Impact of the Policies of WTO on Indian Agriculture

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established on 1 January 1995 by an agreement signed by 125 member countries. It is the only international body dealing with the creation of rules and procedures of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements and the legal ground rules for international trade. The WTO is functioning with the fundamental principles of non-discrimination, free trade, transparency and predictable policies, encouragement to competition and special provisions for least developed countries. This book examines and evaluates the impact of the policies of the WTO on Indian Agriculture in respect of various key aspects over a period of twenty years from 1985-86 to 2004-05, that is, both pre-and post-WTO periods. It describes the interface between the new rules of international trade laid down by the WTO and its impact on different segments of Indian Agriculture. They include: tracing the emergence of the WTO, its rationale, objectives and policies, charting the growth and trends in agricultural area and production, analyzing the extent of diversification in Indian Agriculture, examining the variability and trends in agricultural prices and evaluating the rate of growth and composition of India’s agricultural exports and imports.