The Hindu : National : Left wants Patents Bill referred to standing committee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2004

National

National

Left wants Patents Bill referred to standing committee

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, OCT. 18. The Left parties today urged the Government to refer the Patents (Amendment) Bill to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, and not bring an ordinance for the legislation. After consultations being held with the aim of meeting the country's obligations under the World Trade Organisation by January 2005, Basudeb Acharya of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said this deadline could be met with retrospective effect.

Mr. Acharya who was speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath, noted that some concerns of domestic drug companies needed to be addressed before a final decision was taken. The issue would be further discussed at the Left-United Progressive Alliance Coordination Council. He had met Mr. Kamal Nath along with Joarchin Baxla of the Forward Bloc.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Kamal Nath said the Government was holding talks with the Left parties and drug companies with the aim of introducing the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. He said: "We are in the last and final phase of our compliance."

The Group of Ministers examining the Bill will hold a meeting on October 25.

`Take credible steps'

Mr. Kamal Nath said the WTO agreement on this issue was signed in 1995 and the country had to take "credible steps" to fulfil its multilateral obligations. The Cabinet had referred the Bill to the GOM to examine some areas of concern for the domestic pharmaceuticals industry.

Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the MMTC Gold Festival, he said consultations were being held with the Left parties as well as the drugs industry before taking a final view on the issue.

On gems and jewellery exports, he said the sector was growing at 28 per cent every month, raising hopes that exports would cross the Rs. 80,000-crore mark in the next financial year. Exports of gold jewellery had crossed $1 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal — April to August 2004-5 — as against $416 million worth of exports in the corresponding period last year.

Rise in gold imports

The MMTC chairman and managing director, S.D. Kapoor, said the country's total gold imports should rise to 880 tonnes, a 10 per cent increase over last year. As for MMTC, he said there had been a 15 per cent rise in gold imports in the first half of the current fiscal, and the company expected to end the year with a 20 per cent rise to 130 tonnes.

He said the jewellery market was growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent every year.

The current festival of gold exhibition was being supported by the World Gold Council, he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National