RIS Silver Jubilee Events High-level International ...ris.org.in/images/RIS_images/pdf/diary_april2009.pdf · To launch the Silver Jubilee celebrations of RIS, a High-level International

To launch the Silver Jubilee celebrations ofRIS, a High-level International Conference onFinancial Crisis, Global EconomicGovernance and Development: Responses ofAsia and the Global South was organized on6-7 February 2009 in New Delhi. ThisConference combined the major themes ofRIS’ work. The Conference was organized incollaboration with the Institute of SoutheastAsian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore; EconomicResearch Institute for ASEAN and East Asia(ERIA), Indonesia; Global Development andEnvironment (GDAE) Institute at TuftsUniversity, Medford, USA; Centro DeInvestigaciones Para La Transformacion,(CENIT), Buenos Aires, Argentina;Commonwealth Secretariat, UK; AsianDevelopment Bank, Manila; Sasakawa PeaceFoundation, Japan and Ford Foundation, USA.

Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’bleExternal Affairs and Finance Ministerdelivered the Inaugural Address, H.E. Mr.Haruhiko Kuroda, President, AsianDevelopment Bank delivered a KeynoteAddress in the Inaugural Session chaired byDr. Arjun Sengupta, M.P. and Chairman,RIS. The Commonwealth Secretary-GeneralH.E. Mr. Kamlesh Sharma delivered a dinner

High-level International Conference on FinancialCrisis, Global Economic Governance and

Development: Responses of Asia and the Global South

In commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of its establishment, RIShas launched an Eminent Persons Lecture Series. The First SilverJubilee Eminent Persons Lecture was delivered by Professor Jan Pronkon Globalization, Sustainable Development and Conflict on 24 March,2009 in New Delhi. Professor Muchkund Dubey, President, CSDand Chairman, RIS Research Advisory Council chaired. Dr. ArjunSengupta, Chairman, RIS made the opening remarks. Dr. NageshKumar, Director-General, RIS extended the vote of thanks.

Professor Pronk is a leading thinker on internationaldevelopment and policy. Professor Pronk served as the DutchMinister for Development Cooperation and as Minister of Housing,Special Planning and Environment. He has been Deputy SecretaryGeneral, UNCTAD; Co-Chairman, Global Coalition for Africa; andSpecial Envoy of UN Secretary-General for the World Summit onSustainable and Development, among many positions. Currently a

Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in the Hague, he was elected as Presidentof the SID, Rome in 2008. A large number of audience attended the lecture and also participated in the question-answer session that followed.

(From left) : Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble External Affairs and Finance Minister delivering the InauguralAddress; Dr. Nagesh Kumar, DG, RIS; H.E. Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President, ADB, Manila; Dr. Arjun Sengupta,M.P. and Chairman, RIS; Ambassador K. Kesavapany, Director, ISEAS, Singapore; Dr. Junko Chano, ExecutiveDirector, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo at the inaugural session of the Conference.

Professor Jan Pronk delevering the lecture. Also seen in the picture are ProfessorMuchkund Dubey, Dr. Arjun Sengupta and Dr. Nagesh Kumar.

address on 6 February, the SAARCSecretary-General H.E. Dr. Sheel KantSharma delivered a Keynote Address on 7February, and Ambassador H. S. Puri,Secretary (ER), Ministry of External Affairs,delivered the Valedictory Address at theSession chaired by Ambassador LeelaPonappa, Vice-Chairperson, RIS.

The High-Level Conference broughttogether heads or senior experts from policy

think-tanks across the world and internationaldevelopment agencies with whom RIS hasdeveloped institutional networking links. Ithad a representation of more than 35institutions from outside India and numerousinstitutions within the country.

The Report of the Conference has beenissued as RIS Policy Brief # 41. Thedocumentation of the Conference is availableat www.ris.org.in.

Vol.7 Nos. 1&2, April 2009

— Policy research to shape the international development agenda

RIS Silver Jubilee Events

First Silver Jubilee Lecture by Professor Jan Pronk

1RIS Diary April 2009

2 RIS Diary April 2009

Session 4: Crisis and the Broader Regional Cooperation in Asia: Architecture for RegionalKeynesianism and Narrowing Development Gaps. Dr. H. Nishimura, Executive Director, ERIA,Japan; Dr. Jusuf Wanandi, Vice-Chairman, CSIS, Jakarta; Ambassador K. Kesavapany,Director, ISEAS, Singapore (in the chair); Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala, Distinguished Fellow,RIS; and Dr. Suthipand Chirathivat, Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

Session 6: Sharing Each Other’s Dynamism and Development Experiences: Role of South-South Cooperation. Dr. Ludovico Alcorta, Director, Research and Statistics, UNIDO, Vienna;Dr. Newai Gebre-ab, Economic Adviser to the PM and Director, Ethiopian Development ResearchInstitute; Dr. Enrique Saravia, Getulio Vargas Foundation, EBAPE-FGV, Brazil; Dr. NitinDesai, former Under-Secretary-General, United Nations (in the chair); Dr. Samuel Wangwe,formerly Executive Director, Economic and Social Research Foundation, Tanzania; andDr. S.K. Mohanty, Senior Fellow, RIS (not visible).

Session 7 : Financial Crisis and Trade, Industrial and IPR Policies for Development: BeyondWashington Consensus? Dr. Andres Lopez, Director, CENIT, Argentina; Dr. RicardoMeléndez-Ortiz, CEO, ICTSD, Geneva; Prof. Ashok Parthasarathi, former Chairperson, CSSP,Jawaharlal Nehru University (in the chair); Mr. Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinatorand UNDP Resident Representative, Kuala Lumpur; Dr. Tim Wise, Director, Research andPublic Policy, GDAE, Tufts University; and Dr. Rajesh Mehta, Senior Fellow, RIS.

Valedictory Session : Ambassador H.S. Puri, Secretary (ER) delivering the ValedictoryAddress. Other Speakers Dr. Ram Upendra Das, Senior Fellow, RIS (not visible); AmbassadorLeela Ponappa, Vice-Chairperson, RIS (in the chair); Dr. H. Nishimura, Executive Director,ERIA; Dr. Tim Wise, Director, Research and Public Policy; and Dr. Nagesh Kumar,Director-General, RIS.

Special Address: Commonwealth Secretary General H. E. Mr. Kamlesh Sharma deliveringthe Special Dinner Address.

Session 2: Global Economic Crisis and Asia: Challenges Faced by the Real Economies inSelect Asian Countries and Their Responses. Dr. Duncan Campbell, Director, ILO, Geneva;Dr. Mahani Zainal-Abidin, Director-General, Institute of Strategic and International Studies(ISIS), Kuala Lumpur; Dr. Arjun Sengupta, M. P. (Rajya Sabha) and Chairman, RIS (in thechair); Dr. Jomo Sundaram, Asst. Secretary General for Development, UN, New York;Dr. Long Guoqiang, Deputy Director General, DRC of the State Council, Beijing, China; andProfessor K.P. Kannan, Member, NCEUS, India.

Session 3: Responding to the Financial Crisis: Towards a More Development-Friendly andDemocratic Global Financial Architecture. Dr. Detlef Kotte, Head, Macroeconomic andDevelopment Policy, UNCTAD; Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Dr. AmarBhattacharya, Director, G-24 Secretariat, Washington, D.C.; Dr. C. Rangarajan, M.P. and formerGovernor, Reserve Bank of India (in the chair) ; Dr. Cyrus Rustomjee, Director, Economic AffairsDivision, Commonwealth Secretariat, London; and Mr. M.K. Venu, Editor (Edit Page),The Economic Times.

Session 5: Deepening South Asian Economic Integration in an Era of Crisis: Role of SAARCand BIMSTEC. H. E. Dr. Sheelkant Sharma, SAARC Secretary-General, Kathmandu deliveringthe Keynote Address. Other speakers Dr. Prabir De, Fellow, RIS (not in the picture);Dr. Saman Kelegama, Executive Director, Institute for Policy Studies, Colombo; ProfessorMuchkund Dubey, Chairman, Research Advisory Council, RIS and President, CSD; (in thechair) and Ambassador Farook Sobhan, Chairman, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Dhaka;and Dr. Biplove Chaudhary, Officer-in-charge, APTII, UNDP-RCC Colombo.

Thought Leaders from across the world at the

RIS Silver Jubilee Conference


IBSA Academic Summit on Partnership for SharedProsperity and Inclusive Globalization

IBSA has emerged as an important forumbringing together three leading emergingcountries from three continents in the Southto reflect on global issues as well as onstrengthening their partnership for mutualbenefit. As part of the Third IBSA Summit,held in New Delhi on 13-15 October 2008,RIS, jointly with the Ministry of ExternalAffairs, coordinated a high-level AcademicForum on IBSA Partnership for SharedProsperity and Inclusive Globalization, heldin New Delhi on 13-14 October 2008. TheAcademic Forum brought together senioracademics and expert from leading think-tanksand other members of civil society from India,Brazil and South Africa for a discussion onthemes of mutual interest and commonconcerns of development.

Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble Ministerfor External Affairs, delivered the inauguraladdress. Dr. Arjun Sengupta, M.P. andChairman RIS made Chairperson’s remarks.Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS;Dr. Paulo G. Fagundes Vizentini, Centre ofStrategy and International Relations, UFRGS,Brazil; Dr. J.A. Velaphi Bhali, GlobalPartnership, Government of Republic of SouthAfrica; and Mr. Nalin Surie, Secretary (West),Ministry of External Affairs also addressed theinaugural session.

The first session on Global EconomicGovernance and Development covered thediscussion in the context of US financial crisis.The speakers in the session were:Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala, DistinguishedFellow, RIS, from India; Dr. Claudio CostaPinheiro, Campinas State University, Braziland Professor Adam Habib, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Johannesburg, SouthAfrica Dr. Arif A. Waqif, Adjunct Professor,ICFAI School of Public Policy, Hyderabadwas the Discussant.

The second session was on IBSA and theEnergy Security for Development.Mr. Narendra Singh Sisodia, Director-General,Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis(IDSA) chaired. The speakers included India:Dr. Rekha Krishnan, Visiting Fellow, Centrefor Research on Energy Security, The EnergyResources Institute (TERI), India; Dr.Paulo G.Gagundes Vizentini, Centre of Strategy andInternational Relations, UFRGS, Brazil;Professor M. Jeenah, Pro-Vice-Chancellor,Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.Discussants included Professor A.K. Pasha,Centre for West Asian and African Studies,Jawaharlal Nehru University and Dr. SachinChaturvedi, RIS.

The third session had the theme IBSAand the Food Security for Development.Professor G.K. Chadha, Member, EconomicAdvisory Council to PM chaired. The speakersincluded Dr Ashok Gulati, Director in Asia,and Ms. Kavery Ganguly, Senior ResearchAnalyst, International Food Policy ResearchInstitute (IFPRI), New Delhi; Dr. Paulo G.Gagundes Vizentini, Centre of Strategy andInternational Relations, UFRGS, Brazil;Professor M. Jeenah, Pro-Vice-Chancellor,Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.Professor Jacob John Kattakayam, Dean,

Faculty of Social Sciences & Director, UGC-Academic Staff College, University of Keralawas the discussant.

The session five was on Economic

Cooperation in IBSA: Potential andChallenges. Dr. Nitin Desai, former UnderSecretary General, UN chaired. The speakersincluded from India Dr. S.K. Mohanty, RIS.Dr. Dinesh Abrol, National Institute ofScience, Technology and Development(NISTADS). Dr. André Nassif, Economist,Brazilian Development Bank, Brazil;Professor Adam Habib, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Johannesburg, andProfessor M. Jeenah, Pro-Vice-Chancellor,Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.Discussants included Professor Ajay Kumar

Dubey, Chairman, Centrefor West Asian and AfricanStudies, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity. Professor VijayKumar Kaul, Departmentof Business Economics(University of Delhi)Dr. T. Nirmala Devi,Director, Centre forSAARC Studies, AndhraUniversity, Dr. AnshumanGupta, RIS andDr. Gurpreet Singh Bhatia,RIS were the rapporteurs.

The Report ofAcademic Forum waspresented to the Leaders ofthe IBSA Countries at theirSummit Meeting on 15October 2008 by

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS.RIS has issued the Report of the Forum asRIS Policy Brief # 39. The documentation ofthe Forum is available at the RIS website.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister releasing the RIS report The Trinity of the Southat the inaugural session of the IBSA Academic Forum.

(From left): Prof. J.J. Kattakayam, Prof. M. Jeenah, Prof. G. K. Chadha,Prof. P. G. G. Vizentini and Dr. Ashok Gulati at a session of the IBSAAcademic Forum.

Policy Dialogues


In the context of global financial crisis, regional economic cooperation in Asia hasassumed a new relevance and urgency. Infrastructure development and connectivityis a key driver for development and promoting regional economic integration. Todiscuss the potential, challenges and policies on the subject, RIS organized a Seminaron Regional Infrastructure for Asia’s Economic Integration, on 22 December 2008in New Delhi. Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General made initial remarks.Dr. Biswa Bhattacharyay, Special Adviser, Asian Development Bank Institute(ADBI), Tokyo and Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala, Distinguished Fellow, RIS initiatedthe discussion on the subject. This was followed up by an open discussion.

Seminar on Regional Infrastructurefor Asia’s Economic Integration

Seminar on Globalization, Productivity and EmploymentIn the context of the global economic crisis,RIS organized a Seminar on Globalization,Productivity and Employment on 16December in New Delhi. The programmebegan with welcome remarks by Dr. NageshKumar, DG-RIS. Mr. Ajay Shankar,Secretary, Department of Industrial Policyand Promotion chaired the Seminar.Professor Sumit K. Majumder, Universityof Texas at Dallas, USA and ProfessorDipak Mazumdar, University of Toronto,Canada made key presentations which werefollowed by open discussion.

Seminar on theGlobal FinancialCrisis and India

A Brainstorming-cum-Discussion Seminar onthe Global Financial Crisis and India was heldin RIS on 24 December 2008 with ProfessorAjit Singh, Professor of Economics & SeniorFellow, Queens’ College, University ofCambridge.The Seminar began with openingremarks by Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS, Professor Muchkund Dubey,President, CSD and Chairman of RISResearch Advisory Council moderated thediscussion.

Seminar on Development Cooperation:Emerging Trends, Patterns and Policies

The international development cooperationhas been an important source and expertise offoreign resources for developing countries.Development assistance provided by OECDcountries to developing countries has tendedto stagnate and remain much below the targetof 0.75 per cent of GDP, adopted by UnitedNations long time ago. In the meanwhile,large developing countries such as China andIndia have emerged as important sources ofdevelopment cooperation for co-developingcountries. To take a stock of the emergingtrends and patterns of development activities,

RIS organized a Seminar on DevelopmentCooperation: Emerging Trends, Patterns andPolicies, on 20 November 2008. AmbassadorSudhir T. Devare, former Secretary, Ministryof External Affairs, chaired the Seminar. Theprogramme began with welcome remarks byDr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS. Mr.Eckhard Deutscher, Chair, OECD DevelopmentAssistance Committee (DAC), OECD, Paris,Mr. S.R. Rao, Executive Director, EXIM Bank,Mumbai and Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, SeniorFellow, RIS made presentations which werefollowed by open discussion.

(From left): Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, Mr. S.R. Rao, Ambassador Sudhir T. Devare, Mr. Eckhard Deutscherand Dr. Nagesh Kumar at the Seminar.

(From left): Professor Ajit Singh, ProfessorMuchkund Dubey and Dr. Nagesh Kumar at theSeminar.

(From left): Professor Sumit K. Majumder, Professor Dipak Mazumdar, Mr. Ajay Shankar andDr. Nagesh Kumar at the Seminar.

(From left) : Dr. Biswa Bhattacharyay, Dr. Nagesh Kumar, andDr. Ramgopal Agarwala at the Seminar.

Policy Dialogues


The Fourth Asian Conference onBiotechnology and Development wasorganized by RIS in collaboration with NepalAgriculture Research Council (NARC) inKathmandu on 12-13 February 2009. TheConference was supported by UNESCO.

Mr. Tek Bhadur Thapa, Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperativeschaired the inaugural session. Dr. SachinChaturvedi, Senior Fellow, RIS made thewelcome remarks. H.E. Mr. Jayaprakash P.Gupta, Minister for Agriculture andCooperatives, Government of Nepal deliveredthe inaugural address. Prof. Govindan Parayil,Vice-Rector, United Nations University andDirector, Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS), Japan delivered the keynote address.Prof. Parashuram Lal Karna, ExecutiveDirector, Nepal Agricultural Research Council(NARC), Kathmandu proposed the vote ofthanks. About 90 participants from 19countries and 7 international organizationsparticipated in the Conference. From IndiaDr. S. R. Rao, Adviser, Department ofBiotechnology; and Dr. K. Ravi Srinivas,

Fourth Asian Conference on Biotechnology and Development

Conference on India-ASEAN Economic Partnership: Tradeand Investment Opportunities

India has concluded negotiations for ASEAN-India FTA recently in Singapore at theASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting.Linking together the dynamic economies ofthe ten ASEAN countries and India in tradepact is an important event in the direction ofbroader architecture for regional economiccooperation in Asia. Against thatbackground, RIS jointly with India TradePromotion Organisation (ITPO), New Delhiorganized a Conference on India-ASEANEconomic Partnership: Trade and InvestmentOpportunities on 24 November 2008 in NewDelhi. The programme began with thewelcome remarks by Dr. Nagesh Kumar,Director-General, RIS and opening remarksby Dr. Sheela Bhide, CMD, ITPO. Mr.Yogendra Kumar, Additional Secretary(MER), MEA made inaugural remarks. Mr.P.K. Dash, Joint Secretary, Ministry ofCommerce & Industry chaired the firsttechnical session on India-ASEAN FTA inGoods. Mr. Subhash Bose Pillai, MinisterCounsellor (Economic Affairs) MalaysianHigh Commission; Dr Ram Upendra Das,Senior Fellow, RIS; and Mr Dilip Chenoy,Director General, Society of Indian

Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), NewDelhi were the panelists. The technicalsession II on Opportunities for India-ASEANInvestment Cooperation was chaired byAmbassador Navrekha Sharma, formerAmbassador in the Philippines and Indonesia.Mr S.R. Rao, Executive Director, EXIM Bank

of India; Mr. D. Matsushima, Senior Director,JETRO; Dr. Raj Agarwal, Director &Professor, IILMS; and Mr N.L. Lakhanpal,former Director General of Foreign Trade,Govt. of India were the panelists. A largenumber of participants took part in the opendiscussion that followed.

Associate Fellow, RIS, among others,participated.

The Conference was an effort tocollectively explore how best Asia and otherdeveloping countries may strategize optimumreturns on their technological and R&D

investments. It was part of the RIS initiativelaunched in collaboration with UNESCO andwith the support from many other nationalagencies.

The report of the Conference is availableat RIS website.

Participants of the Fourth Asian Conference on Biotechnology and Development.

Mr. Yogendra Kumar, Additional Secretary (MER), Ministry of External Affairs making his inagural remarksat the Conference. Also seen in the picture are Mr. P. K. Dash, Dr. Nagesh Kumar and Dr. Sheela Bhide,CMD, ITPO.

Policy Dialogues


Under the 47th Professional Course for ForeignDiplomats (PCFD) of the Foreign ServiceInstitute of the Ministry of External Affairs,RIS organized the capacity building moduleon international and regional economiccooperation issues on 9 and 12 March 2009.The training module included lecture themessuch as world trading system and development,WTO negotiations on agriculture: issues andthe current status; NAMA negotiations:implications for developing countries;reforming the international financialarchitecture; conceptual and policy issues inregional trading arrangements (RTAs),regional economic cooperation in South Asia:potentials and constraints; negotiating issuesin RTAs, India-ASEAN economic cooperationand climate change and prospects of regionalcooperation.

Capacity Building Module on International and Regional EconomicCooperation Issues

RIS organized a Training Module on Understanding RegionalEconomic Cooperation in Asia in conjunction with UGC RefresherTraining Programme in Economics for College and UniversityTeachers conducted by the Academic Staff College, Department ofEconomics, Jamia Millia Islamia University on 5 November 2008.The programme began with an introduction session onUnderstanding Emerging Regionalism in Asia by Dr. NageshKumar, Director-General, RIS. This was followed by presentationson Some Aspects of South Asian Economic Integration by Dr. RamUpendra Das, Senior Fellow, RIS; Issues in Transport Connectivityin Asia by Dr. Prabir De, Fellow, RIS; and Methodologies forAssessment of Gains in RTAs by Dr. Rajesh Mehta, Senior Fellow,RIS. The participants provided feedback in the concluding session.

Training Module onUnderstanding Regional

Economic Cooperation in Asia

Capacity Building Programmes

Training Module on GlobalEconomic Issues: Implications

for Developing CountriesRIS organized a Training Module on Global Economic Issues:Implications for Developing Countries in conjunction with 46th

Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats conducted by ForeignService Institute, Ministry of External affairs in New Delhi on 10November 2008. The programme began with an introductorysession on WTO and Developing Countries by Dr. Nagesh Kumar,DG-RIS. It was followed by a presentation WTO Agreementsand Implications by Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, Senior Fellow, RIS;and International Financial System by Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala,Distinguished Fellow, RIS. In the Concluding Session participantsgave feedback on the course content.

Particpants of the PCFD course at RIS for Module.

Uninversity and College Teachers at RIS for Training Module.

Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala leading a session at the Training Module.


Capacity-Building Programme on Global and RegionalEconomic Cooperation Issues (GRECI)

Capacity-Building Programme on InternationalEconomic Issues and Development Policy (IEIDP)

Capacity Building Programmes

GRECI participants with programme coordinator and Director-General, RIS.

IEIDP participants with programme coordinator and Director-General, RIS.

In an attempt to contribute to capacity-buildingin other developing countries, RIS launched afour week long training programme onInternational Economic Issues andDevelopment Policy (IEIDP) in a new compactformat in 2005/06 in conjunction with theGovernment of India’s ITEC Programme.

The response and feedback has been verygood. This programme has attracted middlelevel officials dealing with internationaleconomic issues in developing countries,providing to us an additional avenue todisseminate in-house research and an Indianperspective on international economic issuesand negotiations.

The Fourth Batch comprising 16participants (including a self-fundedparticipant from Brazil) attended the coursefrom 16 February 2009 to 13 March 2009. Theprogramme took place in conjunction with theCapacity-Building Programme on Global andRegional Economic Cooperation Issues(GRECI).

The programme is attracting seniorofficials from all across the developing worldholding important portfolios. The participantsincluded: Mr. Akissi Atse Roland Olivier,

Cote d’ Ivoire; Mr. Jorge Fernandez Crespo,Cuba; Ms. Nguyen Thuy Phuong, Vietnam;Ms. Mary Ngwe Ngu Ekukole, Cameroon;Ms. Ako Pauline Eneke, Cameroon; Mr. JosefNovotny, Czech Republic; Ms. Riina Maesalu,Estonia; Mrs Claudine BoampoundiSawadogo, Burkina Faso; Mrs Esther AladiAchema, Nigeria; Ms.Ekaterina Pologova,

Republic of Belarus; Ms. Ushanova Tatyana,Kazakhstan; Ms. Tamara Lahovski Fox,Croatia; Ms. Naira Ghazaryan, Republic ofArmenia; Mrs Karen Molina, Chile;Mr. Vladimir Tkachik, Republic of Belarus;and Mr. Adriano José Timossi, Brazil.Dr. Ram Upendra Das, Senior Fellow, RIS wasthe programme coordinator.

As reported earlier, RIS has launched theGlobal and Regional Economic CooperationIssues (GRECI) programme with the supportof ERIA.

The first batch of ERIA programme, which randuring 11 February 2008 to 7 March 2008, had8 participants while the Second Batchconducted during 6 February 2009 to 6 March2009 had 12 participants.

The programme ran in conjunction with theCapacity-Building Programme on InternationalEconomic Issues and Development Policy(IEIDP).

The GRECI participants included mainlygovernment officials dealing with regionalcooperation issues and academics in the EAScountries.

The participants in the programme heldFebruary-March 2009 were: Ms. Pham ThiXuan Mai, Vietnam; Dr. Liu Xiangfeng, China;Ms. Andrea Chloe Wong, Philippines; Mr. NethNaro, Cambodia; Mr. Vanxay Sayavong, LaoPDR; Mr. Lliam Findlay, Australia; Mr. JamesJiannhua To, New Zealand; Ms. Bulanchai

Udomariyasap, Thailand; Mr. Faizal Izany BinMastor, Malaysia; Mr. Myint Aung,Myanmar; Ms. Ei Ei Khine, Myanmar; andMr. Fajar B. Hirawan, Indonesia.

The programme has received very positivefeedback from the participants. Dr. RamUpendra Das, Senior Fellow, RIS was theprogramme coordinator.


Visit of Parliamentarians of Indian Origin from South AfricaA delegation of the South AfricanMPs of Indian origin visited RISon 10 December 2008 for aninteractive session on Indianeconomy. The members of thedelegation included: Hon’ble Mr.Mewa Ramgobin, AfricanNational Congress (leader ofdelegation); Hon’ble Mr. RafeekShah, Democratic Alliance;Hon’ble Mr. Salam Abram,African National Congress;

Visit of the Journalists of Indian OriginA delegation of journalists of Indian origin from 16 countries visited RIS on4 January 2009. The members of the delegation included: Ms. SuryatapaBhattacharya, UAE; Mr. Balan Moses, Malaysia; Mr. Fakir Hassen, South Africa;Mr. Subry Govender, South Africa; Mr. Amit Roy, UK; Mr. Ajit Jain, Canada;Mr. Ramesh Jaura, Germany; Mr. Anand Sawant Mulloo, Mauritius; Ms. KumudMerani, Australia; Ms. Indira Toelsie, Suriname; Ms. Fareeza Haniff, Guyana;Ms. Monika Singh, Fiji; Mrs. Mulloo Satyamistha, Mauritius; and Ms.JuhiBharat, USA.

A group of Conservative Friends of India MPs from the UK visited RIS on 28 November2008. They included Hon’ble Mr. Shailesh Vara; Hon’ble Mr. Stephen Hammod MP,Shadow Transport Minister; Hon’ble Mr. Stephen Crabb, MP; Baroness Flather, Hon’bleMr. Edward Vaizey, MP, Shadow Minister for Arts, Hon’ble Mr. Mark Pritchard, Hon’bleMr. Simon Burns, Hon’ble Mr. Crispin Blunt, Hon’ble Mr. James Clappison, Hon’bleMr. Greg Clarke, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, Hon’ble Mr. Nigel Evnas,Hon’ble Mr. Mark Field, Hon’ble Mr. Peter Luff, Hon’ble Mr. Brooks Newmark, ShadowWhip, Hon’ble Mr. Hugh Robertson, Shadow Sports Minister, Hon’ble Mr. DavidRuffley, MP, Shadow Home Affairs, Hon’ble Mr. Robert Walter, MP, and Hon’bleMr. David Wilshire, Hon’ble Mr. Shailesh Vara was the Chairperson of CPFIN.

From RIS Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala, Distinguished Fellow, made presentation ondifferent aspects of the Indian economy. Earlier Dr. Ram Upendra Das, Senior Fellowmade a presentation on the work programme of the RIS. This was followed byinteractive session.

Conservative Friends of India MPs from UK at RIS

Delegation of MPs from Tajikistan at RISA delegation of 11 MPs from Tajikistanvisited RIS on 26 February 2009.

The leader of the delegation wasHon’ble Mr.Salimov Olim, DeputyChairman of the Committee onInternational Affairs, Social Affairs andInformation. Other members of thedelegation were Hon’ble Mr. SolijonovNodirjon, Member of Commission onControl of Instruction and Organizationof Works; Hon’ble Ms. HakimovaKhaticha Fathulloevna, Member of Committee on Constitution, Legalizationand Human Rights; Hon’ble Mr. Hisoriev Mahmadamin Ismatovich,Member of Committee on Science Education and Youth Policy; Hon’bleMr. Okhunov Inomjon Nurmatovich, Member of Committee on Local

Delegations

Delegation of MPs from Tajikistan at RIS.

Indian Origin Parliamentarians from South Africa at RIS.

Conservative Friends of India MPs from UK at RIS.

Journalists of Indian Origin at RIS.

Hon’ble Dr. Ismail Mahomed Cachalia, AfricanNational Congress; Hon’ble Mr. Zonaid Kotwal,African National Congress; Hon’ble Ms. FaridaMahomed, African National Congress; Hon’bleMs. Santosh Vinita Kalyan, Democratic Alliance;Hon’ble Mr. Alex Chekkat Jacob, AfricanNational Congress; and Hon’ble Narend Singh,Inkatha Freedom Party.

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RISmade a presentation on the different facets of theIndian economy. It was followed an interactivesession with the honourable MPs

Management; Hon’ble Mr. SalimovAbdjujalol, Deputy Chairman of theCommittee on Energy, Industry,Construction and Communication; Hon’bleMs. Uzokova Zulfiya Anvarovna, Memberof Committee on Constitution, Legalizationand Human Rights; Hon’ble Mr.Bobokalonov Abdujalil, Member ofCommittee on Family Health and Ecology;Hon’ble Mr. Sadriddinov BadriddinTalbakovich; Member of Committee on

Agriculture and Social Affairs; and Hon'ble Mr. Kasim Muktharov,Adviser to the Committee on International Affairs.

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General, RIS made a presentation onthe work programme of the RIS. It was followed by an interactive session.


RIS/UNESCAP/ARTNeT GravityModeling Initiative on “Behind theBorder” Factors Affecting Trade(2008-9)RIS/UNESCAP/ARTNeT Gravity ModelingInitiative is designed to more closely integratethe research capacity building and researchprogramme implementation objectives andactivities of RIS, UNESCAP, and ARTNeT.The specific objectives are (i) to enhance trade-related research capacity of researchinstitutions in the region based on GravityModeling; (ii) to make available to the RIS/UNESCAP/ARTNeT research community anup-to-date gravity dataset including non-tariffbarriers and “behind the border” indicators;and (iii) to deliver relevant research results tothe policy community and other stakeholders.It includes regional technical researchworkshops, support for research studies toapply techniques learned, development ofrelated research facilitation tools, and supportfor dissemination of policy relevant results.This initiative is implemented by RIS/UNESCAP/ARTNeT. Additional technicaland financial support are provided by WTOand UNCTAD. For further details, pleasecontact: [email protected]

Non-Tariff BarriersRIS has undertaken a long-term study onAssessment of the Impacts of Non-TariffBarriers. The goal of the project is to conductcomparative research on the impacts of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) on the competitivenessof selected countries.In order to reach this goal, the project is basedon the following specific objectives:(1) To map and to classify the existing NTBs

in order to define the NTBs to be targetedin the various project analyses.

(2) To create a database on NTBs that obstructor can obstruct agro-exports for selectcountries, like US, Russia, Canada, Japan,etc.

(3) To conduct a comparative analysis forassessing the level of limitations of EU’sNTBs towards direct trade competitorssuch as Argentina, Brazil, Australia, NewZealand, US, Russia, Canada, Japan,China and India.

(4) To generate additional quantitativeinformation through case studies for thecomparative analysis in (3).We have identified areas of the research

and case studies which will be conducted forIndia. These identifications have been donein collaboration with other institutes of theproject study. The project will be supportedby European Union and will be launched inApril 2009. For further details, please contact:[email protected].

Notes prepared for the Governmentof India:• Report of the Third IBSA Summit –

Academic Forum – IBSA Partnership forShared Prosperity and InclusiveGlobalization, held on 13-14 October 2008was sent to the Ministry of External Affairson 16 October 2008.

• Inputs for US-Japan-India StrategicDialogue in two parts dealing withprospects for an Asian architecture andperspectives on existing institutions –APEC, ASEAN; and a new institutionalframework, that is Asia G8 and globalfinancial architecture, was made availableto the Special Envoy to PM on 18 October2008.

• Note on National Security Exceptions forFDI Policy was made available to theDy. National Security Adviser andSecretary, NSCS on 18 October 2008.

• Inputs were provided to the Ministry ofExternal Affairs for the 14th ASEAN-IndiaWorking Group (AIWG) Meeting, held inNew Delhi on 30-31 October 2008.

• Some Talking Points on BIMSTECEconomic Cooperation were sent to theMinistry of External Affairs on 4November 2008.

• A Note on EAS, CEPEA and ERIA wassent to the Ministry of External Affairs on5 November 2008.

• RIS publications on financial cooperationin Asia and a Note on importance of Indiajoining the ADB’s initiative to developAsian Currency Unit (ACU) as a unit ofaccount for facilitation of intra-regionaltrade in Asia was sent to MEA on 6November 2008.

Current Research/Advisory Activities

• Some suggestions and comments on theDraft Chairman’s Statement on Financewas sent to the Ministry of ExternalAffairs on 26 November 2008.

• A Note on CEPEA and ERIA was sent tothe Ministry of External Affairs on 2December 2008.

• Copies of RIS Policy Brief on a regionalmechanism for infrastructure investmentalong with Notes on financial crisis weresent to the Cabinet Secretary on 29December 2008.

• Some Talking Points on CEPEA andERIA were sent to the Ministry ofExternal Affairs on 31 December 2008.

• A Note on IORAG activities was madeavailable to the Ministry of ExternalAffairs on 31 December 2008.

• A Note on ASEAN-India Cooperation inTransport Infrastructure was madeavailable to the Ministry of ExternalAffairs on 19 January 2009

• A Note on Towards Deepening MekongGanga Cooperation (MGC) : Proposals onFinancing Regional Cooperation Projectswas made available to the Ministry ofExternal Affairs on 6 January 2009.

• A Note on Towards an Asian FinancialArchitecture: Building on Chiang-Maiinitiative for Mitigating the crisis was sentto the Ministry of External Affairs on 2January 2009

• Report on the Eighth Meeting of theTrack II Study Group on CEPEA wassent to the Ministry of External Affairsand the Ministry of Commerce on 19March 2009.

Participants at the inaugural session of the RIS Silver Jubilee Conference.


• Participated in the Research InstitutesNetwork Meeting of ERIA held at BangkokResearch Centre, Bangkok on 24 February2009.

• Participated in the Eighth Meeting of theTrack II Study Group on CEPEA, held inAuckland, New Zealand on 13-14 March2009.

• Launched to Media UN-ESCAP'sEconomic and Social Survey of Asia andthe Pacific in New Delhi on 26 March 2009.

• Participated in the 133rd Meetings of theBoard of Directors of Exim Bank held inNew Delhi on 30 March 2009.

Dr. Ramgopal Agarwala,Distinguished Fellow• Participated in the Seminar on Indo-Iranian

Relations, organized by the Ministry ofExternal Affairs, Govt. of India incooperation with the Institute of Politicaland International Studies in Tehran on 2November 2008.

• Delivered a keynote Address at theConcluding Session of the 36th WorldMarketing Congress on India and CentralAsia: Collaboration and Cooperation,organized by IMM in New Delhi on 13February 2009.

• Made a presentation on Indian economy atthe symposium on prospects of the AsianEconomies amid the Global FinancialCrisis, organized by Keizai Koho Center inTokyo on 18 February 2009

• Made a presentation on RegionalKeynesianism: Turning the GlobalEconomic Crisis into an Opportunity forInclusive Regional Growth at Institute ofWorld Economics and Politics, ChineseAcademy of Social Sciences, Beijing on 5March 2009.

Dr. Rajesh Mehta, Senior Fellow• Participated in the Conference on

Globalization, Corporate Leadership andInclusive Growth: An Indian Agenda forGlobal Knowledge & Local Implication,organized by CII in New Delhi on 20-21October 2008.

• Participated in the Seminar on Relevanceof the Multilateral Trading System andDoha Negotiations in Today’s World,organized by ICRIER in New Delhi on 23October 2008.

• Participated in the Symposium on TheGlobal Financial Crisis: Implications forIndia, organized by ISID & IDNM in NewDelhi on 13 November 2008.

• Participated in the programme on WTONegotiations on Agriculture andDeveloping Countries, organized by IFPRIin New Delhi on 1 December 2008.

• Participated in the Audio Conference onIndo-Australia Joint Study Group organizedby the Ministry of Commerce and Industry,Government of India and Government ofAustralian on 10 December 2008.

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director-General• Participated in the 131st Board Meeting and

Chaired the 55th Meeting of the AuditCommittee of the Export-Import Bank ofIndia, held in Mumbai on 10 October 2008.

• Delivered a keynote address on Triangularand South-South Cooperation in Asia: AParadigm Shift of Development Cooperationat the Asia-Pacific DevelopmentCooperation Forum, organized on 21-22October 2008 in Bangkok by the UN-ESCAP jointly with UN-DESA and UNDPSpecial Unit for South-South Cooperation,New York.

• Panelist at the high-level symposium onEAFTA, CEPEA, and FTAAP and beyond,held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 29-31October 2008 and organized by the JapanEconomic Foundation (JEF) and the Instituteof Strategic and International Studies (ISIS),Malaysia

• Participated at the Meeting of the CSCAPIndia Committee held at the Indian Councilof World Affairs, New Delhi on 4 November2008.

• Addressed the inaugural session of theBIMSTEC Business Summit 2008 onStrengthening the Economic Partnership,organized by ASSOCHM, CII and FICCIin New Delhi on 12 November 2008.

• Presented the Mid Year Review of IndianEconomy, at the India International Centrein New Delhi on 14 November 2008.

• Participation in the Seventh Meeting ofCEPEA Study Group, organized by JapanExternal Trade Organization (JETRO) inTokyo 28 November 2008.

• Participated in the Discussion Meeting onimpact of the current global financial crisison the Indian economy, convened by theChief Economic Adviser, Ministry ofFinance in New Delhi on 8 December 2008.

• Delivered the Inaugural Address at theAnnual Economics Festival L'economiste,Hindu College, Delhi University on 10December 2008.

• Chaired the Panel Discussion on GlobalCrises and the Development PolicyDiscourse in South Asia at the IV South AsiaConference on Trade & Development 2008on Trading in Development: EmergingIssues in South Asia, organized by Centrefor Trade and Development (Centad) in NewDelhi on 17 December 2008.

• Participated in the interaction of theCommittee of Secretaries Chaired by theCabinet Secretary on Global Recession-Measures to deal with situation, held in NewDelhi on 23 December 2008.

• Participated in the 132nd Meeting of theBoard of Directors of the Exim Bank ofIndia, held in New Delhi on 5 January 2009.

• Addressed the Round Table on India-Bangladesh Trade and EconomicCooperation, organized by the CII in NewDelhi on 30 January 2009.

• Chaired the session on Banking andFinancial Inflows and Panelist onProliferation of Regional Trade Agreementat the Conference on Empirical Issues inInternational Trade and Finance, organizedby IIFT, Kolkata, on 23-24 December 2008.

• Made a keynote presentation at the All IndiaSeminar on Safety and Toxicity in FoodProducts, organized by the Institute ofEngineers (India) and Avenash Society, inNew Delhi on 9-10 January 2009.

• Made a presentation on World TradeOrganization at the Seminar on FoodRegulations and Voluntary Certification,organized by the Ministry of FoodProcessing Industry, FICCI and QCI inMumbai on 16 March 2009.

Dr. S. K. Mohanty, Senior Fellow• Delivered lectures on Economic Aspects of

Regional Integration among DevelopingCountries; and Regional ReadingArrangements: Some Issues Relating toTheory and Practice, at the TrainingProgramme for University Teachers,organized by UNCTAD and Centre forDevelopment Studies on 24-25 October2008 at Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• Delivered a lecture on Global FinancialCrisis and Implications for the India’sExternal Sector at the Refresher Course forUniversity Teachers, Kerala University, heldat Tiruvananthapuram, Kerala on24 October 2008.

• Made a presentation on Independence ofThink-Tanks in Developing Countries at theInternational Conference on the Role ofThink-tanks in Developing Countries,organized by Information and DecisionSupport Centre (IDSC), Cairo, Egypt on17-18 January 2009.

• Participated in the Research Workshop onEmerging Trade Issues for Policymakers inDeveloping Countries of Asia and thePacific -New Era of Trade Governance,organized by ESCAP on 5-6 March 2009in Manila.

Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi,Senior Fellow• Made a presentation on Development Aid

Policies: Emerging Experience from Indiaat the First All India Alumni and PartnerConference, organized by InWEnt onOctober 16, 2008 in New Delhi.

• Made a presentation on Trade Facilitationand Regional Integration: A View from Indiaat the Seminar on Trade Facilitation in SouthAsia, organized by the SAARC Chamberof Commerce and Industry (SCCI) andFBCCI in Dhaka on 19 October 2008.

• Made a presentation on CBD and HumanResources: Is the Inclusion Possible! at theGenBenefit Research Project Meeting heldon 30-31 October 2008 in Johannesburg.

• Made a presentation on WTO Agreementand Implications at the Training Module on

Contributions to Outside Policy Dialogues


Global Economic Issues: Implications forDeveloping Countries organized by theMinistry of External Affairs on November10 2008 in New Delhi.

• Participated as a discussant at the RoundtableMeeting on Global Socio Economic Impactof Biotech Crops, at the International LifeSciences Institute-India (ILSI-INDIA) inNew Delhi on 13 November 2008.

• Made a presentation on Impact of “EmergingPowers” on Governance in Partner Countriesat the European Development Days on 16November 2008, Strasbourg, France.

• Made a presentation on India-AfricaEconomic Partnership: Agenda forCollective Resurgence at the ORF-RLFInternational Conference on Engaging witha resurgent Africa, organized by theObserver Research Foundation in New Delhion 21 November 2008.

• Made a presentation on Intellectual PropertyRights and Traditional Knowledge: IndianExperience at the GBD/WTO Issues Meetingbetween CASTED/RIS/Uclan on 9-11December 2008 at Beijing, China.

• Made a presentation on Intellectual PropertyRights and Traditional Knowledge: IndianExperience at the Seminar on IPRs and CyberLaw organized by the National JudicialAcademy, Bhopal on 19 December 2008.

• Participated in the First Advisory Committee(AC) meeting of the project Enabling Bio-innovation for Poverty Alleviation in Asiaat the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT),Bangkok, Thailand. 23 January 2009.

• Made a presentation on Issues under WTO-SPS and CBD-Cartagena Protocol onBiosafety at the National Orientation Courseon Biosecurity and Biosafety: Policies,Procedures and Issues at NBPGR, New Delhion 28 January 2009.

• Participated in the Roundtable meeting todiscuss the matter regarding a legislation forprotection of Traditional Knowledge at theMinistry of Commerce and Industry in NewDelhi on 3 February 2009.

• Made a presentation on Intellectual PropertyRights and Traditional Knowledge: IndianExperience at the Training Programme forWTO Officials from African countries,organized by the IIFT in New Delhi on 10February 2009.

• Made a presentation on Intellectual PropertyRights and Trade Regime: Indian Experienceat the Training Programme for Stategovernment officials, organized by the IIFTin New Delhi 10 February 2009.

• Made a presentation on IndigenousKnowledge and Evolving Indian RegulatoryFramework at the Conference on TraditionalKnowledge and Genetic Resources,organized by George Washington Universityand CII, New Delhi on 24 February 2009.

• Participated in the International PolicyDialogue on The Global Financial Crisis andInternational Financial Institutions –

Governance Perspectives for DevelopingCountries, organized by the GermanDevelopment Institute (GDI) and InWent,Berlin, Germany on 8-9 March 2009.

• Participated as an observer at the Seventhmeeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended WorkingGroup on Access and Benefit-sharing:Informal Consultation with the Co-chairs andregional consultations, on 31 March – 1April 2009, organized by the Secretariat ofthe Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), UNESCO, Paris, France.

Dr. Ram Upendra Das,Senior Fellow• Delivered a lecture on India’s Trade Policy

and Regional Economic Engagements toIndian Economic Service Probationers at theInstitute of Economic Growth on 1 October2008.

• Participated in the Meeting convened bySecretary (ER) on Ásian CooperationDialogue in the Ministry of External Affairson 6 October 2008.

• Participated in the Meetings on India-NewZealand JSG organized by the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry, on 8 October 2008,6 November 2008 and 13 January 2009.

• Participated in the Meeting convened byAdditional Secretary (TC) on ITEC, in theMinistry of External Affairs on 21 October2008.

• Delivered a lecture on New Developmentsin Trade Theory and Practice at the TrainingProgramme for College Faculty andResearchers on Contemporary Issues inInternational Trade organized by the Centrefor Development Studies, Trivandrum on 25October 2008.

• Delivered a lecture on The Dynamics ofSouth Asian Economic Integration at theSchool of International Studies, JawaharlalNehru University on 27 October 2008.

• Participated in the Meeting on Expert Groupof Preferential RoO, organized by the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 29October 2008.

• Delivered a lecture on Understanding WTOAgreements under the ITEC Programme forForeign Journalists, organized by the IndianInstitute of Mass Communication on 11November 2008.

• Participated in the Meeting on India-PakistanTrade Relations, organized by the Ministryof Commerce and Industry on 14 November2008.

• Participated in the Meeting on AsianEconomic Cooperation with Mr Richard AWoolcott AC, Special Envoy for the PrimeMinister of Australia, organized by theAustralian High Commission on 14November 2008.

• Participated in the Meeting of the Projectsteering Committee on Trade and Gender,organized by Ministry of Commerce andIndustry on 17 November 2008.

• Delivered a lecture on South-South Tradeand Regionalism under the TrainingProgramme on Trade and SustainableDevelopment organized by TERI, Gurgaonon 27 November 2008.

• Presented paper on Imperatives of RegionalEconomic Integration in Asia in the Contextof Developmental Asymmetries: SomePolicy Suggestions in the Annual Conference2008 on Asia’s Contribution to GlobalEconomic Development and Stability,organized by Asian Development BankInstitute (ADBI) on 5 December 2008 inTokyo.

• Presented a paper on Trade and InvestmentCooperation between India and GCC at theSeminar on GCC Investments in Asia: Issuesand Prospects, organized by CWAAS / GulfStudies Programme / SIS / JNU in New Delhion 15 January 2009.

• Participated in the Meeting on India-NewZealand JSG organized by Ministry ofCommerce and Industry on 12 February2009.


Participants at the evening function of the RIS Silver Jubilee Conference on day one.


• Delivered a lecture on UnderstandingPreferential Rules of Origin SomeConceptual and Policy Issues under theTraining Programme for DGFT Officials,organized by the Centre for WTO Studiesand IIFT on 12 February 2009.

• Made a presentation on Asian EconomicCommunity during a Meeting withTaiwanese Delegation, organized by theMinistry of External Affairs on 16 February2009.

• Participated in the Meeting on India-Indonesia JSG, organized by the Ministry ofCommerce and Industry on 17 February2009.

• Participated in the Meeting on India-NewZealand JSG, between Trade and CommerceMinisters of New Zealand and India on 12February 2009.

• Presented a paper on India-ASEAN Tradeand Economic Relations: Problems andProspects at the International seminar onCulture, Trade and Development inSoutheast Asia, and India’s Responseorganized by The Society for Indian OceanStudies on 5 March 2009 in New Delhi.

• Participated in the preparatory meeting onIndia-ASEAN Summit and East AsiaSummit convened by the Secretary (East),Ministry of External Affairs on 13 March2009.

• Participated as a Discussant in the NationalConference on Corporate Sector,Industrialization and EconomicDevelopment in India, organized by the ISIDon 27 March 2009 in New Delhi.

Prof. I. N. Mukherji,Senior Consultant• Made a presentation on Multilateral Trading

System and Regional Trade at theInternational Conference on The Role of thePrivate Sector in South Asian EconomicIntegration, organized by AsianDevelopment Bank at Colombo on 16-17October, 2008.

• Made a presentation on India’s EconomicDiplomacy in South Asia: with SpecialReference to Indo-Bangladesh CBMs at theNational Maritime Foundation on 22October, 2008.

• Discussant at Second Session on RegionalSecurity and Cooperation in the ChangingPolitical Context at the International SecondAnnual Conference on Changing PoliticalContext in India’s Neighborhood: Prospectsof Security and Regional Cooperation,organized by the Institute for Defense Studiesand Analyses, New Delhi on 6 November,2008.

• Chaired the Technical Session-3 on SAPTAat the International Seminar on Engagementof Developing Countries in Regional TradeAgreements (RTAs): An Assessment,organized by the Department of Economics,Mizoram University on 12 November, 2008.

• Made a presentation on SAARC: Past,Present and Future at the InternationalConference on Cooperative Development,Peace and Security in South Asia, organizedby the Centre for Research in Rural andIndustrial Development, Chandigarh, on 27-29 November, 2008.

• Chaired the Session on FTAs andImplications for South Asia at the FourthAnnual Conference on Trade andDevelopment: Trading in Development:Emerging Issues in South Asia, organizedby Centre for Trade and Development(Centad) on 17 December, 2008.

• Appointed Member, Expert Group onPreferential Rules of Origin by the Govt.ofIndia.

• Made a presentation on Global KnowledgeEconomy: Elements and Challenges at theInternational Conference on Towards anAfro-Asian Knowledge—Based SocietyInitiative, organized by the Afro-AsianPeople’s Solidarity Organization, Cairo, on11-12 January, 2009.

• Made a presentation on Indo-NepalRelations: Building Confidence byStrengthening Trade, Investment andInfrastructure Linkages at the InternationalConference on Cooperative Development,Peace and Security in South and CentralAsia, organized by Centre for Research inRural and Industrial Development,Chandigarh in Kolkata on 1-2 March 2009.

• Made a presentation on India-Pakistan Trade:Potential Unrealized at the InternationalSeminar on India & Pakistan: the Costs ofConflict, organized by the Pakistan StudiesProgramme, Academy of Third worldStudies, Jamia Milia Islamia on 19-20 March2009.

• Invited as Visiting Faculty under UGC-CAS-Phase-1 Programme in the Department ofInternational Relations, Jadavpur Universityto deliver lectures on India’s Look EastPolicy on 23-30 March 2009.

Dr. Prabir De, Fellow• Participated in the 14th ASEAN-India

Working Group (AIWG) Meeting, organizedby the Ministry of External Affairs held inNew Delhi on 30-31 October 2008.

• Delivered a lecture on Economic Reforms andInfrastructure Development in India at the 46th

Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats,organized by the Foreign Service Institute(FSI), New Delhi on 5 November 2008.

• Made a presentation on Transport Issues andIntegration in BIMSTEC at the BIMSTECBusiness Summit, organized by theASSOCHAM-CII-FICCI, held in NewDelhi on 12 November 2008.

• Made a presentation on Trade, Infrastructureand Regional Disparity in India and Chinaat the Global Institute Russia-India-China(RIC) 4th Annual International Conferenceon Emerging Super Trio: Global EconomicImplications, organized by the National

Council for Applied Economic Research(NCAER), New Delhi; Centre for China inthe World Economy (CCWE), Beijing andCentre for Economic and Financial Research(CEFIR), Moscow in New Delhi on 20-21November 2008.

• Presented a paper on Restoring Asian SilkRoute: Towards a Vision of Borderless Asiaat the International Conference on Buildingthe Southwest Corridor of the Third Asia-Europe Continental Land Bridge, organizedby the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS), held at Beijing, on 24-25 November,2008.

• Made a presentation on Potential for Tradein Services under SAFTA on-behalf of theSAARC Regional Services Study Team, atthe Policy Workshop on Intraregional Tradeand Investment in South Asia, organized bythe Asian Development Bank (ADB), atKathmandu, on 4-5 December 2008.

• Participated as a resource person and made apresentation on Enhancing Asia’s Trade:Trade Costs Matter, at the ARTNeT CapacityBuilding Workshop for Trade Research:Behind the Border Gravity Modeling,organized by UNESCAP Trade andInvestment Division and ARTNeT, held atBangkok on 15-19 December 2008.

Dr. K. Ravi Srinivas,Associate Fellow• Made a presentation at the High-level

Conference on Climate Change: TechnologyDevelopment and Technology Transfer,held on 7-8 November 2008 at Beijing.

• Participated at the TERI-SPRU Workshopon UK-India Collaboration to overcomebarriers to the transfer of low carbon energytechnologies held on 28 November 2008 inNew Delhi.

• Made a presentation at IPRs, Law andSociety: Inter-disciplinary Conversations atthe Centre for International Legal Studies(CILS), School of International Studies(SIS), JNU, New Delhi on 7 January 2009.

• Made a presentation and chaired a panel atNational Conference on Nanotechnologyand Regulatory Issues at the Centre forResearch in Nanosciences &Nanotechnology, Calcutta University on 9-10 January 2009.

• Participated at the Consultative Workshopto identify the barriers to the transfer oflow carbon energy technologies, Phase–II,organized by TERI- SPRU, University ofSussex on UK-India collaboration in NewDelhi on 4 February 2009.

• Participated in the Consultation on ClimateChange, organized by Centre for Trade &Development (Centad) in New Delhi on 2March 2009.

• Chaired a session on Bio-Cultural Diversity,Ethics, Regulation and Law at Indian Societyfor Human Genetics, 34th Annual Conferenceheld in New Delhi on 20 March 2009.



Policy Briefs# 38 Deepening Regional Cooperation in the Bay of Bengal: Agenda

of the BIMSTEC SummitBIMSTEC has been launched with laudable objectives of promotingcooperation in the region in mutually beneficial manner in 13 selectareas. The potential for cooperation is immense in a view of the synergiesof the member countries. A number of steps have been taken to evolvean institutional framework for fostering regional cooperation. It is nowtime for advancing the agenda for action and the expediting theimplementation of programmes. The progress in BIMSTEC also hasgreat positive implications for development of India’s north easternregion transforming it as India’s gateway to the East. The Policy Briefcalled upon the Delhi Summit to give a new thrust towards promoting inintegration within the region.

# 39 IBSA Partnership for Shared Prosperity and InclusiveGlobalization: Report of Third IBSA Summit Academic ForumThe Academic Forum addressed three themes for a detailed discussionunder the broad theme of IBSA partnership for shared prosperity andinclusive globalization. These included global economic governanceand development, food and energy security, and potential and challengesfor IBSA economic cooperation. Besides, it reflected on the futuredirections of the Forum to make it more effective. The Policy Briefpresents a Report of the discussion.

# 40 Reforming the Bretton Woods System for InclusiveDevelopment and Democratic Global GovernanceThe policy brief presents some thoughts on how a more effective globalgovernance can be promoted in one vital area, namely, the financialsector. It argues that lack of international surveillance on the countrywith “license” to print international money (namely, the US) was at theroot of the current global financial crisis. It also argues that on presenttrends, the financial crisis may soon be transmuted into a major economiccrisis with the risks of repetition of the nightmare scenario of the 1930s.It suggests the way forward like globalization of IMF.

#41 Financial Crisis, Global Economic Governance andDevelopment: Responses of Asia and the Global SouthThe Policy Brief presents the report of the High Level Conference onFinancial Crisis, Global Economic Governance and Development:Responses of Asia and the Global South. The main objective of theConference was to understand the impact of the global financial crisison developing countries and discuss the policy responses by Asiancountries and the global South at national, regional and global levels.Hopefully, these efforts would make the world economically moreequitable and sustainable in future. Towards this goal, imperatives ofdesigning a ‘Southern Consensus’ on a new development paradigmcannot be overemphasised.

Discussion Papers#146 Livestock Industrialization, Trade and Social-Health-

Environment Impacts in Developing Countries: A Case ofIndian Poultry Sector by Rajesh Mehta, Clare A. Narrod andMarites M. Tiongco

Abstract: This paper presents the results of an empirical study of theIndian Poultry Industry which is specially focused on the social andenvironmental outcomes generated by the rapidly increasing scale ofegg and broiler production in India. Among the effects of these rapidchanges that occurred in the poultry industry include increased riskfor animal health, changes in demand patters in terms of amount,quality, and food safety, higher prices for high value items; but thereis also a threat to smallholders that they will be excluded from moredemanding markets. There are important questions, which have arisenwith the industrialization of poultry activity in India. Is the scaling upof production driving small producers to disadvantage on account ofhigh transaction costs, policy distortions and environmentexternalities? Why do some poultry farms have higher incomes thanothers? Do large farms earn more profit per unit of output than smallfarms? What explains the differentials in efficiency? An attempt ismade here to take stock of these changes and to assess their social andenvironmental outcomes particularly those that affect the welfare ofpoor. The paper starts by examining the state of the Indian PoultryIndustry, then it goes in dealing with selected socio-economic, health,and environment changes that affect the competitiveness of livestockproduction including domestic institutional arrangement of food safetystandards.

#147 India’s Role in East Asia: Lessons from Cultural and HistoricalLinkages by Ellen L. FrostAbstract: India’s presence in the East Asia Summit signals not only avictory for New Delhi’s “Look East” policy but also an implicit “LookWest” policy on the part of India’s neighbors to the east. Thisconvergence represents not only a major economic opportunity for Indiabut also a long-term strategic shift in regional order. The purpose ofthis essay is to demonstrate that for historical, cultural, political aswell as for substantial economic reasons India belongs to the East Asiantable. It is time to “re-center” our notions of Asia so that maps andother geographic concepts reflect India’s resurgent links with easternneighbors. India’s political role in the Asian integration movementunderscores this need. One of the key opportunities for policy makersis to revive and build on India’s historical and cultural legacy in Asiawithout appearing to be seeking hegemony or trumpeting a chauvinistvision.

#148 India’s Outward Foreign Direct Investments in Steel Industryin a Chinese Comparative Perspective by Nagesh Kumar and AlkaChadhaAbstract: Indian and Chinese enterprises have emerged as importantoutward investors in recent times with their involvement in a numberof prominent Greenfield investments and acquisitions. The theory ofinternational business posits that the ownership of some uniqueadvantages having a revenue generating potential abroad combinedwith the presence of internalization and locational advantages leads tooutward FDI. Conventional MNEs based in the industrialized countrieshave grown on the strength of ownership advantages derived frominnovatory activity that is largely concentrated in these countries. Itexamines the case of steel industry that has become an important sectorof overseas activity for Chinese and Indian companies with a string ofmajor acquisitions of foreign MNEs for acquiring footprints and naturalresources in order to identify the sources of ownership advantages andstrategies of outward investments from emerging countries.

#149 Eradicating Poverty in India: Lessons from Experiments inEmpowerment by Beena PandeyAbstract: This paper was prepared as a part of SACEPS/CPD (Dhaka)larger study on the role of empowerment of the poor through assettransfers in poverty alleviation. The paper analyzes the importance ofstructural interventions through asset ownership by the poor and helpingthem to move up the value chain. It explores the India’s experience inaddressing poverty in cooperative sector, through self-help groups(SHGs) and some initiatives taken by the private sector of empoweringmaking small and poorer producers as stakeholders of their supplychains. This includes case studies of AMUL in cooperatives, LijjatPapad in SHGs and Tata Tea’s worker-ownership scheme in teaplantations. It also draws some policy implications of these selectedcase studies.

#150 Policies for Industrial Learning in China and Mexico by KevinP. Gallagher and M. ShafaeddinAbstract: Previous work has shown that the results of both China andMexico’s export-led market reforms over the past quarter century havebeen strikingly different. In contrast to China, Mexico has not managedto increase the value added of its exports of manufactured goods andhas subsequently had a difficult time competing with China in worldmarkets. Building on this previous work, in this paper we conduct acomparative analysis of the role of government policies in industriallearning and the development of capabilities of indigenous firms inMexico and China in order to shed light on why China is outperformingMexico. We find that Mexico and China have had starkly differentapproaches to economic reform in this area. Mexico’s approach toreform has been followed a “neo-liberal” path, whereas China’sapproach could be described as “neo-developmental.” Mexico’s hands-off approach to learning has resulted in a lack of development ofendogenous capacity of domestic firms, little transfer of technology,negligible progress in the upgrading of industrial production, and littleincrease in value added of exports. By contrast, China has deployed ahands-on approach of targeting and nurturing domestic firms througha gradual and trial and error led set of government policies.

#151 Who Uses the Patent System in Developing Countries? A Studyof Patent Propensities in Argentina, 1992-2001 by Andrés LópezAnd Eugenia OrlickiAbstract: This paper aims at studying the determinants of the patentbehavior of Argentinean manufacturing firms. In particular, we seek toidentify the factors that affect the probability of obtaining a patent andthe determinants of the number of patents granted. We include industryfixed effects and our sample is based on data extracted from two

Latest Publications


innovation surveys. Our main results are: (i)foreign owned firms have a higher probabilityof obtaining a patent than domestic ones; (ii)local R&D activities have not had any impacton the probability of obtaining a patent neitheron the number of patents obtained by the firms.

#152 The Limited Promise of AgriculturalTrade Liberalizationby Timothy A. Wise

Abstract: It has become an article of faith ininternational trade negotiations that farmers indeveloping countries have much to gain fromagricultural trade liberalization. This paperassesses the evidence for such claims. Itconcludes that the promise of agricultural tradeliberalization is overstated, while the costs tosmall-scale farmers in developing countries areoften very high.

Journals• South Asia Economic Journal, Vol. 9,

Number 2, July-December 2008.Evaluating the Intra-regional Exports and TradeCreation and Trade Diversion Effects of TradeAgreements in SAARC Countries by SureshMoktan; How Have the Poor in South Asia Faredbetween 1980 and 2004? An Assessment ofLiving Conditions by Udaya R. Wagle; WhyPrivatize? The Decline of Public Ownership inIndia and Its Impact on Industrial Performanceby Sumit K. Majumdar; Impact of Mining onAgriculture Productivity: A Case Study of theIndian State of Orissa by Prajna Paramita Mishraand Ayan Kumar Pujari; An Examination of theResiliency of Sri Lanka’s Tax System; by AnandaJayawickrama, Financial Development andEconomic Growth in Pakistan: Evidence Basedon Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL)Approach by Muhammad Arshad Khan;Economic Development and Political Conflict:Comparative Study of Sri Lanka and Malaysiaby Sirimal Abeyratne; Water Footprint of Indiaand Its Implications for International Trade inFood Products by Kriti Bardhan Gupta; and TheMincer Human Capital Model in Pakistan:Implications for Education Policy by QaisarAbbas and James Foreman-Peck. Book Reviews.

• Asian Biotechnology and DevelopmentReview, Vol. 11, No.1, November 2008.Policy and Institutional Factors and theDistribution of Economic Benefits and Risk fromthe Adoption of Insect Resistant (Bt) Cotton inWest Africa by Jose Falck-Zepeda, DanielaHorna, Patricia Zambrano and Melinda Smale;Indian Efforts for Developing Biotechnology byPrasanta K. Ghosh; Technical Capacity,Policymaking and Food Standards: An Overviewof Indian Experience by Nupur Chowdhury andSanjay Kumar; and The Cost of Research andDevelopment for Producing a Transgenic Cropand Its Biosafety Regulation Compliance inIndonesia by Bahagiawati Amirhusin, Erna MariaLokollo, Supriyati, and Sutrisno. List ofReviewers (1997-2008). 10 Years of ABDR:Select Messages.

Outside Publications of the RISFaculty MembersResearch PapersChaturvedi, Sachin and S. K. Mohanty. 2008. “The

WTO and Trade in ElectronicallyDelivered Software: Emerging Challengesand Policy Options - An IndianPerspective”. Journal of World Trade,42(5): 927-951.

Chaturvedi, Sachin. 2008. “Biodiversity,Intellectual Property Rights Regime, andIndigenous Knowledge System at theWTO: Revisiting the Unresolved Issues”

in Handbook on Trade and theEnvironment by Kevin P. Gallagher (ed),London: Edward Elgar Press.

Chaturvedi, Sachin et.al. 2009. A Survey of South-North Health Biotech Collaboration. NatureBiotechnology 27(3): 229-232

Chaturvedi, Sachin et. al. 2009. "Historical Analysisof the Effectiveness of AKST Systems inPromoting Innovation" in InternationalAssessment of Agricultural Knowledge,Science and Technology for Development(IAASTD): Global Report, World Bank,Washington, D.C.

Chaturvedi, Sachin 2009. "AgriculturalBiotechnology and Trends in IPR Regime:Emerging Challenges for DevelopmentCountries" in D. Castle (ed.) The Role ofIntellectual Property Rights inBiotechnology Innovation. Centre forIntellectual Protection Policy. February.London: Edward Elgar.

De, P. 2008. “Empirical Estimates of TransportCosts: Options for Enhancing Asia’sTrade” and “Trade Transportation Costs inSouth Asia: An Empirical Investigation”in Douglas Brooks and David Hummels(eds.) Infrastructure’s Role in LoweringAsia’s Trade Costs: Building for Trade.Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

De, P. 2008. “Is India’s Services Trade Pro-Poor?A Simultaneous Approach”, in UNESCAP(ed.) Emerging Trade Issues forPolicymakers in Developing Countries inAsia and the Pacific, Studies in Trade andInvestment # 64, United Nations andEconomic and social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific, New York and Bangkok.

De, P. 2008. “Empirical Estimates of TradeTransportation Costs: Option for EnhancingIndia’s Trade”. Trade and DevelopmentReview, Vol. 1, No.2, pp. 95-121.

De, P. 2009. Inclusive Growth and TradeFacilitation: Insights from South Asia,ARTNeT Policy Brief # 16, UNESCAP,Bangkok, January.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. "Internationalization ofIndian Enterprises: Patterns, Strategies,Ownership Advantages, and Implications".Asian Economic Policy Review 3,Blackwell, 242-261

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008 “India’s Look East Policy :Achievements and Challenges in SatishKumar (ed). India National SecurityAnnual Review 2008. New Delhi: KWPublishers Pvt. Ltd.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2009. "Liberalisation, ForeignDirect Investment Flows andDevelopment: Indian Experience in 1990s"in K.L. Krishna and Uma Kapila (eds.)Readings in Indian Agriculture andIndustry. New Delhi: AcademicFoundation.

Mehta, R. 2008. “The Poultry Industry in India”.Poultry in the 21st Century: Avian Influenzaand Beyond. FAO Animal Production andHealth, FAO, Rome, 9, ISSN 1810-0732;ISBN 978-92-5-106063-6.

Mehta, R. 2008. “Perceptions and Challenges inExport of Processed Food from India”.Safety and Toxicity in Food Products.Proceedings of All India Seminar,

Popular ColumnsAgwarwala, Ramgopal. 2008. ‘Be bold enough to

fight the system from within’. The EconomicTimes. 14 November.

Agwarwala, Ramgopal. 2009. ‘Breaking thelogjam'. The Financial Express. 11 January

Agwarwala, Ramgopal. 2009. ‘Towards Globalkeynesianism'. The Financial Express.18 January.

Chaturvedi, Sachin. 2008. ‘BICS should providea collective leadership’. The FinancialExpress. 12 November.

De, P. 2008. “BIMSTEC Meet to Positively ImpactIndia’s Northeast Region”. The FinancialExpress, 5 November.

De, P. 2008. “Borderless South Asia: Towards FullRegional Connectivity". Indian EngineeringExports, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 6-16, October.

De, P. 2009. Infrastructure Spending as anAntidote. The Financial Express,February 11.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. ‘For an Asian financalarchitecture’. The Economic Times.7 November 2008.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. ‘Case for a bold fiscalstimulus’. The Economic Times.5 December.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. ‘Does India face a balanceof payment crisis?’ The Economic Times.16 December.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. ‘Challenging Times’. TheFinancial Express. 28 December.

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. ‘Averting BOP Crisis. TheEconomic Times. 2 January

Kumar, Nagesh. 2009. ‘For an Asian financialarchitecture'. The Economic Times.6 February 2009

Kumar, Nagesh. 2008. ‘Look inwards to mitigatethe crisis'. The Economic Times. 6 March.

Mukherji, Indira Nath. 2009. ‘Pakistan in the gripof a major financial crisis’. The FinancialExpress. October 1.

Mukherji, Indira Nath. 2008.’Addressing theUnfinished Bimstec Agenda.’ The FinancialExpress, November 19, 2008.

January 2009, The Institute of Engineers(India), New Delhi.

Mehta, R. 2008. “WTO and Technical Barriers toTrade”. Focus WTO. Lead Article.November-December, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp1-8. Printed in March 2009.

Mukherji, I. N. 2008. “SAFTA: Challenges andOpportunities”. South Asia Journal, pp102-113, Lahore, July-September.

Mukherji, I. N. 2008. “Access and Benefit Sharingand Farmer’s Rights-Sharing the IndianExperience with Bangladesh andPakistan”. Sustainable Solutions: ASpotlight on South Asian Research. Pp.188-212. Sustainable Development PolicyInstitute, Islamabad.

Mukherji, I.N . 2008. “India’s Trade with SouthAsian Neighbors: Conflict or ConfidenceBuilding?”in Conflict and Peace in SouthAsia, Vol 5. Eds. Manas Chatterjee andB.M.Jain. Pp. 285-298. UK: Emerald.

Srinivas, K. Ravi. 2008. "Fundamentals ofPatent Law : Interpretation and Scope ofProtection". (book review). SCRIPT-ed.Vol.5 No. 3.

Latest Publications


RIS in Media

• Dr. Sandra Rothboeck, EmploymentSpecialist, ILO Subregional Office forSouth Africa, New Delhi on 8 January2009.

• Dr. Anthony D’Costa, ComparativeInternational Development, University ofWashington on 14 January 2009.

• Ms. Grace Guest, Economics Department,School of Oriental African Studies, UK, on21 January 2009.

• Dr. Ludovico Alcorta, Director, Researchand Statistics Branch, UNIDO Vienna on9 February 2009.

• Dr. Dinesh Abrol, Scientist-F, NISTAD,New Delhi on 17 February 2009.

• H.E. Mr. Wong Chow Ming, Deputy HighCommissioner of Singapore, New Delhi on20 February 2009.

Important Visitors• Mr. Raja Mitra, Senior Consultant, the World

Bank Group, Washington D.C. on 6 March2009.

• Dr. Masanori Kondo, Visiting Senior ResearchFellow, Institute for Indian Economic Studies,Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan on 17 March2009

• Mr. Gasper Frontini, Chief Trade Economist,European Commission, Brussels on 23 March2009.

• Ms. Perya Short, Education Counsellor, NewZealand High Commission on 10 October 2008

• Mr. K. P. Chen, First Secretary, HighCommission of Singapore on 20 October 2008

• H.E. Mr. Rupert Holborow, HighCommissioner and Ms. MichelleWanwimolruk, Second Secretary, NewZealand High Commission, New Delhi on 24October 2008.

• Mr. N. K. Sehgal, General Manager, IndianTrade Promotion Organization (ITPO) on 8November 2008.

• Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, PrincipalEconomist, Asian Development Bank Manila7 November 2008.

• Dr. H. Nishimura, Executive Director, ERIAon 13 November 2008.

• Ms. Alexandra Mallett, Research Fellow,SPRU, University of Sussex on 18 November2008.

• Ms Sandra Destradi, GIGA German Instituteof Global Area Studues, Germany on 2December 2008.

• Dr. Hilde Selbervik, Senior Researcher,Chr Michelsen Institute, Norway on 5December 2008.

• Ms. C. Jayanthi, Senior Editor, The FinancialExpress, New Delhi.

Policy research to shape the international development agenda

Managing Editor: Tish Kumar Malhotra

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