India must take a leaf out of China's book and prepare its economy for RCEP

The economy needs changes that can't be made overnight; without them, it will continue to under-perform, whether India signs up for RCEP or not. Work should have started 7 years ago, writes T N Ninan

Shimon Peres, the late Israeli leader who signed the Oslo accords, once said that as soon as you begin negotiating with the enemy, you realise that you first have to negotiate with your own people. Trade negotiations are not with any enemy, for trade is supposed to be win-win. Still, as the tortuous talks over the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have dragged on, it has become increasingly clear that the real negotiations that the government has to conduct are with Indian business, which, with almost no exceptions, is wary of yet another free trade agreement.
 
Signing up for