault of finance capital on not just social capital but also on industrial capital Imagine a mythical planet not visited by the Little Prince. This is a planet divided up into a thousand and one sections with walls between them. There are doors in the walls, and windows of course. But there is no roof to the planet. Everyone on the planet is affected by storms that cross the skies, sometimes devastating this section, sometimes that. Sometimes the storms afflict all the sections, but in different ways: flood in one place and hail in another; cyclone on one, landslide in another. A man-made storm The denizens of this planet are peculiar: they are mostly unable to look up. As such, many of them cannot see signs of a gathering storm. The few who can are helpless. What can they do about storms? This is also true of the various presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and dictators who govern the different sections of this planet. Many of these leaders eve...

Hundreds of whales died overnight on a New Zealand beach due to the largest mass stranding in decades. The Department of Conservation (DOC) found 416 pilot whales had beached themselves at Farewell Spit in Golden Bay at the top of the South Island. In fact, more than 70 per cent perished before sunrise on February 10.  Another pod of more than 200 whales stranded on February 11. Hundreds of rescuers managed to save around 400 pilot whales on the South Island beach over the weekend. According to Peter Wiles, one of the volunteers who reached Farewell Spit to save the remaining whales, the white bellies of whale corpses were lined up on the sand. “It is one of the saddest things I have seen, that many sentient creatures just wasted on the beach,” he said. Golden Bay is conducive to stranding because its shallow muddy waters confuse whales’ sonar, making it difficult for them to swim out once they enter. On Friday morning, the locals cancelled all their commitments to help the ...

In another barrier-breaking development, the auctioned price of solar photovoltaic (SPV) power per kilowatt hour has dropped below ₹3 to ₹2.97 in Madhya Pradesh, providing a clear pointer to the future course of renewable energy. The levellised tariff — factoring in a small annual increase for a given period of time — for the 750 MW Rewa project over a 25-year period is ₹3.29, which is less than half the rate at which some State governments signed contracts in recent years. The progress of this clean source of energy must be deepened with policy incentives, for several reasons. Arguably, the most important is the need to connect millions of people without access to electricity. A rapid scaling-up of solar capacity is vital also to meet the national goal of installing 100 gigawatts by 2022, a target that is being internationally monitored as part of the country’s pledges under the Paris Agreement on climate change. It will also be transformational for the environment, since pollution f...

A policy dialogue at the 2017 Mining Indaba heard strong endorsements from public and private sector speakers for the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) Private Sector Compact. The AMV Compact was launched at 2016 Mining Indaba, where it won early support from the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA). The Compact is designed to close existing gaps between mining communities, the private sector and governments. It consists of a set of twelve principles designed to offer improved value and benefits to all parties involved. Governments and mining companies are encouraged to sign up to the Compact for themselves, using one of a number of flexible governance options. The Indaba special session was set up to facilitate an open dialogue, guided by Compact principles, between governments and the private sector to explore areas of consensus and possible win- wins. In her welcome remarks, African Union Trade and Industry Commissioner, Fatima Haram-Acyl, said: “The rationale fo...

Ptesident Donald Trump’s stated commitment to honour the One China policy signals a softening of his administration’s approach towards Beijing. Earlier, Mr. Trump had given enough indications that he would pursue a radically different policy towards Beijing by reviewing the One China policy, a cornerstone of Sino-U.S. relations. First, he accepted a congratulatory call from the Taiwanese President, breaking 37 years of American practice and thereby infuriating Beijing. Later, in an interview, he declined to endorse the One China policy unless he saw progress from Beijing in its trade and currency policies, triggering speculation that he would improve ties with Taiwan and use the policy as a bargaining chip. Such speculation was effectively killed last week when Mr. Trump took a 180-degree turn on China in his first telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is not clear what made Mr. Trump change his mind. Some reports suggest that ever since he accepted the call fro...

The far-right candidate would have to convince the French that she is both radically different and more of the same Whatever anyone says, the Front National is a party heading straight for middle age. At the time of its first success in the municipal elections of 1983, the Cold War was in full swing, Donald Trump was a 37-year-old aspiring property tycoon, the word ‘Brexit’ had not been invented, and the French music charts were dominated by songs from Michael Jackson’s seminal album ‘Thriller’. It is somewhat ironic, then, to hear Marine Le Pen repeatedly claim her position as an outsider. She isn’t — and nor is her party. The French have been voting for, fighting against or ignoring the Front National for over 30 years. Two generations of voters have been brought up in the shadow of Europe’s longest-standing far-right party. Ms. Le Pen has even managed to get herself embroiled in a series of corruption scandals, the ultimate hallmark of any accomplished French politician. So w...

Global warming has already increased the risk of major disruptions to Pacific rainfall, according to our research published today in Nature Communications. The risk will continue to rise over coming decades, even if global warming during the 21st century is restricted to 2℃ as agreed by the international community under the Paris Agreement. In recent times, major disruptions have occurred in 1997-98, when severe drought struck Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands, and in 2010-11, when rainfall caused widespread flooding in eastern Australia and severe flooding in Samoa, and drought triggered a national emergency in Tuvalu. These rainfall disruptions are primarily driven by the El Niño/La Niña cycle, a naturally occurring phenomenon centred on the tropical Pacific. This climate variability can profoundly change rainfall patterns and intensity over the Pacific Ocean from year to year. Rainfall belts can move hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometres from their norm...

Rising sea levels due to human-induced climatic change is one among the many issues plaguing the world. A new study conducted by a group of ocean scientists and statisticians from the Earth Observatory of Singapore and the Rutgers University of New Jersey (US) shows that natural consequences were at play behind the rise in sea level, 6000 years ago in Southeast Asia. The implications of this study are profound as natural causes can further aggravate the effects of rise in sea level combined with human-assisted climate change. To arrive at this conclusion, these researchers studied coral microatolls—circular coral colonies—at two sites on the opposite ends of Belitung Island in Indonesia. Microatolls paint a clear picture on the changes in sea level. Aron Meltzner, the lead author of this study explains the coral’s role: “These microatolls are annually banded, so we can count the bands like tree rings, and figure out where the lowest tides were each year”. By looking at these rin...

Tamil Nadu’s new jallikattu law presents complex constitutional issues on how we treat animals. It raises more questions than answers, some of which are likely to be at the core of the Supreme Court’s consideration Do animals have rights? If so, how are these rights to be administered, and against whom can they be enforced? If not, do human beings nonetheless owe an obligation to treat animals with care and compassion? Are any of these responsibilities inalienable, and to what extent can our Constitution be extended to include within its mandate a binding duty to ensure the safety and security of animals? Some of these questions are likely to be at the core of the Supreme Court’s consideration, when it hears arguments on the validity of Tamil Nadu’s new law that permits the practice of jallikattu in the State. Despite the court’s judgment in 2014, in Animal Welfare Board of India v A. Nagaraja, where it struck down an earlier effort to legalise jallikattu, its verdict on the fresh...

The passage of legislation by Israel that would legalise nearly 4,000 Jewish settler homes on private Palestinian lands in the West Bank flies in the face of international law and norms. That the vote comes weeks after the UN Security Council demanded that Israel stop all settlement activity in the Occupied Territories, and an international conference attended by more than 70 countries urged both sides in the conflict to resume talks, shows Israel’s disregard for international opinion and institutions. The legislation allows the Israeli government to expropriate private Palestinian land if the land-owners are unknown. If known, they will be compensated in cash or kind. However, the legislation, which for the first time since the annexation of East Jerusalem seeks to extend Israeli law to the West Bank, can be overturned by the judiciary. Israel’s Attorney-General has said he wouldn’t defend the bill in the high court as it is “unconstitutional and violates international law”. However,...