In another significant decision the cabinet approved granting of exclusive marketing rights (EMR) to foreign product patent holders. This move is the first step towards granting product patents to foreign companies. The decision will give time to the Indian government to amend its IPR regime in tune with the WTO requirements latest by 2005. Time was running out for India as by April 19, 1999 the Indian government had to show an intent to conform to the WTO by granting EMRs.

The decisions are considered to be brave as they come on the eve of assembly elections in four states. Just after the campaigning ended,the Bharatiya Janata Party has had the gumption to takedecisions which go at variance with its avowed swadeshi stance, commented a senior official who attended the meeting.

The granting of EMRs is not expected to have an immediate impact on the prices of drugs in the country. It will however hit Indian companies which have been in an advanced stage of research and were hoping to patent their miolecular structures and run the race in the international pharmaceuticals industry. It will definitely give an immense boost to the marketing plans of foreign companies which are in the process of finalising the formulations after having locked in the patents.

Speaking to newspersons after the meeting Yashwant Sinha, union finance minister said the cabinet has decided that it will table the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Bill in the winter session which will give statutory status to the IRA. The IRA Bill will be an umbrella bill which besides giving conferring statutory status on the IRA will amend the GIC Act of 1972 and the LIC Act of 1950. Amending the GIC andthe LIC Bill is necessary as both the bills confer the status of monopoly operators to both GIC and LIC.

According to inside sources the meeting which began late at about 7.30 pm did not generate much heat. The pro-changers had apparently softened the hard lobby since the last cabinet meeting five days ago. The meeting began late as L K Advani, union home minister was flying into the capital from an election meeting.

According to sources the hardliner lobby made token noises but it was apparent right from the start that they were in no mood to pick up the gauntlet. By pushing through the issue the BJP has sent the right signals to the foreign lobby. And the stance of the hardliner lobby will give it the necessary cover to protect itself from a loss of face before the electorate.

The clearance by the cabinet of both the issues is a victory of the pro-changers over the swadeshi loobby. Decision on both the issues had been logjammed at the cabinet time and again with the swadeshi lobby headed by MurliManohar Joshi, union HRD minister blocking clearance. In the last cabinet meeting on November 18 Joshi had found support in Ram Jethmalani and Ramakrishna Hegde in disapproving the EMR amendment. The cabinet meeting held sometime earlier had failed to take a decision on allowing foreign equity with Joshi blocking the move with the then communications minister Sushma Swaraj.