Dastgir Alam

The creation of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since 1948. During those 47 years, international commerce was conducted under General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which helped establish a prosperous multilateral trading system. WTO is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, the legal ground rules for international commerce and for trade policy. The agreements have three main objectives: (a) to help trade flow as freely as possible, (b) to achieve further liberalisation gradually through negotiations and (c) to set up an impartial means of settling disputes. A number of simple, fundamental principles run throughout all the WTO agreements. They are the foundation of the multilateral trading system. They include: non-discrimination, freer trade, predictable policies, encouragement to competition and extra provisions for less developed countries. Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are an integral part of Indias foreign trade policy, complementing the multilateral trading system. Prior to economic reforms process initiated in 1991, India had adopted a very cautious and guarded approach to regionalism. Recognising that RTAs would continue to feature prominently in world trade, India has lately engaged with its trading partners/blocks with the intention of expanding its export market. The present volume contains 8 well-researched papers on Indias position in the context of WTO and regional trade agreements. Authored by distinguished scholars in the field, these papers provide deep insights into the complexities of Indias commercial relations with the outside world.

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, Aligarh Muslim University (Department of Economics), language: English, abstract: Abstract Since the ages inequalities in income distribution have been both a fact and a major cause of concern for world community. India, being a part of this world also suffers from this problem. To solve it India started the process of planning in 1950 and since then planners are making their best efforts to reduce the prevalence of income inequalities. The present study revealed that in comparison to rural areas, the problem of income inequalities has always been higher in urban areas. In rural areas economic growth is proved very important in solving the problem of inequalities but only before the economic reforms. After the economic reforms, economic growth has failed to address the problem of inequality in income distribution. The study has further found that in urban areas, it is not the economic growth but the differential growth of the various sectors which is affecting the level inequalities in income distribution. Key Words: Inequalities, Income Distribution, Income Inequalities, Economic Growth, Economic Reforms, Differential Growth.

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Trade and Distribution, language: English, abstract: When World Trade Organisation (WTO) brought agricultural trade in its domain there was great expectation that trade of agricultural items will improve and masses will gain from it through greater market access and better prices particularly to the developing nations. But at the same time there was fear among the developing nations that foul play of some developed nations may have negative impact on market access and better prices for their produce. The present paper analyses the Indian concerns in this respect. It is found that the negative impact of WTO on agricultural commodities exports as it was thought is not a valid case for India. India's agricultural items have got a due respect in international market. Not only the quantity of export has increased but also there is improvement in the prices of agricultural items. Non traditional agricultural items have got greater market access and better prices followed by traditional items and items of future potential.