RSS-backed meet to discuss US, EU protectionism and India's response

Union ministers, CMs, economists to attend

A three-day conference, under the auspices of a Sangh Parivar-affiliated economic think tank, will be held later this week in the national capital to brainstorm how the “Bharatiya model of development” could prepare the country to deal with the protectionist policies of the US and Europe and attain the objective of a “prosperous and great Bharat” by 2047.

 

The conclave, to be held from April 24 to 26, is being organised by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed economic think tank. Among other issues, it will discuss recent global developments, especially the “protectionist policies that the US under President Donald Trump and European countries are pursuing”, and India’s response, SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said on Tuesday.

 

Union ministers, chief ministers, economists and diplomats will attend the conclave. Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Manohar Lal Khattar, along with the chief ministers of Haryana and Delhi, Nayab Singh Saini and Rekha Gupta, will be present, as will Reserve Bank of India director S Gurumurthy and members of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Shamika Ravi and Sanjeev Sanyal.

 

Academicians from some of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and other universities will also attend, present research papers, and hold discussions on themes such as harnessing India’s demographic dividend, strategies for employment generation, promoting entrepreneurship, Bharatiya skills and global parameters, initiatives for becoming the world’s leading economy, establishing a robust security system, and developments in science and technology.

 

Mahajan said Indian industry needs to be globally competitive, but the country would need to respond if another country, as China has done in the recent past, hurts Indian industry by dumping products, or when the US under Trump or European countries become excessively protectionist.

 

He said the conclave will discuss the relevance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the current scenario and why India should reconsider its support when the countries that were its architects are now jettisoning it. The retired Delhi University economics professor said the SJM does not support “over-protectionism of the kind pursued during the first few decades of Congress rule”. “But a small increase in tariffs to protect our industry, whenever such a situation demands, is necessary,” he said.

 

The conclave will also discuss how India could protect its agriculture and farmers while signing bilateral trade agreements. Mahajan said the SJM opposed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), from which India had walked out primarily due to the issue of keeping agriculture out of its ambit, and that India’s free trade agreement (FTA) with Australia also kept the sector out of its purview. In the context of trade agreements, including the one that India is negotiating with the US, Mahajan said, “We believe the government will protect the interests of our farmers. We appreciate the government’s approach so far and expect it will continue.”