1. News File Submitted By: Punnet Kaur Chawla

2. Prices of essentials rose 18 per cent in one year: Assocham The survey found that the per capita consumption of condiments and spices in India is on the rise in prices of essential commodities and per capita income is the rise following a change in food habits. The study says that the rise in prices of essential commodities and per capita income is utterly disproportionate. The prices of condiments witnessed extremely high volatility - 40 per cent - between August 2009 and August 2010.

3. India, Norway for extended DTAA India and Norway are all set to expand the scope of their double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to facilitate greater information exchange on potential cases of tax evasion. After changes to the Indo-Swiss tax treaty this would be the second such treaty that would be reworked to ensure smooth flow of information on tax-related issues.

4. Drug seizure issue settled, EU agrees to amend laws India has resolved the dispute with the European Union over confiscation of Indian generic drugs by countries such as the Netherlands and France, ending uncertainty for Indian pharma firms which use Europe as a transit point for exports to Africa and Latin America.

5. Drug seizure issue settled, EU agrees to amend laws “The EU has accepted our position and amended its rules,” commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of the Ficci-Frauenhofer CEOs Roundtable in Berlin on Thursday. He said India would withdraw the complaint filed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against such seizures. “We do not want to be in conflict. There has been realisation and we appreciate the steps, which have been taken. They went to the extent of saying that they were misreading the concerned EU notification,” the minister said.

6. Green norms for SEZs to be announced soon Export Promotion Council director general, "The govt will shortly notify green SEZ guidelines, standards and rating system to make all SEZs environment friendly."