HarperCollins presents India’s Trade Policy by Arvind Panagariya

vandana.rathore@harpercollins.co.in | 25 April 2024

presents

 India’s Trade Policy

The 1990s and Beyond

by Arvind Panagariya

Economist and chairperson of the Sixteenth Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya has closely observed the Indian economy over decades and written extensively about it. In this book, he has collected his writings from 1989 to the present day to provide an overview of the Indian economy from when liberalization started to where it has reached.

Paperback | Non-fiction| Policy | Rs 599

Available Wherever Books Are Sold | Releasing 30^th April 2024

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Author, Arvind Panagariya, says, “This book brings to you more than two decades of advocacy for liberal trade policies in India by me. It provides the history of trade policy over the last two decades as it unfolded. The ups and downs of India’s trade policy illustrate the challenges liberal trade policies face at the country level and globally.”

Managing Editor, Amrita Mukerji says, “India’s Trade Policy is a unique overview of the evolution of the Indian economy since liberalization was announced, by renowned economist Dr Arvind Panagariya. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand India’s progress and development since the 1990s, and the issues that still remain unresolved.”

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ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1991, India began the process of liberalizing the economy. But it has been gradual—even import licensing (on consumer goods) was not fully removed till 2001. Between 1991 and 2023, tariff liberalization was reversed twice—first between 1996–1997 to 1999–2000 and then from 2018–2019 onwards. Anti-dumping was also used extensively to exclude the imports of specific products from the most competitive sources.

Economist and chairperson of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, Dr Arvind Panagariya has closely observed the Indian economy over decades and written extensively about it, all the while advocating for liberalization and free trade, and explaining the benefits of an open economy especially with respect to international trade. In this book, he has collected his writings from 1989 to the present day to provide an overview of the Indian economy from when liberalization started to where the economy has reached. In doing so, he presents a strong case against protectionism and import substitution, and recommends faster liberalization. The book also looks at India–US and India–China trade relations, multilateral negotiations, free trade area agreements, and non-trade issues in trade agreement.

A window into the history of trade-policy changes in India, the factors driving them and their implications for the country’s development and well-being, India’s Trade Policy is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand the Indian economy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ARVIND PANAGARIYA is Professor of Economics and the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University, US. He is also the director of the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at Columbia University. He served as the first vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog from January 2015 to August 2017. Most recently, he has been appointed as the chairman of the Sixteenth Finance Commission of India. He is the author of more than twenty books, among them India’s Tryst with Destiny, co-authored with Jagdish Bhagwati, which has been called ‘a manifesto for policymakers and analysts’. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2012.

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For reviews, excerpts, interviews, and more information, please contact Vandana Rathore at
vandana.rathore@harpercollins.co.in