The Indian Policy Response :: India Trade Globalization Agriculture Essays

The Indian Policy Response Socio-economic implications of Globalization in India - What India wants from WTO - What is required of India by WTO - Analysis of policy response in two crucial areas Agriculture and Pharmaceuticals. An ethical framework covering the issues that are discussed and a common policy response is suggested. In the early nineties, India embarked full speed on a path of liberalization and globalization by reducing trade barriers and non-trade barriers alike, demolishing the existing quota-licensing regime. As a logical step in that process, it joined the WTO in 1994 at the end of Uruguay round of talks. Major changes in existing laws and enacting new laws had become imperative to comply with the WTO agreement. But substantial resistance to the acceptance of the WTO regime have erupted in areas of Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals. India as a founder of the ITA (Information technology Agreement) under the aegis of WTO has significant advantages as well as some critical obligations. This paper analyses the moral arguments of the policy response to these critical issues and attempts to synthesize a common position based on ethical perspectives. Agriculture Before we discuss the policy imperatives of the WTO response, a brief background on the nature and state Indian agriculture is necessary. Indian economy is agrarian in nature where nearly 70% of the population is dependent upon agricultural income. At the lower end of this strata are the vast majority of poor farm labourers who do not own the land but work in the fields and farms to earn their livelihood. In the middle layer, we have a large number of marginal land owners and small farmers who labour as well as employ other labourers to produce. In the higher end there a small number of large farmers and farm corporations who employ mechanised as well as very labour intensive farming. The politically powerful lobby of big farmers utilize power, irrigation and fertilizer subsidies of the government at the same level as the small farmers. The number of crops produced by this huge agricultural base is limited comparative to the other developed countries, because of various historical an d climatic conditions. Since the agriculture is labour intensive and most of the farming is done by small farmers owning small land tracts, the productivity is low and costs are high. While some states subsidize power and irrigation, the central government provides fertilizer subsidies and procures the farm products at minimum support prices to supply poor urban consumers to ensure food security through a Public Distribution System.