New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Nov 15, 2020
The G20 has emerged as a premier deliberative forum, involving leaders of some of the largest, sy... more The G20 has emerged as a premier deliberative forum, involving leaders of some of the largest, systematically important countries of the world. Over the years, the G20 agenda has evolved to include pertinent issues for both developed countries and the emerging market economies. After the G20 Summits were launched, certain global concerns that required collective action became permanent features of the G20 agenda. Tackling corruption was one of them. Corruption is being characterised as an international problem requiring collective corrective action. The G20 established an Anti-Corruption Working Group as early as in 2010, at the fourth summit in Toronto, which sets the Anti-Corruption Action Plan for the G20 members. Over the years, the issues under the Working Group have evolved to capture continuous and emerging challenges for the G20 members. India has been actively involved in the anti-corruption agenda of the G20 and has periodically submitted its implementation reports to the G20. More recently, India has also contributed to the anti-corruption agenda by making suggestion on significant issues for G20 members. This paper discusses the evolution of the anti-corruption agenda globally and within the G20, and India's progress and contribution in furthering this agenda. While the objective of this paper is to report the progress of the G20 members including India, the paper also makes observations regarding the G20 as a multilateral body for addressing anti-corruption issues. The paper is based on a review of the G20 documents and discussions with experts in the area.
New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), 2014
Germany is a large source country for investment and technology transfer into India and Indian in... more Germany is a large source country for investment and technology transfer into India and Indian investments in Germany are also growing overtime. The two countries have investment complementarities and, therefore, there is scope to enhance bilateral investments flows. However, there are many market access and operational restrictions, which impact the flow of bilateral investments. In this context, this paper aims to highlight the barriers to investment flows between India and Germany and suggest measures to address these barriers through bilateral trade negotiations and domestic reforms. The paper found that policy uncertainty, rigid regulations and differences in technical and product standards are key barriers to bilateral investment flows between India and Germany. In addition, there are cultural and language barriers and lack of knowledge about the present policies and incentives in the two countries. Investment flows can be facilitated through intergovernment agreements as they offer operational certainty and comprehensive trade agreements, which ensure a more liberal and predictable investment regime for the trading partners. The paper suggests that while some of the barriers can be addressed through domestic reforms and trade negotiations, there is also a need to enhance inter-government cooperation, government industry interactions and promote knowledge sharing between the two countries to facilitate investment flows.
Opinions and recommendations in the paper are exclusively of the author(s) and not of any other i... more Opinions and recommendations in the paper are exclusively of the author(s) and not of any other individual or institution including ICRIER. This paper has been prepared in good faith on the basis of information available at the date of publication. All interactions and transactions with industry sponsors and their representatives have been transparent and conducted in an open, honest and independent manner as enshrined in ICRIER Memorandum of Association. ICRIER does not accept any corporate funding that comes with a mandated research area which is not in line with ICRIER's research agenda. The corporate funding of an ICRIER activity does not, in any way, imply ICRIER's endorsement of the views of the sponsoring organisation or its products or policies. ICRIER does not conduct research that is focused on any specific product or service provided by the corporate sponsor.
to India’s rapid development. i In 2019-20, they accounted for 30 per cent of gross domestic prod... more to India’s rapid development. i In 2019-20, they accounted for 30 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and nearly 50 per cent of exports. ii Providing jobs to around 111 million people, MSMEs are the second largest source of employment in the country, after agriculture. iii There are more than 63 million MSMEs in the country and a majority of these are in the micro enterprise category. Digitalisation has brought many benefits to MSMEs. Besides overcoming existential challenges, MSMEs have increased their customer base, improved operational efficiency, improved risk management, innovated, and reduced manpower requirements with digitalisation. The catalytic effect of the pandemic is likely to push India’s e-commerce sector to grow to USD111 billion by 2024 because of increased demand through online shopping. xv This survey-based report captures the way MSMEs are adapting to e-commerce platforms including the impact of e-commerce on their business volumes, supply chain linkages and...
Anna Watson, Howard Viney, Patrick Schomaker (2002) found that introducing consumer choice was on... more Anna Watson, Howard Viney, Patrick Schomaker (2002) found that introducing consumer choice was one of the key motivations underpinning the various public utility privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s, along with enhancing the quality of service provided to consumers. This was especially the case in electricity supply, where a timetable for the introduction of competition was included in the original legislation.
We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us t... more We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us the opportunity to work in this area and for his constant support. We would like to thank Amway India Enterprises Private Limited for sponsoring this study. We are especially grateful to Rajat Banerji for his support. We are also thankful to a number of central government and state government officials for providing their valuable inputs.
The central and the state governments in India have enacted over 300 policies and schemes, most o... more The central and the state governments in India have enacted over 300 policies and schemes, most of them for promoting the growth of the manufacturing sector. The majority of the cluster-based schemes can be dovetailed with incentives under the SEZ policy, implying that an investor can avail of the benefits under more than one scheme and/or policy. However, despite subsidies, grants and other incentives, manufacturing has not grown as expected. This chapter examines some of the cluster-based schemes and how these can be dovetailed with the SEZ policy. It also makes policy recommendations on how to support the growth of the manufacturing sector in India.
India is a proponent of liberalizing services in the WTO and in its FTAs. However, the country ha... more India is a proponent of liberalizing services in the WTO and in its FTAs. However, the country has not taken commitments in sectors such as retail in its trade agreements. This is because there are restrictions on FDI in this sector. India’s trading partners have been requesting for liberal commitments in the retail sector. In the year 2012, India autonomously liberalized FDI in retail, allowing 100 per cent FDI in single-brand and 51 per cent in multi-brand retail subject to certain conditions. Given this background, this paper examines the impact of autonomous liberalization on India’s commitments in trade agreements. The paper found that if India agrees to bind the autonomous regime in the trade agreements, it will increase India’s bargaining power in the WTO and FTAs. The country can trade-off commitments in retail sector for greater market access in areas of its trade interest. Binding the autonomous regime in trade agreements will speed up the negotiations process and lead to conclusion of pending agreements such as the India-EU bilateral agreement. However, there are some concerns. Since the FDI liberalization is accompanied by certain restrictions, which are only applicable to foreign service providers, India cannot undertake national treatment commitments.
In India, retail is the second largest employer after agriculture, providing employment to over 3... more In India, retail is the second largest employer after agriculture, providing employment to over 35 million people. Employment in this sector has witnessed changes after the 1990s with the modernisation of retail. Since retail is labour-intensive, the FDI ...
Fostering connectivity through stronger regional trading relationships may hold the key to unlock... more Fostering connectivity through stronger regional trading relationships may hold the key to unlocking growth in India’s manufacturing sector. Opening up regional trade networks will not only reduce the costs of trading but also accelerate the development of manufacturing, production networks, and value chains in the region. Successful market integration requires a foundation of cooperation and knowledge sharing across borders.
This paper examines the current and future prospects for the movement of architects and engineers... more This paper examines the current and future prospects for the movement of architects and engineers between India and the EU, based on secondary information and a primary survey. Due to ageing population and a shrinking workforce, the EU Member States are facing shortage of skilled professionals, including architects and engineers. While some studies show that India has a large pool of architects and engineers, others point out that India’s own demand for these skills will rise and the country will face skill shortages. None of the studies contradict the fact that India’s young population, if provided the right education and training, can complement the skill requirements of the domestic economy and the EU. Thus, there is potential for enhancing trade in this sector. This is accentuated by the presence of a large number of EU companies in India and some Indian companies in the EU. The study found that there are several barriers to the bilateral movement of architects and engineers, wh...
We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us t... more We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us the opportunity to work in this area and for his constant encouragement and support. We would like to thank officials of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Division, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for their useful insights and access to the SEZ related data and information. The Development Commissioners of SEZs and Export Promotion Council for Export Oriented Units (EOUs) and SEZs (EPCES) provided valuable information. One-to-one meetings with SEZ developers, state government officials and units in SEZs helped us to understand the gaps in policies related to special SEZs. The field visits have enriched our understanding of the subject. We would like to thank Rupa Chanda and Anwarul Hoda for their valuable comments. We would also like to thank Subhobrota Ray, Parthapratim Pal, Deboshree Ghosh and Purva Singh for their inputs. The administrative team in ICRIER deserves a special mention. In particular, we would like to thank Anu Mohandas for coordinating the meetings and appointments.
International trade agreements are incomplete contracts. The international environment is non-sta... more International trade agreements are incomplete contracts. The international environment is non-stationary, and technological progress affects both the nature of services and modes of service delivery. This creates uncertainty about future developments in technology-based services. In the presence of transactions costs and due to limited foresight, it is difficult to specify all contingencies within trade agreements ex ante, resulting in contractual incompleteness. This article investigates the design of India’s services agreements to assess the approach followed while listing the ex ante commitment and its implication on technology-based services. It also discusses the ex post mechanism under these agreements to address the gaps in the commitments with respect to new services, and the enforcement mechanism to facilitate the inclusion of these services. It is found that India’s bilateral agreements leave the inclusion of services that may not be technically feasible, ex ante, at the d...
Liberalisation and technological developments have led to the fragmentation of production and the... more Liberalisation and technological developments have led to the fragmentation of production and the emergence of the concept of global value chains. This has ushered in the role of services for linking the production network, resulting in a greater composition of services in the value of tradable. Consequently, liberalisation of the entire value chain is being addressed through trade agreements for efficient crosscountry delivery of goods and services. This has also been the case with South and Southeast Asian Free Trade Agreements. The objective of this paper is to understand the prospects of enhancing services trade, investment and cooperation between South and Southeast Asia, taking the example of India and Thailand, by focusing on the development of services value chains through services sector liberalisation. Based on a primary survey and an analysis of the trade agreements involving India and Thailand, the paper finds that the present level of physical and people-to-people integration is low. This is due to the presence of certain market access barriers and regulatory bottlenecks in the two markets. The evidence suggests that these barriers can be addressed at the institutional level by means of a comprehensive trade agreement. India and Thailand have singularly liberalised key services sectors in their concluded bilateral and regional trade agreements, thereby fostering greater integration and leveraging the development of a global value chain.
New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Nov 15, 2020
The G20 has emerged as a premier deliberative forum, involving leaders of some of the largest, sy... more The G20 has emerged as a premier deliberative forum, involving leaders of some of the largest, systematically important countries of the world. Over the years, the G20 agenda has evolved to include pertinent issues for both developed countries and the emerging market economies. After the G20 Summits were launched, certain global concerns that required collective action became permanent features of the G20 agenda. Tackling corruption was one of them. Corruption is being characterised as an international problem requiring collective corrective action. The G20 established an Anti-Corruption Working Group as early as in 2010, at the fourth summit in Toronto, which sets the Anti-Corruption Action Plan for the G20 members. Over the years, the issues under the Working Group have evolved to capture continuous and emerging challenges for the G20 members. India has been actively involved in the anti-corruption agenda of the G20 and has periodically submitted its implementation reports to the G20. More recently, India has also contributed to the anti-corruption agenda by making suggestion on significant issues for G20 members. This paper discusses the evolution of the anti-corruption agenda globally and within the G20, and India's progress and contribution in furthering this agenda. While the objective of this paper is to report the progress of the G20 members including India, the paper also makes observations regarding the G20 as a multilateral body for addressing anti-corruption issues. The paper is based on a review of the G20 documents and discussions with experts in the area.
New Delhi: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), 2014
Germany is a large source country for investment and technology transfer into India and Indian in... more Germany is a large source country for investment and technology transfer into India and Indian investments in Germany are also growing overtime. The two countries have investment complementarities and, therefore, there is scope to enhance bilateral investments flows. However, there are many market access and operational restrictions, which impact the flow of bilateral investments. In this context, this paper aims to highlight the barriers to investment flows between India and Germany and suggest measures to address these barriers through bilateral trade negotiations and domestic reforms. The paper found that policy uncertainty, rigid regulations and differences in technical and product standards are key barriers to bilateral investment flows between India and Germany. In addition, there are cultural and language barriers and lack of knowledge about the present policies and incentives in the two countries. Investment flows can be facilitated through intergovernment agreements as they offer operational certainty and comprehensive trade agreements, which ensure a more liberal and predictable investment regime for the trading partners. The paper suggests that while some of the barriers can be addressed through domestic reforms and trade negotiations, there is also a need to enhance inter-government cooperation, government industry interactions and promote knowledge sharing between the two countries to facilitate investment flows.
Opinions and recommendations in the paper are exclusively of the author(s) and not of any other i... more Opinions and recommendations in the paper are exclusively of the author(s) and not of any other individual or institution including ICRIER. This paper has been prepared in good faith on the basis of information available at the date of publication. All interactions and transactions with industry sponsors and their representatives have been transparent and conducted in an open, honest and independent manner as enshrined in ICRIER Memorandum of Association. ICRIER does not accept any corporate funding that comes with a mandated research area which is not in line with ICRIER's research agenda. The corporate funding of an ICRIER activity does not, in any way, imply ICRIER's endorsement of the views of the sponsoring organisation or its products or policies. ICRIER does not conduct research that is focused on any specific product or service provided by the corporate sponsor.
to India’s rapid development. i In 2019-20, they accounted for 30 per cent of gross domestic prod... more to India’s rapid development. i In 2019-20, they accounted for 30 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and nearly 50 per cent of exports. ii Providing jobs to around 111 million people, MSMEs are the second largest source of employment in the country, after agriculture. iii There are more than 63 million MSMEs in the country and a majority of these are in the micro enterprise category. Digitalisation has brought many benefits to MSMEs. Besides overcoming existential challenges, MSMEs have increased their customer base, improved operational efficiency, improved risk management, innovated, and reduced manpower requirements with digitalisation. The catalytic effect of the pandemic is likely to push India’s e-commerce sector to grow to USD111 billion by 2024 because of increased demand through online shopping. xv This survey-based report captures the way MSMEs are adapting to e-commerce platforms including the impact of e-commerce on their business volumes, supply chain linkages and...
Anna Watson, Howard Viney, Patrick Schomaker (2002) found that introducing consumer choice was on... more Anna Watson, Howard Viney, Patrick Schomaker (2002) found that introducing consumer choice was one of the key motivations underpinning the various public utility privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s, along with enhancing the quality of service provided to consumers. This was especially the case in electricity supply, where a timetable for the introduction of competition was included in the original legislation.
We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us t... more We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us the opportunity to work in this area and for his constant support. We would like to thank Amway India Enterprises Private Limited for sponsoring this study. We are especially grateful to Rajat Banerji for his support. We are also thankful to a number of central government and state government officials for providing their valuable inputs.
The central and the state governments in India have enacted over 300 policies and schemes, most o... more The central and the state governments in India have enacted over 300 policies and schemes, most of them for promoting the growth of the manufacturing sector. The majority of the cluster-based schemes can be dovetailed with incentives under the SEZ policy, implying that an investor can avail of the benefits under more than one scheme and/or policy. However, despite subsidies, grants and other incentives, manufacturing has not grown as expected. This chapter examines some of the cluster-based schemes and how these can be dovetailed with the SEZ policy. It also makes policy recommendations on how to support the growth of the manufacturing sector in India.
India is a proponent of liberalizing services in the WTO and in its FTAs. However, the country ha... more India is a proponent of liberalizing services in the WTO and in its FTAs. However, the country has not taken commitments in sectors such as retail in its trade agreements. This is because there are restrictions on FDI in this sector. India’s trading partners have been requesting for liberal commitments in the retail sector. In the year 2012, India autonomously liberalized FDI in retail, allowing 100 per cent FDI in single-brand and 51 per cent in multi-brand retail subject to certain conditions. Given this background, this paper examines the impact of autonomous liberalization on India’s commitments in trade agreements. The paper found that if India agrees to bind the autonomous regime in the trade agreements, it will increase India’s bargaining power in the WTO and FTAs. The country can trade-off commitments in retail sector for greater market access in areas of its trade interest. Binding the autonomous regime in trade agreements will speed up the negotiations process and lead to conclusion of pending agreements such as the India-EU bilateral agreement. However, there are some concerns. Since the FDI liberalization is accompanied by certain restrictions, which are only applicable to foreign service providers, India cannot undertake national treatment commitments.
In India, retail is the second largest employer after agriculture, providing employment to over 3... more In India, retail is the second largest employer after agriculture, providing employment to over 35 million people. Employment in this sector has witnessed changes after the 1990s with the modernisation of retail. Since retail is labour-intensive, the FDI ...
Fostering connectivity through stronger regional trading relationships may hold the key to unlock... more Fostering connectivity through stronger regional trading relationships may hold the key to unlocking growth in India’s manufacturing sector. Opening up regional trade networks will not only reduce the costs of trading but also accelerate the development of manufacturing, production networks, and value chains in the region. Successful market integration requires a foundation of cooperation and knowledge sharing across borders.
This paper examines the current and future prospects for the movement of architects and engineers... more This paper examines the current and future prospects for the movement of architects and engineers between India and the EU, based on secondary information and a primary survey. Due to ageing population and a shrinking workforce, the EU Member States are facing shortage of skilled professionals, including architects and engineers. While some studies show that India has a large pool of architects and engineers, others point out that India’s own demand for these skills will rise and the country will face skill shortages. None of the studies contradict the fact that India’s young population, if provided the right education and training, can complement the skill requirements of the domestic economy and the EU. Thus, there is potential for enhancing trade in this sector. This is accentuated by the presence of a large number of EU companies in India and some Indian companies in the EU. The study found that there are several barriers to the bilateral movement of architects and engineers, wh...
We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us t... more We express our gratitude to Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER, for giving us the opportunity to work in this area and for his constant encouragement and support. We would like to thank officials of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Division, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for their useful insights and access to the SEZ related data and information. The Development Commissioners of SEZs and Export Promotion Council for Export Oriented Units (EOUs) and SEZs (EPCES) provided valuable information. One-to-one meetings with SEZ developers, state government officials and units in SEZs helped us to understand the gaps in policies related to special SEZs. The field visits have enriched our understanding of the subject. We would like to thank Rupa Chanda and Anwarul Hoda for their valuable comments. We would also like to thank Subhobrota Ray, Parthapratim Pal, Deboshree Ghosh and Purva Singh for their inputs. The administrative team in ICRIER deserves a special mention. In particular, we would like to thank Anu Mohandas for coordinating the meetings and appointments.
International trade agreements are incomplete contracts. The international environment is non-sta... more International trade agreements are incomplete contracts. The international environment is non-stationary, and technological progress affects both the nature of services and modes of service delivery. This creates uncertainty about future developments in technology-based services. In the presence of transactions costs and due to limited foresight, it is difficult to specify all contingencies within trade agreements ex ante, resulting in contractual incompleteness. This article investigates the design of India’s services agreements to assess the approach followed while listing the ex ante commitment and its implication on technology-based services. It also discusses the ex post mechanism under these agreements to address the gaps in the commitments with respect to new services, and the enforcement mechanism to facilitate the inclusion of these services. It is found that India’s bilateral agreements leave the inclusion of services that may not be technically feasible, ex ante, at the d...
Liberalisation and technological developments have led to the fragmentation of production and the... more Liberalisation and technological developments have led to the fragmentation of production and the emergence of the concept of global value chains. This has ushered in the role of services for linking the production network, resulting in a greater composition of services in the value of tradable. Consequently, liberalisation of the entire value chain is being addressed through trade agreements for efficient crosscountry delivery of goods and services. This has also been the case with South and Southeast Asian Free Trade Agreements. The objective of this paper is to understand the prospects of enhancing services trade, investment and cooperation between South and Southeast Asia, taking the example of India and Thailand, by focusing on the development of services value chains through services sector liberalisation. Based on a primary survey and an analysis of the trade agreements involving India and Thailand, the paper finds that the present level of physical and people-to-people integration is low. This is due to the presence of certain market access barriers and regulatory bottlenecks in the two markets. The evidence suggests that these barriers can be addressed at the institutional level by means of a comprehensive trade agreement. India and Thailand have singularly liberalised key services sectors in their concluded bilateral and regional trade agreements, thereby fostering greater integration and leveraging the development of a global value chain.
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