Govt to set up trade body to address WTO issues

The government will soon set up a premier institution to provide inputs on matters related to the ongoing negotiations at the World Trade Organisation.

According to officials, the WTO cell under the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade will be weaned away and transformed into a full-fledged autonomous body. Biswajit Dhar, chief of IIFT's WTO cell, is likely to head the institute, which will be called International Centre for Trade Policy.

The government has set aside an initial assistance of Rs 5 crore for the institute.

Officials said the proposal was finalised after the earlier move to merge premier economic think-tanks "" the Research and Information Systems, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade fell through.

"The merger proposal was put on hold because these bodies were not keen on it. Instead, it was decided to set up an autonomous body after phasing out the WTO cell under the IIFT," an official said.

Officials added the body would be made functional soon after the Cabinet's clearance.

The proposal for merging think-tanks had been suggested by the Prime Minister's Office. The matter was also discussed during a meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee in June.

The commerce ministry had also highlighted the need for detailed institutional studies and research inputs for issues related to bilateral and multilateral economic relations.