Access to affordable medicines remains a major public health concern in India. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies need sustained investment to develop new treatments, improve existing therapies and respond to emerging diseases. Balancing these priorities is a difficult policy challenge. Medicines must remain accessible to patients, while businesses need a viable framework for research, clinical trials and commercial development. The debate is often presented as a choice between lower medicine prices and stronger pharmaceutical innovation. In practice, the two objectives are closely connected. A healthcare system needs affordable treatments today, as well as investment in the medicines patients may need tomorrow. The real question is how public policy can support both without placing an unreasonable burden on patients or undermining incentives for research. India’s pharmaceutical sector makes this issue particularly important. The country supplies generic medicines to domestic a...
India’s income tax system is undergoing a significant legislative change with the introduction of the Income Tax Act, 2025. The new legislation is intended to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961, which has governed direct taxation for more than six decades. The reform aims to make tax provisions easier to understand, reduce unnecessary complexity and improve compliance for individuals and businesses. However, rewriting tax legislation involves more than changing the language of the law. It affects how taxpayers interpret provisions, maintain records, prepare returns and respond to tax authorities. The practical impact depends on the new statutory wording, the applicable tax year, supporting rules and the way tax authorities implement the framework. Understanding these changes is important for salaried employees, professionals, business owners, investors and companies operating in India. Why Has India Rewritten Its Income Tax Law? The Income Tax Act, 1961, developed through decades of amen...