04 January 2021: The Hindu Editorial Analysis

1) An ant disclosure Amendment that hits public health?

The dilution of patent working disclosure rules hampers the effectiveness of India’s compulsory licensing regime.

GS 2- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

GS 3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning? Inclusive growth and issues arising from it in Public health.

 

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CONTEXT:

1. The central government recently published the Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2020. Amended following a Delhi High Court order on the matter in April 2018.
2. In exchange of a 20year Patent monopoly granted to an inventor, India’s patent law imposes a duty on the patentee annually have worked the invention in India.
3. The disclosure is to be made in the Form 27 format as prescribed under the Patent

Rules, 2003 to commercially work the invention in India to ensure that its benefits reach the public and Impact on public interest.

 

SALIENT FEATURES:

1. The Centre has streamlined the procedures to annually submit statements to the Patent Office disclosing regarding the working of a patented invention on a commercial scale, giving additional flexibilities to the patentee.
2. Patentees would now required to provide ‘approximate revenue/value accrue’ while authorised agents would be able to submit Form-27 on behalf of patentees, in respect of single or multiple related patents.  Also been extended to six months, against the current three months.
3. There are also changes with reference Rule 21 on filing of priority documents. If the priority document is available in WIPO’s (World Intellectual Property Organisation) digital library, the applicant would not be required to submit the same in the Indian Patent Office.

 

BACKGROUND:

1. It is mandatory under the (Indian) Patents Act, 1970 (“Act”) for every patentee and every licensee to file a statement as to the extent of commercial working of a granted patent in the Indian Territory.
2. Taking note of the issue the Delhi High Court had directed the government to take action for carrying out necessary amendments to Form- 27. Pursuant to the directions of the Delhi High Court, the 2003 Rules have now been amended.

 

ADVANTAGES OF NEW AMENDMENT:

1. Requirement to provide details of licensees/sub-licensees removed:  the earlier Form 27 was the requirement to provide details of licensees and sub-licensees. This requirement has now been removed,It make more additional flexibilities to the patentee.
2. . No requirement to provide statement on meeting public requirement: As per the 2003 Rules, a patentee was required to state if the public requirements for the patented invention had been met partly/ adequately/ to the fullest extent at reasonable price. Has been removed by way of the Amended Rules.
3. . One form for multiple patents:  The Amended Rules have now clarified that a patentee can file one form for multiple patents if all such patents are related patents and approximate revenue/value accrued from a particular patented invention cannot be derived separately from the approximate revenue/value accrued of the related patents.

 

CHALLENGE IN NEW RULE:

1. this could  hamper the effectiveness of India’s compulsory licensing regime which depends on full disclosure of patent working information.
2. in turn could hinder access to vital inventions including lifesaving medicines, thereby impacting public health.

 

 

WAY FORWARD :

For the health of the country. The government must reconsider its amendments to the form taking into account the PIL recommendations like the government to strictly enforce the patent working disclosure rules and take action against the violators   and reamed it to restore as well as strengthen its spirit.

 

2) Don’t ignore the women farmers.

The gender gap in the agriculture sector will only widen more with the current farm laws.

GS 1 Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues,

Salient Features of Indian Society, Role of Women, Issues Related to Women Gender gap

 

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CONTEXT:

1. According to the agricultural census, 73.2% of rural women are engaged in farming activities but only 12.8% own landholdings.
2. The problem of non-recognition and conveniently labels them as ‘cultivators’ or ‘agricultural labourers’ but not ‘farmers’. Without any recognition, women
3. The India Human Development Survey reports that 83% of agricultural land in the country is inherited by male members of the family and less than 2% by their female counterparts.

 

FEMINIZATION OF AGRICULTURE:

1. Agriculture, contributing around 16% of the GDP, is increasingly becoming a female activity.
2. Agriculture sector employs 80% of all economically active women comprise 33% of the agricultural labour force and 48% of self-employed farmers.
3. Approx. 18% of the farm families in India, according to NSSO Reports are headed by women.

 

SCHEME BY GOVERNMENT:

1. PM Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP): It is a sub-component of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission under Ministry of Rural Development.
2. Upto 60% (90% for North Eastern States) of the funding support for such projects is provided by the government.
3. At least 30% of the budget 2019-20 allocation has been earmarked for women beneficiaries.
4. Government has increased its focus on women self-help group (SHG) on food processing sector. 

 

CHALLENGE / ISSUE:

1. Woman are not guaranteed the rights which they would otherwise be given if they were recognised as farmers.
2. Woman have unequal access to rights over land, water and forests. There is gendered access to support systems such as storage facilities, transportation costs, and cash for new investments or for paying off old dues or for other services related to agricultural credit
3. The first is the lack of any mention of MSP (minimum support price) that protects farmers from exploitation.

 

WAY FORWARD

• Provision of credit without collateral under the microfinance initiative of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development should be encouraged.
• Manufacturers should be incentivised to produce tools and machineries suited to women’s needs.
• Krishi Vigyan Kendras  in every district can be assigned an additional task to educate and train women farmers about innovative technology along with extension services.
• Government flagship schemes such as the National Food Security Mission, Sub-mission on Seed and Planting Material and the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana should include women-centric strategies and dedicated expenditure.

Scientist M.S. Swaminathan once said, “Some historians believe that it was women who first domesticated crop plants and thereby initiated the art and science of farming. While men went out hunting in search of food, women started gathering seeds from the native flora and began cultivating those of interest from the point of view of food, feed, fodder, fibre and fuel.”

 

3)  Metaphor for hope

GS 4- Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude. Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information

 

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CONTEXT:

1. Journalism creates a better-informed citizenry, which in turn creates a better collective future.
2.  It is my earnest view that journalism functions as a conscious breaker of silos. It has an inclusive approach where the focus remains on the idea of a public good.

 

Past, present and future:

1 .journalism as a metaphor for hope. From reports on war to investigations that bring out the failures of the various arms of modern nation states, journalism’s focus is often on all the darkness around us but this is aimed at eventually bringing light to our lives.

 

2.The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures’ at Harvard University, Morrison  said: “But for humans as an advanced species, our tendency to separate and judge those not in our clan as the enemy, as the vulnerable and the deficient needing control, has a long history not limited to the animal world or prehistoric man. Race has been a constant arbiter of difference, as have wealth, class, and gender — each of which is about power and the necessity of control.” 

 

Responsible journalism: with idea of hope.

1. Truth.  first obligation
2. Loyalty. To  citizens,
3. Verification.
4. Independence.
5. Watchdog.
6. Forum.
7. Significance.
8. Inclusive.
9. Room for Dissent.

 

Moral Public good:

1. It has an inclusive approach where the focus remains on the idea of a public good. Citizens turned to journalism when it mattered most.
2. Social media empowered citizen and its rights.
3. Genres, ethics, and standards.
4. Relationship with freedom of the press and morality.

 

Ethical concern of journalism:

• Accuracy and standards for factual reporting.
• Slander and libel considerations.
• Harm limitation principle.
• Standards and reputation.
• Genres, ethics, and standards.
• Relationship with freedom of the press
• Self-regulation
• Ethics and standards in practice

 

Way forward:

Journalism creates a better-informed citizenry, which in turn creates a better collective future.