India in the WTO

The popular perception about the WTO in India has been the subject of discussion in seminars and conferences. WTO scholars often express the view that the Indian public and civil society do not understand the WTO well.  And, that therefore opposition to the WTO is often a result of such unfamiliarity and ignorance. I sometimes blog about perceptions about the WTO that different domestic Indian actors have. Here is yet another constituency in India that seems to view the WTO as unsustainable. But does the WTO really propagate homogeneity?

S Gurumurthy, who is convener of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch had this to say about globalisation and the WTO in a press interview:

Q. In one of your earlier interviews, you told rediff.com that globalisation was not sustainable.

Answer:

Who is talking about globalisation today? Today, it’s just not environmentally, ecologically and culturally sustainable. I have always maintained that it was not economically sustainable, because it is contrary to the very meaning and definition of economics which is associated with frugality.

It is an executive class economics different from the economy class which brings out the difference between economics and excessiveness.

Moreover, globalisation disregards the existence of countries; they talk about a global society, global rule, global citizens, global villages, etc. It was an absolutely idealistic idiosyncrasy. That is gone.

Who is talking about the WTO? I told you long ago that the WTO will not last. If you create an artificial structure, it will not stand. People in different parts of the world have their own models of living; you cannot homogenise them, make them wear the same dress, eat the same food, or see the same cinema or have the same goals. This is what West-centric globalisation attempted, and got the first taste of it in the last four, five years.

Mr Gurumurthy is a leading Chartered Accountant and is closely associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is a member of the taskforce created by the BJP to look into the issue of black money stashed away in secret foreign bank accounts.

The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch is an Indian political organisation that propagates the market philosophy of Swadeshi, which means self-reliance and favors preference for the neighbourhood or local over the foreign in economic governance and management. It is thus the ideological opposite of globalization. Here is what Wikipedia says about the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch:

The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch is an Indian political organisation committed to the promotion of Swadeshi (Indigenous) industries and culture. It is usually recognised as a part of the Sangh Parivar of Hindu nationalist organisations. SJM came into existence on November 22, 1991 at Nagpur. Representatives of five national level organisations including Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh(BMS), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP), Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) & Sahkar Bharati took this decision in the presence of Shri Dattopant Thengdi, founder of BMS. For proper execution of movement a Central Committee was formed and Dr. M.G. Bokare (Ex Vice Chancellor, Nagpur University) was given the responsibility of convenor. On 12 January 1992, Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the first massive campaign against the economic policy of central government started. People from all walks of life with distinct ideologies came together on the SJM platform to fight against economic imperialism. Subsequently literature on Swadeshi, intellectual property rights. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and economic imperialism of multinationals was published and distributed to popularize the cause of SJM. Later on many other organisations joined the forces for Swadeshi like Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Vidya Bharati, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Bharatiya Sikshan Mandal etc. Today SJM has become an all-encompassing movement with more than 15 organisations associated with it.

See:

Gupta, Surupa. "Developing Country Interests and Coalitions-Building at WTO Negotiations: Some Lessons from India’s Experience" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mar 19, 2004 Online <.PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p73469_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Despite recurrent last minute defections, developing countries such as India continue to rely on forming coalitions with other like-minded countries during multilateral trade negotiations. This paper seeks to explain why they do so and to assess the extent to which such a strategy brings benefits by looking at India’s experiences during 1995-2001. It argues that in India’s case coalition formation should be seen within the context of India’s search for a new strategy for multilateral trade negotiation after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. The impetus for the new strategy came from the perceived “selling-out” of India’s interests during the Uruguay Round. That experience also generated a negative perception in India about the World Trade Organization, a perception that was further strengthened as its agenda was sought to be expanded by the United States and the European Union beginning in 1995-96. The attempt at enlarging the agenda also strained the meager negotiating resources that India had at the time. On each of the new issues that were proposed, India’s position was farthest from that of the US and the EU. It was obvious that India would have to work hard to protect its interests and in the absence of adequate resources of its own, working in coalitions turned out to be an obvious choice. The strategy has allowed India to have a much larger voice in these negotiations than what we would expect looking at its global trade share. In the area of furthering Indian interests, the success of the strategy has been more modest. .

Friesen, Kenneth. "Understanding Globalization in India: A Flattened or a Layered World?" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, Hilton Chicago, CHICAGO, IL, USA, Feb 28, 2007 Online <APPLICATION/PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p180435_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Understanding the nature of globalization in India is more than just understanding an
economic definition of poverty – it includes an understanding of the culture and history of
India and ways in which globalization means adding layers of complexity within India, not
simply replacing one India (traditional) with another (modern). This paper situates the
economic liberalization policies of the Indian government from the early 1990s to the
present in the context of the larger globalization debate. The paper then puts the context
around which the economic reforms were taken within India’s recent development history.
After understanding this greater context the paper reviews several recent studies that have
examined whether the economic growth in India has come at the expense of growing
inequality.

Gupta, Surupa. "Protecting the half-billion: Domestic and international determinants of India’s agricultural trade policy at the WTO negotiations" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA, Mar 22, 2006 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p99692_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Although economists have argued that India has a comparative advantage in several farm products, India’s position in the WTO negotiations in agriculture has been primarily defensive. This paper explains India’s defensive posture by tracing it to a new consultative mechanism for decision-making on WTO issues that explicitly recognizes the role of the agriculture ministry in agenda-setting. India’s definition of its core interests and its ability to maintain its defensive position have also been shaped by the multilateral trade regime itself and by the changing coalitions within it.

Sinha, Aseema. "Global Linkages and Domestic Politics: Trade Reform and Institution Building in India in Comparative Perspective" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA, Mar 22, 2006 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p99690_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper examines how the World Trade Organization (WTO) affects institutional development and policy responses in India. India is a country traditionally resistant to external pressures but in which participation in an international organization stimulated a transformation in trade policy processes and procedures, unleashed a new bureaucratic politics, institutional innovation, and activation of policy-expert linkages. I argue that we go beyond zero-sum assumptions in understanding the relationship between globalization and national state institutions. Key rules of international organizations increase transaction and sovereignty costs for states, which may catalyze new domestic capacities and create the impetus for new governance mechanisms. I demonstrate this argument with an analysis of India’s engagement with the WTO and with illustrative evidence of China, Brazil, Japan, and United States’s interaction with the WTO. The evidence is drawn from 18 month fieldwork in India, Washington DC, and Geneva, a newspaper database, and reliance on 100 interviews. [149 words]

Gupta, Surupa. "Tying Hands and Cutting Slack: Comparing India?s Negotiating Positions in Agriculture and Services using the Two-Level Game Framework" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton Chicago, CHICAGO, IL, USA, Feb 28, 2007 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p180085_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: How states behave in the context of a negotiation can best be understood within a domestic-international framework such as two-level game which focuses on international and domestic-level inputs simultaneously and attempts to understand the strategic interaction between them. However, the literature on two-level games, with some exceptions, focuses primarily on bilateral negotiations between developed states. Studying developing country responses in the context of multilateral negotiations requires us to both modify certain assumptions and question some of the conclusions. The existing literature looks at cases where the negotiations are initiated by the executives of states engaged in the negotiations and thus assumes that at least at the agenda-setting phase, the executive has substantial autonomy. This paper, which compares the processes through which India?s negotiating agenda on agriculture and services were arrived at, focuses on negotiations, which were not initiated by the Indian executive but were mandated by the WTO. The very fact that the executive is responding to an international regime stirs up domestic political actors, including but not restricted to specific interest groups whose interests may be affected. India?s negotiating agenda in the two sectors were thus shaped simultaneously by international political and economic factors as well as domestic politics within India. Contrary to the literature?s finding that the executives prefer not to tie their hands, the Indian government made an explicit attempt to involve relevant stakeholders. The paper analyzes how such domestic-international interactions and the executive?s attempt at involving stakeholders have shaped India?s negotiating response and in process, suggests modifications in the two-level game framework.

Campos, Taiane. "Joining the Domestic and the International: Brazil and India in the Building Process of G-20" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p253569_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyze the factors that determined the position of Brazil and India in the G-20 formation. In order to do so, it will be analyzed a set of factors that determined the size of the win set of both countries. The focus lays on domestic political institutions as well as on the negotiation strategies of both countries in G-20. To be able to understand the G-20, we have to consider the diversity of the economic, social and political conditions that characterizes its members and, consequently, their interests. The Brazilian and Indian positions deserve special attention either because of their political performance as interlocutors of the group or because of their difference of interests in agricultural agenda in WTO.The initial supposition is that these two countries have divergent interests on the negotiation process of agricultural trade. It would be reasonable to think that India would automatically align with USA and EU in defending mechanisms to protect this sector, which would place India in an opposite side from Brazil. However, what we see is an alignment between them and the formation of a coalition against those other proposals. The question which guides this research concerns the factors that made possible the formation and maintenance of G-20 despite the apparent conflict of interest between Brazil and India. This research is structured within an analytical framework that seeks to combine the domestic and international factors in the understanding process of formal and informal international agreements structuring.

Mukherji, Rahul. "The Politics of the Shift to Foreign Investment Friendly Regulation: The Case of Indian Telecommunications" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251887_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper explores the political economy of three significant policy decisions taken by the Congress – United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government between November 2005 and February 2006, which have improved the incentives for foreign investment in India’s telecommunications sector. This was a notable departure from the past when policies had clearly favoured domestic investment over foreign investment. The paper argues that these decisions occurred due to the increasing sensitivity of the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) to the needs of the relatively smaller Indian service providers, who were dependent on foreign capital. They were not driven by a crisis of investment or foreign pressure to change policies in India’s telecommunications sector. The paper challenges explanations for embracing globalization such as those based on economic crisis or those based on a clear technocratic consensus. The political economy of this shift to foreign investment friendly regulations in the telecommunications sector suggests that economic reforms in India can occur in normal times. They depended to a large extent on the nature of the political economy that the ruling party was willing to support.

Moore, Candice. "Multilateralism and Trilateralism in the IBSA Partnership: Tensions and Congruities" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251820_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper seeks to examine the tensions between trilateralism and multilateralism in the IBSA partnership. While one of the stated goals of the partnership is multilateralism and the reform of the United Nations (IBSA Communique, 2005), the trilateral partnership that IBSA embodies appears antithetical to the representation of broader interests in each member’s region. This issue came to a head in the months preceding the debates on UN reform in September 2005, when India, Brazil and South Africa each voiced their interest in permanent representation on the UN Security Council, but failed to win the support of their regional neighbours. More recently, it is evident in the prominence of India and Brazil in exclusive trade talks with the EU and US to save the Doha Development Round. The paper draws on the middle power literature, which sees middle powers as committed to multilateralism, but problematises this commitment by considering the growing economic and strategic significance of these states. Trilateralism is not pursued to the exclusion of North-South links, as evidenced in Brazil’s and India’s increasing closeness to the US. It is thus not an alternative to robust North-South relations, as older forms of South-South solidarity (NAM and G-77) were portrayed. The paper concludes thus that the IBSA partnership is not a successor of older forms of South-South solidarity premised on multilateralism, but rather a vehicle for the development and increased levels of participation in international affairs of its three members.

Sinha, Aseema. "Change from Inside-Out or Outside-In? Trade Reform in India’s Closed Economy" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p253177_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: What makes trade reform possible in a traditionally closed economy? Economic reform and structural adjustment have been global movements for more than a decade by now, yet trade reform remains one of the most difficult arenas of policy change in many developing countries. The distributional politics of trade, and the rise of protectionist pressures in the advanced countries of the world, have contributed to a backlash against serious trade reform in many countries. Despite countervailing pressures in favor of rising protectionism, India’s trade regime has undergone serious reform in the last decade, encompassing policy changes, outcomes, and institutional changes. During these years a party espousing economic nationalism and fear of the open economy has ruled the country. This empirical puzzle forms the starting point of this paper. I ask: how has trade reform been consolidated in a traditionally closed economy like India? I argue that crucial domestic societal changes are a necessary precondition for changes in state’s attitudes; yet, external forces may change the preferences of domestic forces, as well as change the balance of power among interest groups. These, new coalitions in favor of greater global integration, come into contact with a activated state; these intra-group/intra-class factors combine with state-class transformations to effect change in trade orientation and reform turning toward a global openness. This paper, thus, highlights important mechanisms through which global trade integration and institutions shaped the domestic politics of trade. The international trade institutions not only constrain behavior of domestic actors, but also constitute interests and identities of key domestic actors. Moreover, participation in global trade negotiations changes the preferences of some producers, and strengthens the hands of recently created, externally oriented, domestic producers by bringing them closer to the national-state actors and by encouraging collaborative strategies between business and state actors.

Alden, Christopher. and Vieira, Marco. "The New Diplomacy of the South: Brazil, South Africa, India and Trilateralism" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mar 05, 2005 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p69301_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The failure of the negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial in Cancun in September 2003 could well have marked a turning point in the emergence of a new post-Cold War paradigm. Indeed, while much has been made of the realist ‘world restored’ (or its converse) in the aftermath of 9/11, surely of greater significance is the reassertion of the South-North divide as a defining axis of the international system. In this context, the emergence of coterie of South countries actively challenging the position and assumptions of the leading states of the North is an especially significant event. What has been missing from most of the international accounts of the Cancun meeting and its repercussions is a recognition that the positions adopted there were part of a broader strategy formulated and implemented by key states within the South. This activism on the part of three middle income developing countries in particular – Brazil, South Africa and India – has resulted in the creation of a ‘trilateralist’ diplomatic partnership, itself a reflection of broader transformations across the developing world in the wake of globalisation. The establishment of this new diplomatic partnership of the South begs a number of questions about the states involved, the nature of their co-operation and its relationship to international system as a whole. Specifically: What are the motivations and dynamics of ‘trilateralist’ co-operation amongst these middle income developing states? What role does ideology play in this process? Given the uneven record of co-operation across the South and the growing economic diversity between developing countries, how sustainable is the ‘trilateralism’ initiative? This paper will examine the rise and promulgation of the co-operative strategy known as ‘trilateralism’ by regional leaders within the South. Specifically, it will first provide an overview of the theoretical approaches to the new regionalism and the South; secondly, it will review the domestic, regional, and international factors which have traditionally conditioned the foreign policies of Brazil, South Africa and India; thirdly it will investigate the formulation and implementation of ‘trilateralism’ as a initiative framed within the context of the new regionalism; and, finally, it will conclude with an analysis of the initiative’s prospects for success in the contemporary environment.

Kastner, Scott. "The Domestic Politics of Trade with Adversaries" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA’s 49th ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 Online <APPLICATION/PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251262_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Many recent studies find that international political conflict—operationalized in a variety of ways—harms trade. Well-known cases help to underscore these general findings. For example, Cold War tensions helped to undermine East-West trade, and trade between India and Pakistan slowed sharply in the years after partition. On the other hand, however, trade between adversaries also appears to vary substantially across cases. Indeed, trade can sometimes flourish despite intense political rivalry. In the current relationship between mainland China and Taiwan, for example, China has become Taiwan’s largest trading partner despite persistent political tension across the Taiwan Strait.How can we explain variation in the extent to which states trade with their adversaries? Building on existing literature, I develop a framework through which to understand how domestic coalitions concerning trade with an adversary are likely to form. While some actors are likely to favor or oppose trade for purely economic reasons, those without a direct economic stake in the relationship are likely to focus more on the political and security consequences of trade with the adversary. In this framework, two variables emerge as central in determining a country’s trade policy with an adversary: the relative political strength of internationalist versus protectionist economic interests, and whether those concerned primarily with politics believe trade will have positive or negative political and security externalities. I use the framework to develop several testable hypotheses, and evaluate them via short case studies of three contemporary rivalries: China/Taiwan; India/Pakistan; and North Korea/South Korea

Campos, Taiane. and Las Casas, Luciana. "Similar roles, different strategies: Brazil, India and South Africa trade policies" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA’s 50th ANNUAL CONVENTION "EXPLORING THE PAST, ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE", New York Marriott Marquis, NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA, Feb 15, 2009 Online <PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p313872_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The trade policies of Brazil, India and South Africa have significant historical similarities: these countries are original WTO members; they adopted import-substitution industrialization; promoted neoliberal reforms; have been playing important roles in their regional contexts; and, more recently, they have also formed alliances and coalitions (IBSA, G20) in order to increase their capacity to influence the trade regime. At the same time, they are intensifying bilateral and regional ties which are different in scope and degrees of institutionalization. The result is that, despite of having similar roles which are derived from their status as middle powers, these three countries have developed different strategies concerning their trade policy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyze comparatively the trade policies of Brazil, India and South Africa in the multilateral and regional environments. Our contention is that there are significant differences in their conduct on those two levels, in such a way that it is not possible to establish a fixed pattern of trade policy amongst middle powers, at least not amongst these three.

Sondhi, Sunil. "India’s big leap forward: Capacity and Preference" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mar 05, 2005 Online <.PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p70644_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: India has changed dramatically in recent years. This paper examines India’s winning strategies-liberalization, a focus on high technology, and its resolve to become a regional leader- as well as its challenges- the wide gap between its urban and rural populations, growing unemploymeny, and the challenge posed by extremist ideologies and organisations. It also considers the effects that India’s success has had both at home and abroad. India’s progress has unnerved some of its neighbours and trading partners. South Asian countries worry about India’s economic dominance, in the US concern has been mounting over loss of jobs in the service sector. India has tried to soften its neighbours concerns by spearheading regional free trade zone. It continues to signal its desire to integrate into the world economy by pursuing liberalization and encouraging trade. It is argued in this paper that an economically strengthened India will increasingly regard itself as a great ppower and expect more deference from other countries. There is little doubt that India’s emergence as an economic power will rank as one of the principal issues confronting world leaders in next few decades and that its role demands careful analysis.

Pigman, Geoffrey. "Economic and Security Convergence: Governments and Firms in U.S.-India Diplomacy from Super 301 to the 2002 Kashmir Crisis" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mar 17, 2004 Online <.PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p72364_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: U.S.-India economic relations evolved substantially between the 1989 Super 301 trade dispute and the 2002 India-Pakistan crisis over Kashmir. Traditional models of economic diplomacy focusing on the leading role of governments and their relevant ministries, in which business had a subordinate lobbying role in the decisionmaking process, could be used to describe the low-level U.S.-India economic and security relationship that prevailed in the 1980s. However, the conclusion of the GATT Uruguay Round, the technology boom of the 1990s and other structural factors have intensified the economic relationship between the two countries significantly. The attacks on New York, Washington and New Delhi in 2001 culminated a process of convergence of the two countries’ security interests. A complex network of diplomatic interactions between governments, U.S. and Indian global firms, and the U.S.-Indian business and cultural diaspora contributed to convincing the Indian Government to defuse tension with Pakistan in summer 2002. Understanding this process requires an updated model of economic diplomacy that incorporates the role of non-state actors, multiple channels of communication and integration of domestic and international politics. Neo-Gramscian notions of hegemonic power structures integrating political leadership, transnational capital and civil society contribute to explaining the exercise of power in these newer, complex business-government diplomatic networks

Brookes, Marissa. "Toward Transnationalism: Comparative Insights on Organized Labor’s Strategic Responses to Offshore Outsourcing in the Telecommunications Industry" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p362173_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Why do some unions confront global capital through transnational action, while others act only nationally? I address this question through the lens of union responses to offshoring in the telecommunications industry in Australia, the US, and the UK. Union strategies vary both across and within these countries, despite their institutional similarities as liberal market economies. While some unions pursue solidaristic partnerships with their labor counterparts abroad, others restrict action to pressuring governments and mobilizing domestic coalitions. The joint project of the Communications Workers of America (U.S.) and the New Trade Union Initiative (India) contrasts sharply with the Communication Workers Union’s (UK) nationalist anti-offshoring campaign. Most other cases fall in between. For example, the Australian Services Union focuses on government action and consumer mobilization yet is actively involved in several Global Union Federations and international campaigns. I argue that this variation is due to three factors: the union’s ability to adjust to historical changes in the telecom industry; employers’ actions affecting unions’ mobilization of domestic coalitions; and the viability of potential labor partners abroad.

Mishra, Pramod. "China-India Bonhomie: A Harbinger of Multilateralism" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mar 05, 2005 Online <.PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p69909_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: CHINA-INDIA BONHOMIE: AN HARBINGER OF MULTILATERALISM By Dr Pramod Mishra Associate Professor in Politics, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India China and India have emerged as important global players at the dawn of the twentieth century. The former by discarding its isolationism and closed-door policy in the early 1980s took a number of corrective measures under Deng Xiaping’s stewardship and integrated its economy to the developed western world. As a result of that by the mid-1990s, China achieved a high growth rate of 9 to 10 per cent per annum. Its political process has not been an obstacle to the expansion of its diplomatic and commercial links with the rest of the world. In fact, its civil service has been surprisingly very resilient. India on the other hand has been a late starter to globalization and the restructuring of its hitherto mixed economy. Although the background to India’s modernization was provided by the Raja Gandhi government (1985-89), it was left to the Narasimha Rao government to integrate India to the global economy. The bold initiative taken by the-then Finance Minister Man Mohan Singh brought healthy dividends and India’s rate of growth remained steady at 7 to 8 per cent per annum during the 1990s. The NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee has continued that initiative and as a result of that India at present maintains one of the highest growth rates in the world. The proposed paper will closely examine the nuances of mutual economic and political interactions between China and India. Although their present trade turnover is place at $5 billion only it has a potentiality to triple by the end of 2010. The leadership in both the countries have ignored the past decades of mistrust after a limited border war in 1962.It is quite possible that the two nations may amicably sort put their border demarcation problem and go ahead to make a concerted effort to establish a more democratic and humane world order. They can also systematically neutralize the unhealthy unilateralism which has heightened the global insecurity in various regions leading to immense sufferings to large part of humanity.

Moore, Candice. "Multilateralism and Trilateralism in the IBSA Partnership: Tensions and Congruities" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA’s 49th ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251820_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper seeks to examine the tensions between trilateralism and multilateralism in the IBSA partnership. While one of the stated goals of the partnership is multilateralism and the reform of the United Nations (IBSA Communique, 2005), the trilateral partnership that IBSA embodies appears antithetical to the representation of broader interests in each member’s region. This issue came to a head in the months preceding the debates on UN reform in September 2005, when India, Brazil and South Africa each voiced their interest in permanent representation on the UN Security Council, but failed to win the support of their regional neighbours. More recently, it is evident in the prominence of India and Brazil in exclusive trade talks with the EU and US to save the Doha Development Round. The paper draws on the middle power literature, which sees middle powers as committed to multilateralism, but problematises this commitment by considering the growing economic and strategic significance of these states. Trilateralism is not pursued to the exclusion of North-South links, as evidenced in Brazil’s and India’s increasing closeness to the US. It is thus not an alternative to robust North-South relations, as older forms of South-South solidarity (NAM and G-77) were portrayed. The paper concludes thus that the IBSA partnership is not a successor of older forms of South-South solidarity premised on multilateralism, but rather a vehicle for the development and increased levels of participation in international affairs of its three members.

Turner, Robin. "Liberalization and Domestic Politics: The Case of Livestock Policy Reform in India" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Sep 02, 2004 Online <.PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p59903_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper explores the dynamics of livestock policy reforms in two Indian states, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Livestock policy reforms have been shaped by the intersection of domestic politics and power relations, international actors—especially foreign governments and development organizations, and international trade regimes. The international policy environment and global trade regime has set the context for India’s market-oriented reforms, but it is largely domestic political leaders, institutions, bureaucratic structures, and organized interests that have shaped the form and extent of reform in this sector. Marked differences in the reform trajectory of different livestock sectors in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa show how domestic politics can shape the implementation of global reforms. This paper focuses on the politics of reform in the large ruminant (cattle, buffalo) and animal health and breeding subsectors.

Singh, J.P.. "Culture or Commerce? A Comparative Assessment of International Negotiations and Developing Countries at UNESCO and WTO" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, Hilton Chicago, CHICAGO, IL, USA, Feb 28, 2007 Online <APPLICATION/PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p178918_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The proposed paper will depart from ominous warnings regarding globalization in arguing that international trade and cultural diversity can co-exist. The study will show that while negotiating trade issues, increasing international and domestic coalition building in cultural issues leads to preservation of policy autonomy for addressing cultural identity and diversity concerns. Two important international negotiations on cultural issues ? one at the World Trade Organization and the other in UNESCO — will be examined for empirical substantiation. A comparative assessment of the way these negotiations balanced culture and trade issues will be undertaken for a set of developed countries (particularly US and EU) followed by a set of developing countries representing those remaining fearful or confident of the impact of international trade on cultural diversity. Developing countries analyzed will be India, China, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Senegal, and South Africa. We would expect developed countries most likely to preserve cultural policy autonomy and the developing countries least likely to do so. The empirical evidence collected so far seems to show that depending on their coalition-building efforts, both sets of countries can preserve cultural policy autonomy.

Arnold, Caroline. "Late Industrialization in International Perspective: Historical Reflections on Turkish and Indian Industrialization" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p363074_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This claim is surprising given that India and Turkey are portrayed in both robust area studies and the wider development literatures as the prototypes of state-led industrialization. I argue that links between local industries and international markets have diverged to create three phases of industrialization in India and Turkey as technologies and the character of international trade and production have shifted. They have done so in ways that influenced the very patterns of capital accumulation and technological acquisition that are central to traditional accounts of late industrialization. Contra the entire lineage of development theorizing, from Gerschenkron to the developmental statists, that views the state as the defining factor in the character of national industrialization patterns, Turkish and Indian cities that industrialized in the same international and historical context exhibit greater similarities with each other than they do with other Turkish or Indian cases that industrialized at other times. This paper demonstrates that international factors, rather than the role of the national state, determined the sources of capital, role of technology, and the role of labor in Turkish and Indian industrialization.

Guisinger, Alexandra. "Who Liberalizes? Explaining Cross-Country Variations in Trade Protection Though International Networks" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mar 05, 2005 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p71395_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Despite the theoretical benefits of zero-tariff trade and a recent trend towards trade protection liberalization, large cross-national variations in trade policy endure. What determines countries’ trade policy choices? Traditional comparative politics explanations have focused primarily on domestic determinants: the economic constraints faced by leaders as determined both by domestic resource endowments and previous policy choices and/or the effects of domestic political institutions (for example: Magee et al, 1989; Mansfield and Busch, 1993; Nielson, 2003). However, while support for such arguments is evident in studies of OECD behavior, they lack explanatory power for a broader class of countries (Guisinger, m.s. 2003). More recently, alternative explanations based on membership in the GATT/WTO have received at best inconclusive support (for example: Rose, forthcoming). Breaking from the traditional comparative research agenda on trade and its focus on decision-theoretic models, I posit a set of diffusion hypotheses in which a country’s decision to liberalize is conditioned on its network of trading partners and peers. Levels of protection at the country-wide level converge upon those of trading partners and of peers. Not only do these networks permit the identification of likely liberalizers and non-liberalizers, but also they allow more precise determination within these groups as to the source of a country’s behavior. Expanding upon previous quantitative analysis of the trade tariffs of 60 developing countries from 1988 to 1998 (Guisinger, m.s. 2003), four qualitative case studies drawn from this analysis are presented: Brazil, Argentina, India, and Nepal.

Herring, Ronald. "Politics of Transgenic Property in India: Biopiracy, Monopoly Power or Cottage Industry?" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, Hilton Chicago, CHICAGO, IL, USA, Feb 28, 2007 Online <PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p180347_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The genomics revolution in biology has spawned a new politics, with strikingly similar themes from California to Gujarat. The spread of biotechnology internationally continues on an accelerating curve upwards. Developmental states in China, India and Brazil promote the technology to make their agriculture competitive with that of richer nations. Equally, resistance in an international civil society escalates with the increasing number of crops, acres and farmers involved with genetically engineered organisms. Property is one strand of this contentious politics. Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have become a flash point of mobilization of civil society against corporate globalization. Concentration of property rights in powerful multinational firms with no incentive to find solutions to problems of poor farmers in poor countries and potential for monopoly profits at the expense of poor farmers both figure prominently in the critique of genetic engineering in developmental terms. Worse, appropriation of intellectual property in biota of the global South is held to threaten poor societies for the profit of firms in the global North. This paper explores the ground realities related to these political claims. It argues that the oppositional critique reifies intellectual property ? in the form of ?patents? ? in a way that has proved inconsistent with behavior of actors on the ground in India and other countries. Property is here conceptualized as a relationship between actors; the outcome cannot be derived logically but must be investigated empirically. In the absence of the much critiqued ?terminator technology,? reverse ?biopiracy? seems not only fairly easy to accomplish, but popular in farming communities. This move by farmers puts them in conflict, objectively, with some, but not all, NGOs that claim to represent their interests. The paper will discuss outcomes from a national case study in terms of differentiations of property that make sense theoretically, from hard to soft and from common to private. It will conclude with suggestions about what the divergence of interests between farmers and NGOs means for representation and political power in rural areas.

Sequeira, Vikrum. "IBSA, International Relations Theories, and Changes in the Global Architecture" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Palmer House Hotel, Hilton, Chicago, IL, Apr 03, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p267593_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In June 2003, India, Brazil, and South Africa inaugurated the IBSA Alliance, which aimed to become what South African President Thabo Mbeki hailed as a "G-8 of the South." The three nations would try to expand the permanent membership of the UN Security Council, modify the TRIPS laws, and impel the US and EU to eliminate agricultural subsidies. The countries also agreed to cooperate in agricultural research, IT, trade, and defense (among other issues). This paper asks four broad questions: 1. Can the paradigms of international relations (e.g., realism, pluralism, Marxism, etc.) explain the IBSA alliance? 2. Will IBSA be able to accomplish its stated goals? 3. Has the IBSA alliance modified the foreign policies of the participant states? 4. Is the creation of IBSA emblematic of a new global architecture? I argue that none of the IR paradigms alone can explain IBSA; IBSA may achieve success in its clearly stated goals but will be unsuccessful in its other goals; the alliance has slightly modified the countries’ foreign policies; the creation of IBSA does indeed represent a change in the world political-economic system.

Oliveira, Amancio. and Onuki, Janina. "South-South Cooperation: Coalitions and Multilateral Negotiations. The Case of IBSA (Brazil, India and South Africa)" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA, Mar 22, 2006 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p99910_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The international coalition formation process has played a central role in the dynamics of multilateral and regional trade negotiations, particularly as concerns the outlook for the re-balance of central-peripheral forces of the international system. The reopening of a new round of multilateral negotiations, focusing precisely on new thematic challenges regarding international trade and routes to development, reintroduces the centrality of the role of South-South alliances.In practice, cooperative efforts of this nature are already making themselves felt with the formation of a series of coalitions, whereas emphasis must be placed on G-20 and G-3 (IBSA). The essential aspect to be retained is that, taking into consideration the dimension of the convergence of international business interests strictly speaking, the partnership between India and Brazil, at the starting point of efforts to build international coalitions, is clearly counterintuitive.With a basis on the Compared Foreign Policy Analysis, the objective of this paper is to contribute towards a more comprehensive understanding of the bases (domestic and international) of the formation of international coalitions, of the South-South type in the new context of the multilateral agenda. A comparative matrix will be built as an analytical instrument. Based on databased with variables, the compared analysis of these variables will permit the itemization of vectors of convergence and divergence among the countries capable of indicating the stability and effectiveness of the coalition.

de Mello Souza, André. "Global Governance, Developing Countries and Advocacy Networks: The Struggle over Pharmaceutical Patent Rights" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251818_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has challenged developing countries in issue-areas as diverse and important as public health and agriculture. Most notably, these countries have often contended that patents block access to essential medicines, and opposed strict rules of patentability for genetic resources which encourage biopiracy and fail to protect traditional knowledge. Whereas developing countries have become increasingly assertive in multilateral forums, their capacity to successfully negotiate with the countries that champion intellectual property protection and especially the US has varied considerably across issue-areas. Developing countries have succeeded in amending TRIPS to allow greater international trade of patented medicines, but have failed to resist the patenting of genetic resources and to create effective rules for benefit sharing. The paper argues that the negotiating capacity of developing countries with regard to pharmaceutical patent rights has been largely determined by the strength of their alliances with transnational advocacy networks, as well as by these networks’ strategic use of science and human rights discourse. Field work has been conducted in South Africa, Brazil and India as well as in Geneva, consisting mostly of interviews with government officials, company executives and representatives of the non-governmental sector, as well as analysis of policy documents.

Kastner, Scott. "How International Conflict Affects Commerce: Domestic Interests and Institutions as Intervening Variables" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Sep 02, 2004 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p61628_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Limited commercial integration between India and Pakistan, or within much of the Middle East, suggests that conflicting political interests between countries can have a detrimental effect on their economic relations. Indeed, a number of empirical studies have shown that tension or conflict between countries tends to be associated with lower levels of commerce. Yet rapidly growing economic ties between Mainland China and Taiwan shows that commerce can also flourish even in the presence of severe political tension and a potential for military conflict. In this paper, I develop an argument that accounts for variation in the relationship between conflict and commerce. Defining conflict as the level of underlying preference dissimilarity between countries, I argue that conflict’s effects on trade are contingent on the types of governing coalitions and political institutions within the states enmeshed in a conflictual relationship. Specifically, if free-trade interests are relatively strong politically, the independent effects of conflict on trade are less severe; conflict’s effects on trade are also less severe when conflict involves at least one democracy. I test my argument quantitatively on a large sample over the years 1960-1992, and find robust support for my hypotheses.

Biermann, Frank. and Sohn, Hans-Dieter. "Multipolar Global Governance: India and East Asia as New Partners for Europe" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Mar 17, 2004 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p74421_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Whereas European foreign policy used to be defined through the alliance with the United States, it is now clear that this one-sided orientation is no longer sufficient. This is especially the case for global environmental governance, where Europe stands in most negotiations, almost by default, against the United States. The core examples are the almost universally recognised biodiversity convention of 1992, its Cartagena protocol on safety in the trade of genetically modified organisms, the Basel agreement on the transboundary shipment of hazardous waste and their disposal, and, most crucially, the Kyoto protocol to the UN framework convention on climate change. All these agreements have been rejected by the United States of America. In this situation, we argue that if Europe wants to make progress in environmental and other issue areas, it needs new and stable alliances, in addition to the old transatlantic linkage. We will direct attention towards possible partners in Asia and primarily address the great powers of Asia: Japan, China and, in particular, the world’s largest democracy, India. We argue for a twofold strategy. Internally, Europe must unite more strongly. The old Kissinger question still has to be answered: which phone number does the US president—or the prime minister of India—have to call if he or she wants to get Europe’s opinion? The European Union must improve the coherence of its foreign policy, primarily through becoming further communitised. The office of a EU president could take joint responsibility for foreign and security policy in the medium term. Externally, Europe needs to reform its foreign policy and rethink well-trodden paths. This applies in particular to redefining the traditional North-South antagonism in international negotiations, which hardly corresponds any longer to the reality of the international system in many policy areas. New international partnerships between the European Union and the large Southern democracies could redress the traditional confrontation between the group of Western industrialised countries and the ‘Group of 77′, possibly pointing out solutions if global governance projects should threaten to fail because of unilateral rejection by the USA. The political drifting apart of the ‘First World’, the dissolution of the ‘Second World’ and the political, economic and social differentiation of the ‘Third World’ thus offer scope for the recharting of world politics. The development of a multilateral global governance structure requires a strong global alliance of democratic players: many recent environmental treaties—but also the international criminal court, the anti-landmine treaty and other examples—show that Europe and the Bush administration often no longer act together but rather against each other. The European Union must therefore look for other partners—to complement rather than replace the United States of America. We argue that increased dialogue and more intensive political co-operation on the part of Europe with the world’s biggest democracy, India, could be one element of such a reorientation.

Wolfe, Robert. "Power and Institutional Structure in Global Governance: The Changing Dynamics of Agricultural Trade Negotiations" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Political Research Online, Town & Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA, Mar 22, 2006 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p98022_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper will present work from a larger project on institutional dynamics and power in the WTO based on an analysis of the evolution of the negotiating process on agriculture since the Tokyo Round. I am selecting for variation on aspects of process, expecting to see variation in outcome. When we are interested in processes more than structures, qualitative case studies can be more useful than large n statistical studies. I propose to use the ?method of difference? to examine a set of apparently similar cases in which key aspects of the process differ to see if the outcomes differ. The outcome variable will assessments in the press, the academic and policy literature, and participant interviews, of the success or failure of the agriculture component of successive GATT and WTO ministerial meetings. The explanatory variables are A) institutional structure (nature of the committee structure, repertoire of formal and informal techniques used by the chair to build consensus) and B) the nature and role of negotiating coalitions that reflect different constellations of material interests and diplomatic skill. The role of coalitions in the trading system appears to be changing with the emergence of the G-20 group of leading developing countries interested in agriculture. Regional groups of developing countries, and the LDC group, now coordinate among Geneva ambassadors, they have ministerial meetings, and since Cancun they are working together at ministerial level as the G-90 grouping of the African, ACP, and Least-developed countries. And there are separate groups for agriculture including the Cairns Group (exporters), and the G-10 and the G-33 of developed and developing importers. At the heart of the negotiations on agriculture is a ?non-group? (because not like-minded) of ?Five Interested Parties?, EU, USA, Brazil, India and Australia. Can we explain outcomes on the basis of process or the power of the leading participants?

Saksena, Jyotika. "International Organizations and Erosion of State Sovereignty" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA’s 49th ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251222_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Since the end of the Second World War, the international system has seen the multiplication of international organizations that have made inter-state cooperation a sustainable reality. In doing so states have agreed to give up part of their decision-making authority to international organizations leading to a growing concern that in the process states are losing their sovereignty, namely their right to make decisions on behalf of their people. This paper uses John Ruggie’s definition of sovereignty, defined as “the institutionalization of public authority within mutually exclusive jurisdictional domains”. This study will attempt an examination of the impact of international organizations in eroding state sovereignty. After an initial discussion of what constitutes a loss of sovereignty, the study will focus on the impact of a specific international organization – the WTO – in eroding state sovereignty. Finally, in order to achieve a comparative dimension, the study will investigate the impact on the state at two levels – great/super power level and middle power level by examining the response of the United States and India to the dictates of the WTO.

Sinha, Aseema. "Global Trade Rules and India: Modifying Putnam?s Two-Level Framework" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, Hilton Chicago, CHICAGO, IL, USA, Feb 28, 2007 <Not Available>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p180081_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Putnam outlined a powerful metaphor for understanding domestic-international interactions in his two-level framework. In his analysis domestic politics drives international negotiations. Negotiators must make their international actions consistent with domestic support and policy: leaders respond to international obligation to the extent that these commitments are domestically viable. Aseema Sinha offers a modification to this framework in two important respects. First, she shows how the specific negotiation structure of the international context shapes the domestic win set. Global rules need to be disaggregated and their variable effects analyzed more carefully than has been done from within the terms of the two-level model. Further, India?s experience with GATT and WTO offers the opportunity to exploit within case variation across time to analyze how global rules of the game affect and change domestic imperatives and interests.

Souza, Manoela. "India’s Accession to TRIPS: The IP Legislation Reform (2005) and its Reflections on India’s Foreign Policy on HIV/AIDS Matters" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA’s 49th ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA, Mar 26, 2008 Online <APPLICATION/PDF>. 2009-04-17 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p252134_index.html>

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper will discuss the relevance of India’s accession to the TRIPS-mandated regime for its foreign policy on HIV/AIDS matters. This study will investigate whether the formal accession to WTO’s norms regarding patents, through 2005’s third amendment, eventually brought about a new background for its foreign policy on HIV/AIDS. With concern for Doha’s flexibilities, this work intends to show how India’s pharma industry and local/global activism might have influenced, respectively, a watershed on the country’s advocacy on international health (especially with regard to anti-retroviral drugs).

Continuing with my earlier posts about elections manifestos and trade policy issues in the 2009 Indian national elections, I looked at the NCP manifesto.

The 2009 NCP manifesto found here does not directly talk about trade policy or WTO issues. But there are some trade policy relevant promises.

The NCP will provide more subsidies for deep-sea fishing and exports. Wonder if they know about what has been going on in the Doha round fisheries subsidies negotiations?

Development of fisheries sector also will be intensified. Assistance will be given to the fishing community for deep sea fishing and processing and export.

The NCP is worried about job losses due to the current economic crisis and is especially worried about highly-skilled labor returning from home from foreign countries.

The global economic crisis that has caused collapse of the economy and retrenchment lakhs of employees working in financial and technical institutions and closing down hundreds of business firms in foreign countries. Though not in that magnitude it is having its effects on Indian economy as well.

Lakhs of Indians including skilled labours, who had been employed in various foreign countries, especially in the developed countries, who have lost their jobs are returning to India. Not only has this affected the contributions of the NRIs to our economy, but has created the problems of rehabilitating them.

The plight of Indian skilled workers returning home because of global meltdown deserve urgent attention. The skilled Indian workers in the past have remitted huge amounts of money, which has helped the country in swelling its forex reserves. Therefore, it is the duty of the government to help these personnel, small/medium scale enterprises by giving them liberal loans at a very concessional rate.

The mixed economy we pursue giving equal importance to public sector, private sector and joint sector has helped us to withstand the onslaught of the world economic recession. But it has slowed down our economic growth, increased our unemployment problems and other related matters. It has reduced export business and multiplied our problems in the sector.

Two packages have already been declared by the government and the banks and government has adopted some measures to ease the situation. But still the situation has not been brought under control.

The onslaught of the global economic recession has started affecting our economy also. Large-scale retrenchments, lay offs, causalisation of employees are creating serious employment problems.

Our economic reforms should necessarily be implemented with a human face. It shall not affect the employment sector negatively.

The NCP wants a boost for domestic consumption:

Under the circumstances, our industries have to concentrate on goods for domestic consumption. Domestic consumption should be encouraged for which the purchasing capacity of the people should be improved. Cheaper goods to meet market competition should be targeted. The growth in the agriculture sector will certainly contribute to the purchasing power of the people to some extent. More investment on infrastructure development, widening the scope of employment guarantee scheme and on other rural development activities would improve the purchasing capacity of the people.

The NCP spells out its concept of development:

By development, we mean overall development of the life of the common man including the weaker sections of the society in as much as it provides a better life for them, better housing facilities, better food, better clothing, facilities for giving better education for their children, and better health facilities. All these depend on more earnings or remuneration. So the economic development should provide for more employment opportunities and more employment generation schemes and projects.

Well, the manifesto seems to have been very hurriedly put together. I guess they don’t rely much upon their manifesto to get votes.

The Business Standard has this rather wonderful report about the Indian Ambassador to the WTO,  Ujal Singh Bhatia, asking  Lamy and the WTO economists for an explanation on how they arrived at the prediction that Doha round tariff cuts would result in $150 billion gains to consumers. Here is the report on the exchange that took place on 14 April 2009 when Lamy presented his second report on recent trade and trade-related developments associated with the financial and economic crisis at an informal meeting of the WTO’s Trade Policy Review Body. My comments follow the report:

India doubts Lamy figure on stimulus

D Ravi Kanth / Geneva April 15, 2009, 0:40 IST

India today asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) chief to explain how he arrived at the figure of $150 billion as “being the Doha Round’s contribution to the global stimulus”, a demand that was supported by the United States.

New Delhi also pressed for addressing “the gaping holes in disciplines on subsidies services”. Several industrialised countries, including the US and other major European countries have provided subsidies to their ailing banking and insurance companies without any regard to the distortions they created in the marketplace.

Intervening at a special meeting on WTO’s report “on the financial and economic crisis and trade-related developments”, India’s trade envoy Ujal Singh Bhatia cautioned about the dangers of dishing out figures prepared by economists without any evidence. Though the latest WTO report was “comprehensive and balanced than its predecessor”, it still contained “figures” which are not supported with hard data, he said.

“Today, economists, especially the forecasters among them, enjoy a social status somewhat below a used car salesmen and perhaps at the level of investment bankers,” Bhatia told the trade body’s chief Pascal Lamy.

Over the last several months, Lamy repeatedly quoted the figure of $150 billion as gains to consumers from the anticipated Doha cuts in agriculture and industrial tariffs. Lamy canvassed support for the Doha Round based on this estimate even though several economists have challenged the veracity of such a claim. The just-concluded G-20 leaders communiqué also mentioned the $150 billion figure without any estimate.

“In the last few years, I have seen numbers ranging from $400 billion to $40 billion in this regard,” said Bhatia, citing Kenneth Galbraith’s famous statement that “the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable”. The US trade envoy, Peter Allgeier, said he supported India’s request for more “details” from Lamy.

In his response, the WTO chief defended his claim of $150 billion, saying it was neither “rocket science”, nor based on “astrology”. He said it represented “the revenues foregone” from the tariff cuts proposed in last year’s July proposals, maintaining that the developed countries would incur most of the cuts. “The director general was exposed for making audacious claims without evidence,” said a trade envoy, suggesting there was no truth that the Doha Round would result in such large gains.

Referring to the distortions caused by subsidies doled out to banks and insurance companies in several industrialised countries, India said: “With disciplines in manufacturing already in place and those in agriculture being negotiated, there is no reason why there should not be such disciplines in services as well.”

Therefore, a discussion on “definitions as well as an exchange of information on subsidies in services” is a must, the Indian trade envoy said, calling for a deeper analytical study on a range of trade restrictions that are not properly reflected in the WTO report.

Several members, including India, called for an earlier return to competitive conditions in auto and steel industries by withdrawal of these subsidies as quickly as possible, stating that continuation of such subsidies would adversely impact developing countries.

I like this exchange. It is time that data put out by WTO economists is subjected to scrutiny and analysis. The figures on gains from the Doha round have as Bhatia said, fluctuated between extremes. Sometime back, the International Economic Law and Policy blog discussed this. I can’t find that thread now, but I had posted there about the wide difference in opinion among economists about who would gain most from Doha. At various time various studies have indicated their preferred candidate for who will gain most from Doha. These have included the United States, China, Africa, developing countries and developed countries. 

This exchange once again shows the growing confidence of Indian negotiators. Bhatia is quite acerbic – see his comment about the status of economists.

I have earlier blogged about trade relations between India and China. Mr. Mao Siwei, Consul General of China in Kolkata made some interesting remarks recently at an Industry chamber meeting. Here is what he said about India-China trade:

Ladies and gentlemen, after talking so long about world meltdown, let’s talk about something exciting. That is about China-India economic relations. For the first time, China has become India’s largest trading partner and the bilateral trade reached 51.8 billion US dollars in the calendar year 2008. Ten years ago, the figure of China-India trade in 1998 was only 1.9 billion US dollars. This is a nearly 30-fold increase in just ten years. And also the first time in history, India has become the biggest overseas market for Chinese companies undertaking contract projects. Last year, Chinese companies were awarded contracts worth 12.9 billion US dollars for various construction projects in India.

We are in the era of globalization where economic ties constitute the basis of overall relations between countries. It is very much true for China and India.

China and India are two of the largest economies and both have established their comprehensive industry systems. But at the same time, the economic strengths of our two countries are very much complementary to each other.

India is strong in knowledge-based industries, especially in IT and pharmaceuticals. So many Indian companies in these sectors have established their offices, laboratories and factories in China and their business is doing quite well.

China is strong in manufacturing and infrastructure and many Chinese companies are doing business in these fields in India.

Mr Siwei does not give any figures for Indian businesses operational within China. These would have been interesting too.

Here is what he said about energy security and India-China cooperation in the power sector:

Recently I have found a phenomenon in economic cooperation between our two countries, which has been emerging in the power sector. Here I would like to talk a little bit more about it.

Indian economic growth has been on fast track these years and the issue of shortage of electricity needs to be addressed in a very urgent manner. The Government of India has set up an ambitious target with a time frame of ten years. That is: by year 2012, all electricity demand will be fully met; per capita availability of electricity will be increased to over 1000 units; and accordingly new electricity generation capacity of 100,000 MW will be added during the period from 2002 to 2012.

Now I am sure that this target will be achieved on time or even before the due date. One of the reasons is that the Electricity Act 2003 of India has opened the door for international competition and China’s major power equipment producers and power plant builders have been quite active in the Indian market since then. Now Chinese companies have obtained many contracts for power equipment and EPC power projects. According to an incomplete statistics, over 30,000 MW of equipment will be supplied by Chinese companies in the coming few years, which accounts for over 30 per cent of the capacity addition target of 100,000 MW.

This is really a new phenomenon in the history of China-India economic relations and is a win-win situation.

For China, after 20 years’ hard efforts, its capacity of producing power equipment and building power plants is now much larger than the domestic demand. At the end of last year, the total installed power capacity in China was almost 800,000 MW, which was 5.4 times that of India at the same time. And last year also, 133,000 MW of equipment was manufactured in China, which was nearly as much as the total installed power capacity of 147,000 in India at the beginning of this year. So to maintain and develop the capabilities of power equipment manufacturing and power plants construction, Chinese power industry has to go abroad. They have found many large markets in the world, but the Indian market is one of the largest.

For India, to achieve the target of addition capacity of 100,000 MW by 2012, international cooperation is very much needed and China is a natural choice for many reasons: one, nowadays in the world, only China and India are two large economies which still rely heavily on coal-fired power generation, and in this field major Chinese companies have the latest know-how; two, Chinese equipment is reasonably cheap while its quality is comparably good; and three, because of their large capacity and rich experiences, Chinese companies can deliver goods on time and do the job faster.

Power plant is a strategic project in terms of its long life of about 30 years and its significance to millions of people. So it is understandable that the Indian side has to attach great importance to the quality issue. Recently a few Indian newspapers reported some problems of power projects constructed by Chinese companies and suspected the quality of Chinese equipments. According to my knowledge, the reported problems are teething problems and all the power equipment producers and power plant builders, no matter they are Indians or foreigners, might have the same problems. But it may not be fair that just because you are newcomers, your problems are easily the news to the media. As I know, most of the contracts the Chinese companies obtained have been awarded by Indian companies in the private sector. Definitely, it is not an easy decision for private business people to make to invest billions of Rupees in a power plant. They have to do their homework seriously and have to make their research all over the world. Finally they have been convinced that to choose Chinese equipment is in their best interests. We don’t need to doubt about their wisdom.

Recently our Indian friends have been talking very much about energy security. Now I have a feeling that in a short term, or in next ten to twenty years, if there is one foreign country which will contribute the most to the development of India’s power sector, that country must be China.

Here is an interesting Business Standard story about little Chinatowns coming up in the Indian countryside for Chinese workers building power plants in India. I have highlighted some interesting bits.

Little ‘Chinatowns’ are springing up at different locations in India as more and more Chinese companies bag contracts to build steel and power plants in the country.

“We have executed, for a major secondary steel company, a township for 2,000-odd Chinese workers at a location in Jharkhand, where they would be erecting, commissioning and operating a combined steel and power unit,” the chairman of a leading architecture and civil engineering firm told Business Standard.

“The quarters are quite spartan, with basic sleeping and recreation rooms, and shower ranges and attached toilet units, but with the requisite engineering to permit a large number of people to use the facilities simultaneously,” added the architect.

He said it was the largest such township to be built in the country and the standards and designs were different and much closer to the Western designs than similar complexes built for Indian workers at offsite project locations.

While the steel company refused to be identified, or to name the Chinese party (saying it was commercially sensitive information), the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company confirmed that the Jharkhand unit would be using Chinese technology and rely on a core manpower team from that country to operate at the levels of efficiency promised by the Chinese equipment supplier. “We understand that the Chinese government has unofficially told their equipment suppliers that if they desired to draw support from government agencies like their export financing institutions, they would do well to use Chinese workers at offsite locations instead of using local workers as it would support jobs and families in their country,” said the CFO.

He said he estimated 3,500 Chinese workers were in East India alone, and another couple of thousand more in other locations in the country. Such residential zones for Chinese workers were coming up at three locations in West Bengal, with as many as five plants being set up using technology from the communist nation.

When contacted, two Chinese supervisors with English-speaking skills serving at projects in Bengal, said while they had problems with the quality and speed of work done by Indian workers, they found the working and living conditions comparable to the Chinese facilities.

“We find many of the foods we prefer and have collectively hired domestic staff from our country, while 60-70 of us have moved our families to Kolkata as well,” said Jin Bao, one of the two engineers. Chinese contractors acquired a formidable reputation after the EPC firm, Dongfang Electric Corporation, won at Rs 2,750 crore, the contract for the West Bengal Power Development Corporation’s 2×300 Mw Sagardighi coal-based power plant in the Murshidabad district.

The first Sagardighi unit began power generation in end-2008 with power load factor of 80-90 per cent, while the second unit’s synchronisation is due.

When contacted, sources in the Chinese consulate in Kolkata refused to comment.

Foreign teams working at projects is not new — Russians worked to build the Bokaro Steel Plant and some ordnance factories, the Germans set up the Bhilai and Rourkela steel plants and the British built the Durgapur steel plant in the past.

However, these expatriates usually lived in mixed areas in bungalows comparable to those provided to Indian officers, and not usually in separate enclaves. Besides, they were usually highly skilled supervisory staff and not expatriate blue-collar workers completely manning project erection responsibilities.

The Business Standard report also mentions allegations of violent conflict with local workers over and this is quite interesting “the quality and integrity of the work executed by local workers”. 

Interestingly, a secondary steel project in Bengal recently acquired sudden notoriety after 70-odd Chinese engineering workers allegedly beat up Indian workers following sharp differences over the quality and integrity of the work executed by local workers like fabricators and welders.

The conflict was so violent that the local police had to intervene, hospitalise a group of Indian workers and arrest some Chinese supervisors on specific assault charges, said a highly-placed bureaucrat in the West Bengal government. But he added that he did not expect such an incident to slow down the rush of Chinese project teams coming to India.

More from the Financial Times on Chinese involvement in India’s power infrastructure development.

The US Customs and Border Protection Agency issues annual statistics on IPR seizures. These are goods that are sought to be exported to the United States but are seized by the US customs for IPR infringement.   The latest figures available are for the year 2008. In 2008, exports from China accounted for 81% of all IPR seizures. India came next with 6%, followed  by Hong Kong at 5% and Korea at 1%.  

In 2007, IPR seizures of Indian exports were less than 1%, with China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Egypt, and Korea leading in that order.

The 2008 IPR seizures for goods exported from India were valued at 16,258,368 USD. Pharmaceutical seizures accounted for 99% of this total. Seizures of pharmaceuticals from China were only 5% of total seizures from China.

The annual statistics can be accessed here. 

The Statesman carries a report that an Indian NGO has welcomed statements from EU officials about including animal welfare as a non-trade concern in WTO agreements. The report:

Animal activists in India have welcomed a move by the European Union (EU) to push for inclusion of animal welfare in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) multilateral trade negotiations. They have said that they will pursue the goal of welfare of animals including stray animals that are subjected to untold sufferings.
Hailing the EU move as the right one, Citizens for Animal Rights (CFAR), New Delhi, said that the inclusion of animal welfare standards in WTO agenda is urgently needed to effectively enforce animal standards worldwide, and to improve the appalling condition of slaughter houses in many countries, including India. India should take the lead in promoting animal welfare as the land of Ahimsa, they said.
Animal welfare concerns are being increasingly recognised in food production around the world, but they must be formalised within the WTO trade agreements, according to several senior representatives of the EU who spoke at a recent Brussels conference on "Global Trade and Farm Animal Welfare". Czech agriculture minister Mr Petr Gandalovic, the new chair of the EU Farm Council, explained that the next six months will see a strong focus on European animal welfare standards, including new slaughter rules.
EU health commissioner Miss Androulla Vassiliou also highlighted the growing importance of animal welfare issues as live animals and animal produce are traded across the world, arguing for their inclusion as a "non-trade concern" in WTO agreements. She said: “Animal welfare is gaining rapid momentum, not only in the EU but worldwide”. The importance of animal welfare in ensuring the quality and safety of meat was also highlighted, as well as the goal of minimising animal suffering.

Its interesting to see another example of an Indian NGO engaging with WTO issues.  However, I am not sure (from the above report) as to whether the Indian NGO really understands this issue. They seem to be talking about welfare of animals in all circumstances including stray animals  and their concerns are more appropriately addressed by domestic regulation on domestic treatment of animals. The EU officials on the other hand want to make this a WTO issue and bring in a WTO rule that allows countries to prevent imports on the ground of animal welfare. The issue is whether such a new emphasis on animal welfare is needed in the WTO treaties. Isn’t GATT article XX sufficient to allow for measures on the ground of animal welfare, in as much as it would be necessary to protect public morals or to protect animal life or health? The SPS agreement also allows for measures for the protection of animal life or health. Such measures can include regulation of processes and production methods. The SPS agreement would also arguably allow for otherwise trade-restrictive domestic regulation necessary for humane animal welfare standards.

And with the Doha round floundering and increasing trade protectionism all-round, measures based on animal welfare might be the subject of new battles over non-tariff barriers in the livestock farm sector. The EU’s proposed ban on seal products on animal welfare grounds is already causing friction with Norway and Canada. See a report.

See Gupta, Surupa. "The Institutional Basis of India?s Defensive Position on Agricultural Trade Policy" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, Hilton Chicago, CHICAGO, IL, USA, Feb 28, 2007 <Not Available>. 2009-02-04 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p181265_index.html

Here is the abstract:

This paper analyzes trade policymaking in India in the context of the ongoing negotiations on trade in agriculture at the WTO. During the past decade, the overall direction of India’s trade policy has become more liberal. However, India’s position on liberalization of trade in agriculture at multilateral trade negotiations is dominated by its defensive/protectionist interests expressed in terms of a focus on livelihood security rather than its aggressive/liberal interests in gaining market access. This presents a puzzle for existing trade theory which would expect India’s farm trade policy to be more liberal, given that about 80% of India’s farm prices are globally competitive. This paper adopts an institutional perspective, and argues that the policy is ultimately a product of the existing domestic agricultural policies and the new consultative trade policy-making apparatus. Reform of existing policies has proved difficult and the Ministry of Agriculture resists liberalization because it sees itself primarily as a protector of farmers’ interests. At the same time, the government has changed the institutions for making trade policy since 1998, giving the protectionist Ministry of Agriculture greater voice in decisions at the expense of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The former has often vetoed more liberal positions advocated by the Commerce Ministry. The Parliament, unlike in the west, plays a minor role in setting the tone of the policy since its ratification is not required. Moreover, although in India’s federal system state governments could have used their power to shape policy, they have not organized politically to press for liberalization, instead supporting the protectionist views espoused by the agriculture ministry.This paper also shows that conventional institution-based explanations of trade policy, mainly based on the US and West European experience, need to be modified when being applied to developing countries like India. For example, institutional theories suggest an association between democracies and liberal trade policies, but this case shows that democracies can sometimes be more protectionist. Discussions of the role of bureaucracies focus on the relation between bureaucratic autonomy and trade liberalization. However, some relevant bureaucracies are not autonomous, and some autonomous bureaucracies may not support liberalization. This research suggests that bureaucracies should not be treated as unitary actors.

I have earlier blogged about the media coverage of WTO issues in India, see media coverage and my post about a research paper by Madhu Arora on this topic.

Since I started this blog and began to pay attention to Indian media reports on WTO issues, I am struck by the strident and aggressive tone that a lot of the reports adopt. The message being put out seems to be one that shows India in attack mode as far as WTO engagement is concerned.

An article in today’s Business Standard exhibits the same trend. It is a report on Indian participation in the discussions on the trade policy review of the EU. The caption of the report states:  India “flays” EU for trade barriers on agri exports, service providers. The report itself uses phrases like India “chides” the EU and “Indian trade official took Brussels to task” and that India along with other developing countries “exposed” the dark side of the EU’s trade regime. I have quoted the full article below, but first some thoughts:

A lot of the news reports are based upon briefings from Indian trade policy officials. Understandably, therefore these reports seem to announce “success” in how the issue was handled by officials. The media coverage is also biased towards reporting success and reports of failures are few and far between. Again this can be explained as an outcome of the sources journalists turn to. The language used is very often militant and strident and uses attack imagery. This complements a sense prevailing within India about India’s new found competence in international engagement and its growing “power status”. There is definitely a feel-good factor being sold to Indian stakeholders here, conveying a sense that the government has things well in hand and is looking out for Indian interests. Almost every major Indian English daily and especially the economic media has a journalist specialising in WTO and trade issues. These journalists develop a relationship with government officials and the interaction is mutually beneficial. Government officials can feed stories and journalists have a steady source of news-worthy information.

India today chided the European Union for continuing to maintain a range of trade barriers on India’s agriculture exports as well as service providers under Mode 4 of short-term movement of service suppliers, Business Standard was told.

During the EU’s ninth trade policy review meeting at the World Trade Organization, an Indian trade official took Brussels to task for imposing what are called ‘standards’ concerning maximum residual limits (MRL) of aflatoxin in spices, processed food, ground nuts and cereals among other items.

These EU standards, the Indian official said, slapped burdensome requirements on Indian exporters who found it technically and economically unfeasible to implement them, given the high costs involved.

The EU’s Food Safety Authority had rejected India’s agricultural exports under the guise of testing and certification requirements and labeling norms. These practices “led to huge commercial losses for Indian exporters,” India complained.

China, Brazil and several other developing countries joined India in “exposing” the EU’s new standards

The trade policy review offers a platform to members to point out the difficulties their exporters are encountering in the country under review.

While every developing country’s trade policy is subjected to a review once in four years, the developed countries will have to appear before members once in two years.

Members can raise oral and hundreds of written questions about the specific problems faced by their exporters.

Ahead of the meeting, the WTO Secretariat issued a report cataloguing Brussels’ macro-economic and trade policies as well as the continued tariff and non-tariff barriers that are in place.

Though the EU has adopted several open and liberal policies in both trade in goods and trade in services, it also maintains insidious barriers on agriculture imports, chemicals, and trade in services, analysts said.

“The EU will continue to show leadership on global trade and stand firm against protectionism,” said EU trade commissioner Catherine Ashton, arguing that Brussels was committed to “multilateralism, to transparency, and to open markets based on rules that benefit developed and developing countries.”

Being the world’s largest market, the EU was not only quizzed on a range of barriers that cover trade in goods and services, but was also showed the “dark side” of its overall trade regime, said an Asian trade diplomat.

The EU, for example, has in place restrictions on Indian banks starting their operations in its member states. Brussels also imposed what are called Mode 4 restrictions, such as 3-6 years of professional experience for contractual suppliers and independent professionals, India said.

India drew attention to barriers in the form of non-harmonised service regulations that inhibit Indian services providers to move from one member country to the other. In a large number of EU member nations, there are requirements of number of board members to be residents, which raises costs for service providers.

The EU also failed to provide a level-playing field for foreign telecom companies, India noted. As “the EU mandate deems the Research and Development sector as mandatory for domestic job creation because of which it is hesitant in allowing free interdisciplinary movement”, only 34 per cent of researchers are non-EU.

A follow-up to my earlier post on election manifestos and the WTO:

The 2009 election manifesto of the BJP released yesterday includes a paragraph on international trade agreements. The message is of a tough negotiating stance that will challenge protectionism, safeguard national interest, and renegotiate past commitments if necessary. Food security, health, and interests of workers in technology-based industries are flagged as important issues. Reciprocity and market access is emphasized. All this is of course only election rhetoric, as no positions on substantive issues (except retail trade, see below) are laid out.

International Trade Agreements

The BJP shall fight against the protectionist trend which is emerging in some developed countries. We will safeguard the country’s interests in all bilateral and multilateral trade agreements by avoiding to accept any new unilateral or less than reciprocal commitments. Our Government will renegotiate all such past commitments that are inconsistent with national interests, especially to ensure food security and affordable health care. We will not hesitate to roll back any concessions and facilities not reciprocated by the counterparts. The BJP will safeguard the interests of our vast technical manpower and ensure maximum market access in future agreements depending upon the offers made by the trade partners.

The manifesto has a separate section on retail trade. No foreign investment in retail trade if the BJP comes to power in New Delhi. 

The BJP understands the critical importance of retail trade in the context of employment and services provided by them, and thus favours a dominant role for the unincorporated sector in retail trade. Towards this end, it will not allow foreign investment in the retail sector. After agriculture, the retail sector is the largest employer of nearly four crore people.

We will:

1. Adopt all necessary measures to safeguard the interests of small and tiny retail vendors.

2. Ensure availability of working capital needs for such vendors through credit at not more than four per cent interest.

3. Study the feasibility of a slab-based ‘Compound Tax’ for traders to free them from needless harassment and end corruption.

4. Set up an empowered committee to recommend welfare measures, including a pension scheme, for small traders.

Other items that are interesting from a WTO/ international trade perspective are the promises on labour:

The BJP will holistically address the long-pending issue of labour reforms, bearing in mind the long-term interests of the working class. It will do so through close consultation with representative bodies of labour and employers. We are committed to ensure the following:

1. Making secret ballot compulsory for trade union elections, by suitably amending the Industrial Disputes Act.

2. Launching a training programme for trade unions to play an effective and positive role.

3. Setting up a ‘Workers Bank’ to deal with the banking requirements of labour in the organised and unorganised sectors.

4. Ensuring adequate compensation for any labour that may be retrenched, with the first option being redeployment.

5. Setting up a National Child Labour Commission.

6. For labour in the unorganised sector, revise minimum wages; expand safety net.

And a special mention for the diamond industry that has been hit by the global economic crisis:

Hindustan Diamond Corporation will be provided full support to help the diamond industry tide over the crisis caused by the global economic slump. It will provide raw diamonds to the cutting and polishing units and bank them for future trade.

The BJP manifesto can be downloaded here.