RIS, jointly with the South Asia Centre forPolicy Studies (SACEPS), Dhaka, organiseda Regional Conference on SAARC – PostIslamabad Challenges on Tuesday, 31 August2004. This conference was participated bysenior experts from Bangladesh, Pakistan,Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India to discuss thechallenges to the implementation of SAFTA,potential for cooperation in energy issues aswell as evolving a regional approach to povertyand social issues.

Shri J.N. Dixit, Hon'ble National SecurityAdviser, Prime Minister’s Office delivered theinaugural address. Professor Arjun K. Sengupta,Chairman, RIS and SACEPS chaired theinaugural session. Professor Rehman Sobhan,Executive Director, SACEPS and Dr. NageshKumar, Director-General, RIS also addressedthe inaugural session.

The first session dealt with SAFTA:Prospects and Challenges and was chaired byProfessor Muchkund Dubey, President, CSD.The panelists in the session were: Dr. SamanKelegama, Executive Director, Institute forPolicy Studies, Colombo; Dr. Akmal Hussain,Member, Economic Advisory Board to thePresident of Pakistan; Professor I.N.Mukherjee, Jawaharlal Nehru University andRIS; Dr. Sudipto Mundle, Deputy Country

Director forIndia, ADB; andDr. NageshKumar.

The secondsession on thetheme of EnergyCooperation inSouth Asia wasco-chaired byHon’ble ShriMani ShankarAiyar, Ministerof Petroleum &Natural Gas andPanchayati Rajand Dr. MohanMan Sainju,Chairman, IIDS,K a t h m a n d u .Mr. Farooq Sobhan, President, BangladeshEnterprise Institute; Dr. Leena Srivastava,Executive Director, TERI, New Delhi; andProfessor Mahendra P. Lama, JawaharlalNehru University; were the panelists for thissession.

The third session on Social Charter andPoverty Alleviation: The Tasks Ahead wasco-chaired by Dr. Kamal Hossain, Former

Regional Conference on SAARC: Post-Islamabad Challenges

South Asia Development and Cooperation Report 2004 Launched in IslamabadThe Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) organiseda seminar in Islamabad at the Planning Commission Auditoriumon August 18, 2004 for launching RIS' South Asia Developmentand Cooperation Report 2004. Mr. Zafar Altaf, former FederalSecretary, chaired the seminar. After the welcome address by Dr.A.R. Kemal, Director, PIDE, Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General,RIS made a presentation on the findings of the RIS Report. It wasfollowed by an extensive discussion on the contents of the Report.Mr. Shiv Shankar Menon, High Commissioner of India alsoparticipated in the discussion. The Report was received well by theaudience and was extensively covered in the mainstream media.More than 80 participants from academia, research institutions,government departments, and media took part in the event.

Earlier RIS, jointly with the South Asia Centre for PolicyStudies (SACEPS), Dhaka; and Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD),Dhaka had organised launching of the RIS Report in Dhaka onMay 18, 2004.

(From left) Dr. Zafar Moen Nasir, Senior Fellow, PIDE; Dr. A.R. Kemal, Director,PIDE; Mr. Zafar Altaf, former Federal Secretary; and Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS at the seminar in Islamabad.

(From right): Professor Rehman Sobhan, Executive Director, SACEPS; Shri J.N. Dixit,Hon'ble National Security Adviser, Prime Minister’s Office; Professor Arjun K. Sengupta,Chairman, RIS and SACEPS; and Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh; andDr. Abhijit Sen, Member, PlanningCommission. The panelists included Dr.Godfrey Gunatilleke, Marga Institute; Dr.(Ms.) Maxine Olson, Resident Coordinator,UNDP, New Delhi; Dr. Sridhar Khatri,Director, RCSS and Dr. Rohini Nayyar,Adviser, Planning Commission. It wasfollowed by the concluding session.

Vol.2 No. 4 October 2004

2 RIS Diary October 2004

Current Research/Advisory ActivitiesBuilding New Bridges In South-South Cooperation: A Study ofIndia-Brazil–South Africa EconomicCooperationRIS has undertaken a study to explore thepotential of economic cooperation in the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Dialogue.The Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and SouthAfrica had met in Brasilia on June 6, 2003, andagreed to set up a Trilateral Commission of IBSADialogue Forum for regular consultations. TheFirst Ministerial Meeting of the Commission washeld in New Delhi on 4-5 March 2004 at whichthey adopted a New Delhi Plan of Action to boosttrilateral trade and promote South-SouthCooperation (SSC).

The New Delhi Ministerial Meeting ofIBSA in tune with Brasilia Declarationemphasized the importance of concrete trilateralcooperation in civil aviation, infrastructure, jobcreation and small medium and microenterprises, science and technology,information technology, tourism, energy,defense and social sectors covering health,education, etc. The Ministers agreed that theIBSA countries can reinforce the economicstrength of each other by synergizing theircomplementarities in area of industry, services,business and technology which in turn couldcreate a market of 1.2 billion people 1.2 trilliondollars of GDP and foreign trade of 300 billiondollars. It was also decided that each countriescould conduct studies to examine the potentialfor economic and commercial partnership andthe ways and means for increasing trade andinvestment flows among the three countries.

Against this background the RIS study,undertaken at the request of Ministry ofCommerce and Industry, explores thepossibilities of strengthening trade (goods andservices) and investment relations betweenthese countries. RIS has also been asked toprovide analytical support on the subject bythe Ministry of External Affairs. Contact forfurther details: dgoffice@ris.org.in

Relevance of Investment in India-GCC PartnershipIndia and GCC are entering into a free tradearrangement in order to facilitate exploitationof their complementarities for mutualdevelopment. RIS has been commissioned bythe Department of Commerce to examine therelevance of investment forming a part of suchan arrangement. The study will assess theimpact of including investment in the FTA onthe economies in question. First, it will analysethe existing investment flows by looking atthe trends, patterns, as well as the potential fortwo way flows between the countries. Thisassessment will provide a background to thesecond issue that will examine the policy regime

for investment in the countries. The objectivebehind this would be to identify the barriers toinvestment that exist at present and theconstraints that affect the realisation of thepotential. It will also identify areas in whichinvestment could be encouraged in the future.The third aspect that the study will deal with isthe potential negotiating issues that wouldencourage bilateral investment. Contact forfurther details: dgoffice@ris.org.in

Study on Trends, Structure andCompetitiveness of Indian SeedIndustryInternational Food Policy Research Institute(IFPRI), Washington D.C. has approached RISto carry out a study on Indian Seed Industry toanalyse the structure, progress and degree ofcompetitiveness of the seed industry since theintroduction of New Seed Policy in 1988. Thestudy is also designed to look into theimplications of the new IPR regime (afterJanuary 2005) for the seed sector andconsequent changes following the Seeds Act2001. Apart from this the study would alsolook into other issues like magnitude and natureof FDI in the Seed Industry. The studylaunched in October 2004 is likely to becompleted by May 2005. Contact for furtherdetails: sachin@ris.org.in

Policy Notes/Other ConsultationsSAARC Ministerial Meeting: A Note on“SAFTA and Beyond: An Agenda forSAARC” was sent to Hon’ble Ministerfor External Affairs, Government of Indiaon July 17, 2004 following a briefingmeeting called by him.

NAM Ministerial Meeting Durban,South Africa, August 17-19, 2004: RISparticipated in the discussion meetingsorganised by the Ministry of ExternalAffairs in New Delhi, respectively onAugust 6, 2004 and August 11, 2004, forinputs to the mid-term Ministerial Meetingof NAM. Subsequently a Note onEconomic Agenda for NAM, was sent onAugust 12, 2004.

BIMSTEC Summit: Revised Report onFuture Directions of BIMSTEC: Towardsa Bay of Bengal Economic Community”was made available to the Ministry ofExternal Affairs on July 26, 2004.

India-China Joint Study Group: As amember of the group, DG-RIS participatedin the Meetings of the JSG held in NewDelhi (July 2004). RIS prepared andsubmitted some Draft of the Chapters tothe Ministry of External Affairs as a partof the work programme of the India-ChinaJoint Study Group.

A Note on Regional TradingArrangements: Options for India wasprepared for the Ministry of ExternalAffairs and sent on July 19, 2004. Thesame was also made available to the PMO.

India-Korea Economic Relations: APolicy Note on India-Korea EconomicRelations was prepared for the East AsiaDivision, Ministry of External Affairs onJuly 30, 2004.

Other Notes provided: A Note on China’sEconomic Miracle: India’s EconomicPerformance in a ComparativePerspective, prepared for the Ministry ofExternal Affairs on August 21, 2004, andthe Note on Some Points on IndianReforms and Investment Climate, forMEA on August 14, 2004.

WTO/NAMA Negotiations: Submittedseveral inputs on the list of sensitiveproducts and bound and applied rates tothe Department of Commerce.

2004-05 Forecasts of India’s Exports:A Disaggregated Analysis by Countriesand Commodities” submitted to theDepartment of Commerce, Ministry ofCommerce and Industry on April 19, 2004.

Dr. Arjun K. Senguptaappointed Chairman, RIS

Distinguished economistProfessor Arjun K.Sengupta, has beenappointed President,General Body, andChairman, RISGoverning Council.These positions had fallen vacant after ShriK.C. Pant, formerly Deputy Chairman,Planning Commission, resigned afterguiding the work of the organisation for thepast five years with great distinction.

Dr. Sengupta has had a distinguishedcareer as an economist, policy maker, anddiplomat. He has served as the member-secretary of the Planning Commission, asIndia's Ambassador to the EuropeanCommission in Brussels, as ExecutiveDirector on the IMF's Board and is alsocurrently an adjunct Professor at HarvardUniversity and Independent Expert onHuman Rights and Extreme Poverty, UnitedNations Human Rights Commission. He hasalso been appointed by the Government ofIndia, Chairman (in the rank of a CabinetMinister) of the National Commission onEnterprises in the Unorganised/InformalSector.

Continued on page 8

RIS Diary October 2004 3

RIS, jointly with the Department of Scientificand Industrial Research, Ministry of Scienceand Technology, organised a NationalWorkshop on Strategic Approach toStrengthening International Competitivenessin Knowledge-based Industries on August 13,2004. Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Hon'ble Ministerof State for External Affairs inaugurated theWorkshop and addressed the participants. Dr.Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS; Dr.A. Lahiri, Adviser, DSIR; and Dr. George B.Assaf, Director, UNIDO, New Delhi alsoaddressed the inaugural session.

The Workshop presented and discussedthe analysis on determinants of exportcompetitiveness of Indian enterprises in Indianmanufacturing overall as well as in selectknowledge intensive sectors to draw policylessons. It brought at one platform the industry,government and academia to reflect on theissues relating to India’s exportcompetitiveness. The industries selected fordetailed discussion included automobiles,electronics, drugs and pharmaceuticals,machine tools, and specialty chemicals.

The first session on Determinants ofExport Performance in an Era of Globalisation:A Broader Perspective was chaired by ProfN.S. Siddharthan, Institute of EconomicGrowth. Dr. Nagesh Kumar along withDr Rishikesha T Krishnan, IIM, Bangalorewere the key speakers for the session. Thesecond session focussed on the electronicsindustry, and was chaired by Prof Ashok

Strategic Approach to Strengthening International Competi-tiveness in Knowledge-based Industries

Parthasarathi, CSSP,JNU. The keyspeakers were Prof.K J Joseph, VisitingSenior Fellow, RIS;Wing. Comdr. S KKhanna, ExecutiveDirector, CETMA;and Mr. VinnieMehta, ExecutiveDirector, MAIT.

The thirdsession was onchemical industry,chaired by Mr. S.N.Singh, President,ICMA. Dr. V.K.Kaul, AssociateProfessor, Universityof Delhi; and Mr.Ravi Sinha, Ex-CEO, SRF Ltd. were the keyspeakers. The theme of fourth session wasdrugs and pharmaceuticals and was chairedby Mr. Prabir Sengupta , DG, IIFT. The keyspeakers were: Dr. Aradhana Agarwal,Associate Professor, K.M.College, DelhiUniversity; Mr. G. Wakankar, ExecutiveDirector, IDMA; and Mr Bimal K. Raizada,Ex Vice President Ranbaxy.

The fifth session focussed on the case ofautomobile industry. It was chaired by Dr.Rajiv Kumar, Chief Economist, CII. Dr.Neelam Singh, Associate Professor, Lady ShriRam College; Mr. R.R. Rao, Joint MD, ICRA;

An attempt has been made to break the deadlockin the trade talks at WTO since the collapse ofCancun Ministerial by the WTO Director-General and the Chairman, General Councilby putting up a July Framework currently beingdiscussed in Geneva. In order to take stock ofthe progress made at the Geneva talks and theprospects for developing countries, RISorganised a Seminar on WTO July Frameworkon August 6, 2004. Ambassador S.T. Devare,Vice-Chairman, RIS chaired the seminar.

A distinguished panel of eminent expertsdiscussed the issues involved in the subject.They included Professor Anwarul Hoda,Member, Planning Commission; Mr. S.N.Menon, the then Special Secretary (TDP),Ministry of Commerce and Industry; and Dr.Kamal Malhotra, Senior Advisor, UNDP, NewYork. A large number of participants fromgovernment departments, academia, researchinstitutions, business and industry circles, andmedia took part in the discussion.

The Meeting felt that the July package orframework agreement was a positivedevelopment having broken the impasse intrade talks. However, it was premature to read

Seminar on WTO's July Framework

Mr. Indranil Dasgupta, AGM, ICRA AdvisoryServices; and Mr. Dilip Chenoy, DirectorGeneral, SIAM were the key speakers of thesession. The sixth session focussed on non-electrical machinery and was chaired byMr Jagdish Singh, Advisor, DSIR. The keyspeakers were Dr. Padma Suresh, AssociateProfessor, Sri Venkateswara College; Mr. V SGoindi, President, IMTMA; and Mr. V.K.Mathur, CMD, INAPEX Limited. It wasfollowed by the concluding session.

RIS is finalizing the reports presented atthe workshop for submission to theGovernment in the light of the discussion.

(From left) Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs;Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS; Dr. George B. Assaf, Regional Director,UNIDO; and Dr. A. Lahiri, Adviser, DSIR.

(From left): Dr. Kamal Malhotra, Senior Advisor, UNDP, New York; Professor Anwarul Hoda, Member,Planning Commission; Ambassador S.T. Devare, Vice-Chairman, RIS; Mr. S.N. Menon, the then SpecialSecretary (TDP); and Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS.

a victory in it as most of the details remainedto be worked out. Developing countries likeIndia need to remain vigilant for protectingtheir interests in the forthcoming negotiations.

4 RIS Diary October 2004

Faculty NewsDr Nagesh Kumar, Director-General

Made a key presentation on AsianEconomic Community: Towards a Vision of aPan-Asian Economic Integration at the High-Level Conference on Asia’s EconomicCooperation and Integration, organised by theAsian Development Bank in Manila on July1-2, 2004.

Chaired the Talk on “Can Indian becomea Super Power in the 21st Century” by DrGeorge B. Assaf, Representative and RegionalDirector, UNIDO, organised by India HabitatCentre, New Delhi on July 22, 2004.

Guest Speaker at the National Seminar onHistorical Perspective of SAARC andProspects of South Asian Economic Union,organised by Foundation for Peace andSustainable Development and Rajiv GandhiFoundation for Contemporary Studies, in NewDelhi on July 23, 2004.

Participated in the Second Meeting of theIndia-China Joint Study Group, organised bythe Ministry of External Affairs, in New Delhion July 26-28, 2004.

Delivered a lecture on India’s Relationswith ASEAN to the participants of the 44th

Course on National Security and StrategicStudies, organised by the National DefenceCollege, New Delhi on August 3, 2004.

Keynote Speaker in the session on RTAsand South Asia: Options before the Region atthe Seminar on WTO Post-CancunDevelopments: Options for South Asia,organised jointly by Sustainable DevelopmentPolicy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad; CUTS,New Delhi and Oxfam GB Pakistan under theauspices of the South Asia Civil SocietyNetwork on International Trade Issues(SACSNITI), in Islamabad, Pakistan onAugust 17-19, 2004.

Made a presentation on TradeLiberalisation and WTO at the SAARCEconomic Cooperation Conference, organisedjointly by SAARC Chamber of Commerce &Industry and FICCI in New Delhi on August20, 2004.

Nominated as Member of the ConsultativeGroup on Industry and Consultative Groupon External Sector respectively, constituted bythe Planning Commission, Government ofIndia. Participated in the first Meeting of theConsultative Group on External Sector onSeptember 10, 2004.

Made a presentation on Enlargement ofEU and the Developing Economies at theSeminar on “European Union Enlargement andIts Impact on India’s External Sector” by IIFT,New Delhi on September 16, 2004.

Made a presentation on WTO: Doha/Cancun and Beyond at the 36th ProfessionalCourse for Foreign Diplomats, conducted bythe Foreign Service Institute, Ministry ofExternal Affairs, New Delhi on September 17,2004.

Launched and presented UNCTAD’sWorld Investment Report 2004: Shift TowardsServices at the UN Information Centre, NewDelhi on September 22, 2004.

Chaired the Plenary Session II at XXXIIIDairy Industry Conference on Cooperationamong SAARC Partners organised by theIndian Dairy Association, in New Delhi onSeptember 28, 2004.

Dr. Rajesh Mehta, Senior FellowMade a presentation on International Food

Safety Standards Regulations: How RestrictAre These For Indian Processed Food Exportsat the 3rd International Food Tec India 2004and Concurrent Workshop on “Indian FoodProcessing Industry: Policy Initiatives andMarket Access Requirements”, September 10-13, 2004, Hyderabad.

Made a presentation entitled Post-MFARegime and The Chinese Aggression at aseminar organised by Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI)-Delhi and SAARC Chamber ofCommerce & Industry (SCCI)-Islamabadentitled “Trade in Textiles and Clothing in thePost-Quota Regime” in Mumbai on September14, 2004.

Delivered a lecture entitled Short-TermForecasting of India’s Export, at Institute ofEconomic Growth in New Delhi on September24, 2004.

Dr. K.J. Joseph, Visiting Sr. FellowDelivered two sessions on Information

Technology and the Indian Economy at theAcademic Staff College, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, New Delhi on July 28, 2004.

Dr. Ram Upendra Das, FellowParticipated in the Third Meeting of the

Expert Group on Preferential Rules of Origin,set up by Government of India, July 16, 2004.

Delivered a Lecture on “Trading Blockswith Emphasis on the Recent FTA’s”, for theExecutive Masters Programme, at IIFT, NewDelhi on August 22, 2004.

Made a Presentation on “Rules of OriginIssues in India’s Economic PartnershipAgreements with Other Countries: AnApproach Paper on Change in Tariff Heading

Criterion”, Presentation for Fourth Meetingof the Expert Group on Preferential Rules ofOrigin, set up by Government of India, atMinistry of Commerce and Industry, NewDelhi on August 24, 2004.

Made a presentation on “RegionalEconomic Integration: Theory & SAARC”Professional Course for Foreign DiplomatsConducted by Foreign Service Institute,Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi onSeptember 14, 2004.

Participated in a National Seminar on“Negotiations on WTO Rules” organised byDepartment of Commerce, New Delhi onSeptember 21-22, 2004.

Participated in Fifth Meeting of the ExportGroup on Preferential Rules of Origin, set upby Govt. of India, at the Ministry of Commerceand Industry at New Delhi on September 24-25, 2004.

Delivered a lecture on “Implications ofIndia’s Regional Trading Agreements” for theOfficers of the IAS and Allied Services duringthe Programme on WTO and The New TradeRegime organised by IIFT, New Delhi onSeptember 28, 2004.

Made a presentation at the “ConsultationMeetings with Stakeholders on Rules ofOrigin for Government of India’sNegotiations with Other Countries”organised by Government of India incollaboration with FICCI and CII New Delhion September 30, 2004.

Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, FellowParticipated in International Conference

on Agricultural Biotechnology Ushering in theSecond Green Revolution, on August 10-12,2004 organised by FICCI.

Presented a paper on “SPS amd TBTAgreements: Implications for India” atAdvanced Course on WTO for IAS officersorganised by IIFT on September 21, 2004.

Participated in meeting on Food Securityin Asia in the Context of Millennium Goals,organised by IFPRI and Asian DevelopmentResearch Forum (ADRF) on September 10-11, 2004.

Shri Prabir De, Research AssociatePresented paper entitled “How Do

Transaction Costs Affect InternationalIntegration: Empirical Evidence from AsianEconomic Community”, at the High LevelConference on Asia’s Economic Cooperationand Integration, organised by AsianDevelopment Bank, held at Manila, 1-2 July2004.

RIS Diary October 2004 5

Brainstorming on India-Brazil-South Africa(IBSA) Economic CooperationRIS is currently undertaking a study on thePotential for Economic Partnership betweenIndia, Brazil and South Africa at the request ofthe Ministry of Commerce (see page 2). It iswidely recognised that India’s partnership withBrazil and South Africa could be of immenseeconomic and strategic value in view of thedynamism and strengths of these economies.

As a part of gathering inputs for the study,RIS organised a Brainstorming on India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) EconomicCooperation on September 8, 2004 withdifferent stakeholders from trade, industry,services and also from the Government. ShriShashank, former Foreign Secretary, chairedthe Meeting. Shri R. Gopalan, Joint Secretary,

Training Module on International Economic Issues for IFS OfficersRIS conducted a five-day Training Module on International Economic Issues at RIS for IndianForeign Service Officer Trainees of 2003 Batch at the request of Foreign Service Institute,MEA during August 23-27, 2004.

The training module included the inaugural-cum-orientation session on World TradingSystem and Development by Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS and concluded witha valedictory address by Prof. Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for Social Development.

The Module covered topics ofcontemporary relevance concerningmultilateral and regional trade negotiations.The faculty for the course comprised seniormember of RIS faculty and some invitedexperts from academic and policy circles. Theprogramme was coordinated by Dr. RamUpendra Das, Fellow, RIS. The list of nineIFS officer Trainees who attended the Training Programme conducted by RIS included MayankJoshi, Siddhartha Nath, Dr Aman Puri, Abhishek Ranjan Singh, Anjani Kumar, Abhay Kumar,Kishan Dan Dewal, Rajesh Swami, and Devesh Uttam.

Technical Seminar on Short-term Forecasting ofIndia’s Exports: Methodological Issues

RIS has set up a short-termeconometric forecasting model forIndia’s exports in collaboration withthe Ministry of Commerce andIndustry, Government of India toassist the policy and decision-makingprocess

A Seminar to discuss themethodological issues involved inthe exercise was organised by RISon July 6, 2004. Prof. K.L. Krishna,former Director of Delhi School ofEconomics chaired the seminar.Dr. Rajesh Mehta, Senior Fellow,RIS made a presentation of the RIS Model. Experts from the Delhi University, Ministry ofCommerce and other agencies participated in the discussion.

Seminar on Agenda for G-8under British Presidency

Ministry of Commerce, and AmbassadorM.P.M. Menon, former Ambassador of Indiain Brazil, addressed the participants. This wasfollowed by open discussion by stake holdersfrom business and industry circles, andconcerned policy makers, etc.

(From left): Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS;Prof. Muchkund Dubey, President, Council for SocialDevelopment; and Dr. Ram Upendra Das, Fellow, RIS.

IFS officer trainees with Dr. Nagesh Kumar andDr. Ram Upendra Das.

(From left): Ambassador M.P.M. Menon; Mr. R.Gopalan, Joint Secretary; Mr. Shashank, FormerForeign Secretary; and Dr. Nagesh Kumar.

(From left): Dr. Rajesh Mehta; Prof. K.L. Krishna; andDr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS at the Seminar.

(From left): Mr. Creon Butler, Chief Economistof the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,London; Mr. Shashank, Former ForeignSecretary; and Dr. Nagesh Kumar at the Seminar.

The annual G-8 Summits have becomeimportant events from the point of view ofthe process of global governance includingNorth-South economic relations and attracta lot of attention of the media and the civilsociety. The UK is assuming the presidencyof G-8 and will host the 2005 Summit atGleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland in July2005. Besides conventional, globaleconomic, financial, trade and politicalissues, the Perthshire Summit proposes tofocus on climate change and related issues.

RIS organised a seminar to reflect onthe main issues on the Agenda of the G-8under the British Presidency on September23, 2004 at RIS Conference Hall. Mr. CreonButler, Chief Economist of the Foreign andCommonwealth Office, London, initiated thediscussion on the subject. The Seminar waschaired by Ambassador Shashank, formerForeign Secretary, India. Among those whoaddressed it included Dr. S.P. Shukla, formerFinance Secretary; Dr. Jyoti Parikh,Executive Director, IRADe; Mr. T.K.Bhaumik, Senior Advisor, CII; Dr. RajivKumar, Chief Economist, CII; andDr. Madhu Kishwar.

6 RIS Diary October 2004

Latest PublicationsBooksASEAN-India Vision 2020: Working Together for aShared Prosperity by RIS and ASEAN-India Networkof Think-Tanks, 2004.

Future Directions of BIMSTEC: Towards a Bayof Bengal Economic Community by RIS inconsultation with IPS, Colombo; ITD, Bangladesh;and CPD, Dhaka, 2004.

WTO Negotiations and Indian Small ScaleIndustry by Rajesh Mehta and Pooja Agarwal.Published jointly with Federation of IndianMicro and Small & Medium Enterprises(FISME), and Office of DevelopmentCommissioner (SSI), Ministry of Small ScaleIndustries. 2004.

Policy Brief#14 Oil Shock and Cyclical Upturn in US

Interest Rates: Implications for Asia

Discussion Papers#76 Transforming Digital Divide into Digital Dividend: The Role

of South-South Cooperation in ICTs by K.J. JosephThis paper argues that, the present approach, which aims at proliferating the useof ICTs in developing countries, by neglecting its production, is likely toperpetuate technological dependence of the South. Hence the e-strategies andpolicies in the South need to integrate both production and use. In this processmuch could be gained by South-South cooperation because, unlike the earliergeneral-purpose technologies, in case of ICTs substantial capabilities exist inthe South. While there are certain initiatives at the regional and bilateral levelto foster cooperation, the paper calls for an e-South Framework Agreement tofacilitate a broad based approach to pool the resources such that economies ofscale and scope are achieved and risks minimised.

#77 Transaction Costs as Barriers to Economic Integration in Asia:Empirical Exploration by Prabir DeRecent literature has emphasised the importance of transaction costs andinfrastructure in explaining trade, access to markets, and regional cooperationunder globalisation. For most Asian countries, transaction cost works as a strongbarrier to trade integration than import tariff. By estimating a structural modelof economic geography using cross-country data on income, infrastructure,transaction costs and trade of selected Asian economies, this paper providesevidence that transaction cost is statistically significant and important inexplaining variation in trade in Asia. In addition, the study also finds that portefficiency and infrastructure quality are two important determinants oftransaction costs.

#78 Towards Formation of Close Economic Cooperation amongAsian Countries by S K Mohanty, Sanjib Pohit, and SaikatSinha RoyThere have been several attempts in the past for the formation of an Asian EconomicCommunity (AEC) with a view to enhance continental welfare within stipulatedtimeframe. The formation of a Close Economic Relation (CER) among some ofthe vibrant economies of the region, particularly JACIK Member countries(ASEAN plus three plus one) would be of immense importance in attaining sucha goal. Three alternative forms of comprehensive economic liberalisationsschemes may be envisaged. In this paper an effort has been made to examine theimplication of CER on the region using monopolistic version of ComputableGeneral Equilibrium (CGE) for the JACIK countries. The model has been used toexamine the implications of complete liberalisations of trade, investment andmovement of natural persons. The results show that the proposed CER mayenhance global welfare as well as welfare for individual countries in the caucus.Following formation of the proposed CER, the absolute increase in regionalwelfare may go beyond US$ 210 billion per annum amounting to more than 3 percent of the region’s GNP. The implications of the CER on the regional economywould be favourable in improving production efficiency, expanding exportsapart from increasing returns on capital and labour.

#79 Complementarities and Potentials of Intra-regional Transfers ofInvestments, Technology and Skills in Asia by Saikat Sinha RoyThis paper examines complementarities in merchandise trade and potentials forintra-regional transfers of investments, technology and skills in Asia. Theanalysis shows that intra-regional trade was substantial and growing, but tradecomplementarities were limited. Asian countries have also emerged as sourcesof as well as destinations for investment, technology and skills. In the event ofa formal regional integration arrangement in Asia, there is potential for intra-regional trade, investments, technology transfers and skill movements.Substantial gains in regional welfare are also expected.

#80 Strategic Approach to Strengthening the InternationalCompetitiveness in Knowledge Based Industries: The IndianPharmaceutical Industry by Aradhna AggarwalThis paper identifies the factors that determine the export competitiveness offirms in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The analysis is based on the primarysurvey data as well as the PROWESS database. Our findings suggest that thecompetitiveness of firms depends not only on firm specific advantages but alsoon government fiscal incentives. Among the firm specific factors own R&Defforts emerged as one of the prime factors influencing export competitiveness.Technology imports on the other hand did not play a significant export-enhancing role. Brand promotion and lower costs were other importantdeterminants of the export competitiveness. The study also finds that thedeterminants of export-competitiveness differ across firms of different size andownership. High transaction and production costs are found to be majorconstraints faced by Indian exporters. Based on the quantitative and qualitativeanalysis, the study draws useful policy implications to strengthen the exportcompetitiveness of the industry.

#81 Strategic Approach to Strengthening InternationalCompetitiveness in Knowledge Based Industries: Non-electricalMachinery Industry by M. Padma SureshThis study examines some major issues regarding competitiveness in one ofthe medium-high technology industries namely non-electrical machineryindustry. Besides a review of the evolution and structure of the industry, thegrowth performance of the component industries is examined at the three-digitASI level. A detailed analysis of exports as well as imports at the four-digit ITCclassification is undertaken to examine the impact of liberalisation on specificmachinery categories. The study indicates the inward orientation of the industry.Low tariffs and liberal imports including imports of second hand machineryhave affected some industries like textile machinery and machine tools. Thestudy considers two specific issues that are important for establishing exportcompetitiveness namely developing technological capability and FDI in theindustry. A case study of machine tool industry is incorporated for a betterunderstanding of these issues. The report concludes with suggestions forstrengthening competitiveness in the industry.

#82 Strategic Approach to Strengthening InternationalCompetitiveness in Knowledge Based Industries: The Case ofIndian Auto Industry by Neelam SinghThis study examines the export performance and prospects of the Indian automotiveindustry. The technology factor being critical, the in-house, collaborative andsponsored R&D needs greater encouragement. We also recommend an earlyupgradation of testing facilities, and move towards uniform standards;establishment of auto compo zones/ parks, and window showcasing centers; theindustry-government partnership in manpower training; institutional provisionof marketing information, market development funds and branding assistance;and FTAs with more prosperous regions. Fixed investment abroad should bepromoted, say through tax credit, with a geographical focus and in a coordinatedfashion for vehicle and auto component producers.

#83 Strategic Approach to Strengthening InternationalCompetitiveness in Knowledge Based Industries: IndianChemical Industry by Vijay Kumar KaulIndian chemical industry, traditionally insulated from rest of the world, of late hasbeen exposed to global competition. The paper examines its coping strategies andsectoral innovation system: industry’s evolution, major characteristics, policyand institutional framework, and its competitive edge in the global chemicalindustry. It prescribes some policy guidelines both for the business enterprisesand the policy makers. Enterprises need to develop a strategic intent, choose aright business model to operate, develop technological competence to innovate,and focus on economies of scale, quality and environmental norms. Further, itemphasizes the need for strengthening chemical innovation system, availabilityof institutional finance for modernisation, exports and investment, rationalisationof the tariffs on import of strategic inputs, and promoting knowledge and chemicalparks.

JournalsAsian Biotechnology and Development Review (Vol. 6 No. 3)July 2004.Contents: Harnessing Biotechnology for Development by K. C. Pant; Asia andBioeconomy: Growing Synergies by M. Tawfik; Biotechnology andInternational Trade Regime: Options before Developing Countries by SachinChaturvedi and S. R. Rao; Domestic Import Regulations for Genetically ModifiedOrganisms and Their Compatibility with WTO Rules by Heike Baumüller; Policyand Development of Biotechnology: Bangladesh Perspective by N. Choudhury;Recommendations of the Second Conference on Biotechnology for AsianDevelopment; Bio News; Document; Bio Web; and Bio Stats.

New Asia Monitor, Vol. 1 No. 2, July 2004.

Continued on page 7

RIS Diary October 2004 7

RIS in Media

Outside Publications of RIS Faculty MembersBaig, M.A. 2004. “The US Steel Industry in 2004: Still in Need of

Protection? – Case Analysis”. Case Folio: A Monthly Journalof Management Case Study, The ICFAI University Press,Hyderabad, pp. 24-25.

Chaturvedi, Sachin. 2004. “Biosafety Regulation – Need for FineBalancing”. Economic and Political Weekly. August 14. pp3693-3697.

De, Prabir. 2004. “Deepening Cooperation in the BIMST-EC: ACase for Transport Integration”. BIISS Journal. Vol. 25, No.2, July.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2004. “Non-Aligned Movement and the India-Egypt Economic Cooperation” published in India-EgyptRelations by the Embassy of India, Egypt, to commemorate57th Anniversary of Indian Independence.

Mehta, Rajesh and Pooja Agarwal. 2004. “Non-AgricultureMarket Access Modalities: Post-Cancun Issues andImplications for Industrial Tariffs”. Economic andPolitical Weekly. July 24.

Continued from page 6

Mehta, Rajesh, J. George and Pooja Agarwal. 2004. “ DemystifyingAgriculture Market Access Formula- A Developing CountryPerspective After Cancun Setback”, Research Report No. 0417,CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics &Environment, Jaipur, July.

Mehta, Rajesh and Pooja Agarwal. 2004. Mehta, Rajesh. 2004.“Market Access Negotiations and the Indian Small ScaleIndustry.” CII COMMUNIQUE, Volume 13, No. 7, July.

Discussion Meeting on the Effects ofTrade Openness on Productivity in

Manufacturing Industries

Dr Satya Paul, Professor of Economics, School of Economics andFinance, University of Western Sydney, Australia made a presentationon the Effects of Trade Openness on Productivity in ManufacturingIndustries: A Cost Function Approach on July 7, 2004 in RIS.

8 RIS Diary October 2004

Managing Editor: Tish Kumar Malhotra

Important Visitors/Delegations Received

RIS

Dr Zhang Xiaoji, Director-General andDr Long Guoqiang, Senior Fellow and DeputyDirector General, Development Research Centre(DRC) of State Council of China on July 27,2004.

A four-member delegation of seniorresearchers from the Institute of WorldEconomics and Politics of the Vietnam SocialScience Academy visited RIS on September 20,2004. The delegation was led by Professor LeBo Linh, Deputy Director-General ofIWEPVSA. The purpose of the visit was to learnIndia’s policies on industrialisation in the contextof globalisation and new economy (knowledge-based economy), to exchange views on Indo-Vietnamese trade and economic relations. Theother members of the delegation were: Mr. UongTran Quang, Senior Researcher; Mrs. Luu AnhTuyet, Senior Researcher; and Mrs. Le ThuHa, Senior Researcher.

Dr Lau Sim Yee, Programme Adviser; MsEriko Tada, Associate Programme Officer; andMs Nguyen Thi Hanh, Research Associate,Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo, Japan onAugust 20, 2004.

Dr. Prema Chandra Athukorala, Professorof Economics, Research School of Pacific andAsian Studies at the Australian NationalUniversity; and Dr. Sisira Jayasuria, Director,Asian Economic Centre, Department ofEconomics at the University of Melbourne onSeptember 21, 2004.

Dr Kamal Malhotra, Senior Advisor UNDP,New Delhi on July 22, 2004.

Dr Ajit Singh, Professor of Economics,University of Cambridge on August 30, 2004.

Dr (Ms) Isabelle Saint-Mezard, Director,China-India Project, Centre of Asian Studies,The University of Hong Kong on August 9,2004.

Dr Gautam Murthy, Centre for Indian OceanStudies, Osmania University, Hyderabad on July5, 2004.

Dr Pratima Dayal, Senior Economist, AsianDevelopment Bank Indian Resident Mission,New Delhi on July 16 and August 3, 2004.

Dr A P Kulshreshtha, Director, Centre forScience and Technology of the Non-Alignedand Other Developing Countries, July 19,2004.

Dr K C Reddy, Professor of Economics andHony. Director, Centre for SAARC Studies,Andhra University, Visakhapatnam on July 19,2004.

Dr. Saira Yamin-Basim, Department ofDefence Strategic Studies, Quiad-e-AzamUniversity, Islamabad, Pakistan on July 21,2004.

Prof R S Maker, Director, Institute forTechnology & Management, Navi Mumbai, onAugust 3, 2004.

A group of ten IES Probationers, led by ProfN.S. Siddharathan of the Institute of Economic

Growth, Delhi, on August 4, 2004 forinteraction with the DG, RIS, onAugust 4, 2004.

Dr Rajiv Kumar, ChiefEconomist, CII, New Delhi on August5, 2004.

Prof Rishikesha T. Krishnan,Associate Professor of CorporateStrategy, Indian Institute ofManagement Bangalore on August11, 2004.

Prof Ashok Parthasarathi, CSSP,JNU on August 12, 2004.

Ms Hoihnu Hauzel, Sr Reporter/Sr Sub-Editor, The Hindustan Times,New Delhi on August 14, 2004.

RIS Diary appears in January, April, July and October. It is available from RIS or can be downloadedfrom RIS website.

Core IV-B, Fourth Floor,India Habitat CentreLodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003India.Ph. 91-11-24682177-80Fax: 91-11-24682173-74Email: dgoffice@ris.org.inWebsite: http://www.ris.org.in

Research and Information System for theNon-Aligned and Other Developing Countries

(From left): Mrs. Luu Anh Tuyet, Senior Researcher, IWEP; ProfessorLe Bo Linh, Deputy Director-General, IWEP; Dr. Nagesh Kumar,Director-General, RIS; Mrs. Le Thu Ha, Senior Researcher, IWEP;and Mr. Uong Tran Quang, Senior Researcher; IWEP.

Expert Group on Preferential Rules ofOrigin: RIS is represented on the ExpertGroup set up by the Government of India,2004. RIS has provided inputs in thecontext of different RTAs being negotiatedby India and presentations have been madeat the meetings of the Group on the subject.

India-Mercosur PTA: Inputs wereprovided on MERCOSUR Rules ofOrigin, to the Ministry of Commerce, inAugust 2004.

Continued from page 2 (Policy Notes/Other Consultations)

SAFTA Negotiations: provided inputs onSAFTA Rules of Origin, for the Ministryof Commerce, Government India, July2004.

RIS research material dealing with issuesrelated on Regional Economic Integrationin Global Framework was made availableto Department of Economic Affairs,Ministry of Finance on September 10,2004.

Vietnam Delegation at RIS

High-Level Conference onAsian Economic Integration: Vision of a New Asia,

Tokyo: November 18-19, 2004RIS is organising this high-level conference in collaboration with: Council on East Asian Community,Tokyo; DRC: Development Research Centre of the State Council of China, Beijing; ISEAS: Institutefor Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore; MIER: Malaysian Institute of Economic Research, KualaLumpur; IDE-JETRO: Institute of Developing Economies, Tokyo; and G-SEC: Global SecurityResearch Centre, Keio University with the support of Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo.

The Tokyo Conference is being organised as a part of the ongoing work programme of the RISon Asian economic integration. RIS has developed a proposal for an Asian Economic Communitybuilt in a phased manner with the core group of Japan, ASEAN, China, India and Korea (JACIK).

The Conference is expected to provide a forum of debate on the relevance of regionaleconomic integration in Asia and desirable approaches to it in terms of scope and coverage. Thediscussions at the Tokyo Conference will be supported by analytical studies conducted by RISand partner institutions over the past two years on approaches for regional integration. TheConference is also expected to contribute to the agenda of regional economic integration byproviding a roadmap, creating wider awareness of the gains from it and thus building supportand public opinion favourable to it. In addition, a volume is expected to be produced on thebasis of the presentations made at the Conference for further dissemination of the views expressed.Earlier RIS had organised an International Conference on ‘Building a New Asia: Towards an AsianEconomic Community’, held in New Delhi on March 10-11, 2003.