Author: CD Staff

Context

• The New Education Policy 2020 aims to mark a revolution in the entire process of teaching and learning.
• Incorporation of quality in education is a requirement of essence not just in terms of estimation of efficiency but certainly a valuable dimension to reform the system creating new opportunities.

Backgrounder: Education Policies in India

1. National Education Policy 1968: This was the first policy laying the pathway for further spread of education in the country. It called for increasing the expenditure on education to 6%. It also called for free and compulsory education to everyone, along with development of regional languages and equalization of opportunity for all.
2. New Education Policy 1986: It was released by the Rajiv Gandhi government. The main features of the policy included inclusion of early childhood care in the ambit of education, emphasis on the education of vulnerable sections like SC, ST, women etc., and providing avenues for inclusive education like distance education and open universities.
3. National Education Policy 2020: The current policy has been designed keeping in mind the requirements of 21st century and the rapid growth of technology in the world.

Inspiration for NEP 2020

The policy derives its inspiration from the below goals:

• SDG-4: NEP 2020 has been formulated keeping in mind India’s commitments to Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 4, i.e. ‘to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’.
• Right to Education: It was enacted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act in the year 2009 and was enforced in 2010. It introduced a new Article 21A into the Constitution. The act provides for free and compulsory education for children in the age group of 6-14 years.

Components of NEP 2020

• The National Education Policy 2020 is divided into four parts:

1. Part I: School Education
2. Part II: Higher Education
3. Part III: Other Key Areas of Focus
4. Part IV: Making it Happen

Objectives of the NEP 2020

• Roadmap for becoming global knowledge superpower: The Policy aims to transform India into a global knowledge superpower.
• Making of a responsible citizen: The policy seeks to build an informed citizenry, which is aware of its rights and upholds national integrity and sovereignty in high esteem.
• Legacy pride: The focus is on making people aware of their rich heritage and culture, and take pride in being a national of a country having a great historical legacy, spanning over multiple millennia.
• Sustainable development: NEP 2020 has an inherent focus on making the children of today, responsible citizens of tomorrow, who understand the importance of sustainable consumption of natural resources.
• Time-bound development: The policy has a deadline of the year 2040 to implement the provisions mentioned in the policy.

Various policy initiatives

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: The central and the state governments have taken active steps through exemplary schemes like the SSA, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education to promote quality education and access in the disadvantaged and weaker sections of the society.
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: Under this Act, good quality elementary education is mandated to adhere to the standards and provisions of the Act.  
• NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement): It is a unique programme under Samagra Shiksha by which the government is trying to revamp the teacher training process with the help of important academic bodies.
• PM E-Vidya: It is noteworthy to mention and it aims to provide access to a variety of e-resources in 33 languages that involve Indian Sign Language, DIKSHA (one digital platform), Swayam Prabha and Podcast – Shiksha Vani.
• PM POSHAN Shakti Nirman: It is a centrally sponsored scheme under the National Food Security Act that comprises children of Balvatika to class VIII in government and government-aided schools to be supplied nutritious food to the school-going children.
• SAFAL Assessment: A competency-based assessment will be introduced through Structured Assessment for Analyzing Learning Level (SAFAL) for grades 3, 5 and 8 in accordance with the NEP.
• Accreditation initiatives: The School Quality Assessment and Accreditation has been considered as the Standards Setting Authority for Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Private Independent Schools and Government schools affiliated to the Board.
• Performance Grading Index: It is an index released by the Ministry of Education for measuring performance of states in school education.

Challenges

• Gaps in Learning Outcomes: The education system in India suffers from promotion of rote-learning and emphasis on bookish knowledge. This promotes a lack of understanding among the pupils.  
• Lack of Parental Literacy: Due to the low literacy levels in the previous generation, there is a clear lack of understanding among parents and teachers about pedagogy.  
• Lack of Motivation: At the same time, students complain of learning being a mechanical process, with teachers scrambling for course completion within the assigned time.
• Workload on teachers: On the other hand, teachers complain about the overload of work due to additional responsibilities like census duty, preparing mid-day meals, awareness generation programmes and election duties, which are given to them by the government.

• Ineffective School Leadership: Teachers complain about a lack of effective guidance and leadership from the higher management of the schools.    
• Lack of Focus on Soft skills: The focus of school education is on rote learning. This diverts attention from the overall development of the child as the children are unable to learn basic life skills like communication and socialization.  

Way forward

• Curriculum Revamp: The general perception regarding updates in curriculum is conservative in India. This needs to change as many subjects like IT show a rapid evolution in a short period of time and outdated learning in such subjects may lead to more harm than good.
• Linkages across School Levels: Again, there is a need to incorporate incremental learning across different levels of schools to make children grasp the concepts in an efficient manner.  
• Synergy with the World: Care needs to be taken in designing the course material in such a way that the subjects are informative and aligned with the real world.
• Holistic planning: It is imperative to engage the subject experts who have an idea of latest updates in the field. Therefore, a committee comprising subject experts, teachers, as well as parents, should be formed to look into better designing of the materials.
• Innovation in Pedagogy: It is well-established that all children have their own speed of learning and understanding a subject. Therefore, the teachers need to be encouraged to improvise teaching methods and engage all students in an inclusive manner.  
• Proper assessment mechanism: It should be done in a manner which does not create fear of exams in the children. Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive evaluation of children, to be ensured continuously throughout the year.
• Capacity Building: There is a need to make the teachers stakeholders in the education system, so that they understand their responsibility towards future development of the nation.  

Conclusion

• India still suffers from a lack of basic numeracy and foundational literacy as manifested in the ASER report released by the NGO Pratham.
• In such a context, NEP 2020 has come at the right time and is expected to boost India’s literacy and skill levels across the levels of education.
• The need is to implement the well-intentioned provisions in the policy in a time-bound manner.
• This will create hope for a better future for many of the poverty-afflicted households of the country and enhance the standing of the country at the international level and will create livelihoods.

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Context

• Ongoing assembly elections in five states have seen a flurry of promises from political parties.
• The prominent one amongst these is the promise of free or subsidised power for farmers and domestic consumers.

Also read:

The Lure of Free Electricity

• Free or subsidized power to farmers (sometimes accompanied to the farm loan waiver) is present in election manifestos of each political parties during elections.
• According to a report:
  1. Free power to farmers accounts for 70% of total subsidies.
  2. Free power to the Scheduled Caste, backward caste and BPL families contribute 14%.
  3. Subsidized power to industrial consumers constitutes 16% of total subsidies. 

Why free electricity is an issue?

• Cost bared by the States: The entire cost of electricity that includes the cost of production, the purchase price of power, the cost of distribution and collection is bound by the state government.
• Burden on exchequer: Due to free power in Delhi, the total state subsidy amounts to 11% of the total expenses.
• States incapacity to pay back: The State governments have to reimburse the Discoms, but given the financial state of the governments, they either defer the payments or delay the payments.
• DISCOM failure due to poor finances: As the Discoms suffer from financial shortage their ability to provide service is affected, especially in rural and far-flung areas.
• Shortage and outages: This is a key reason for the limited electrification of the industrial and commercial sectors.

Necessity check

• Unaffordability: Providing subsidised low tariffs for small consumers is necessary, considering the rising costs of the electricity supply.
• Relief in distress: Free or low-tariff power is at best a short-term relief, which should be provided to those who desperately need it.

Long term impact

Free power distorts demand, discourages efficient use and resource management.

• Impact on power generation: This makes Discoms unable to pay the generators who are dependent on these finances for the procurement of coal.
• Financial burden on end-customers: It leads to industrial and commercial consumers paying cross-subsidy in terms of higher power tariffs to compensate for the under-recoveries of Discoms.
• Burden on Banks: Banks are also affected as power generators can’t pay the interest due to which the costs of borrowing also increases.
• Tariff Issues: The high tariff also makes the states and the country uncompetitive against the other countries in the global market.
• Ignorance to critical issues: The financial implications are immense, undermining a state’s ability to provide critical services such as health, education and basic infrastructure.

Consequences of free power

The free/subsidized power supply is provided for improving the financial condition of farmers. However, this has led to certain dysfunctions:

• Overuse of Power and Wastage
• Wastage of water through overt irrigation
• Land degradation due to Water Logging
• Such cultivation often leads to Crop Failure

Giving free power imposes intergenerational costs in terms of exacerbating water scarcity and deterioration of air quality.

Policy alternatives: PM-KUSUM

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) is an Indian central government-sponsored scheme led by MNRE.
• The PM-KUSUM scheme helps Indian farmers in installing solar pumps as well as solar power plants in India.
• Under KUSUM yojana, you will have to bear only 10% of the total cost. The remaining 30% will be provided by the central government and 30% by the state government as solar pump subsidies.
• In that way, you’ll receive a total 60% subsidy on your solar water pump. The remaining 30% will be financed.

Way forward

• DBT: Eschewing free power is not anti-poor. Electricity-poor households can be supported through direct benefit transfers or prepaid meters.
• Cap on usage:  The subsidies should be given for a limited number of units and be given in increasing slabs to avoid overconsumption and wastage.
• Subsidization: Currently, the subsidies are also extended to the large cultivators who grow cash crops, vineyards, sugarcane and make huge profits.
• Concessional tariffs: Fixing concessional tariffs (not below 50% of the discom’s average cost of supply) for consumers with monthly consumption below 50 kWh and connected load up to 1 kW.   
• Extensive eligibility: Rather than giving the subsidy to the discoms, the expert group proposed the subsidy be paid as a direct benefit transfer to eligible consumers.
• Feeder separation: Separation of agricultural meters from non-agricultural meters should be implemented throughout the country.

Conclusion

• India needs greater electrification of its economy. It must create the conditions that encourage this.
• The reckless and indiscriminate promise of free power prevents that transition.

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Inception of the idea

• The idea of ‘economic swadeshi’ emerged by the second half of the 19th century.
• Thanks to the writings of R C Dutt, Dadabhai Naoroji, and M G Ranade, the new western-educated middle class was well aware of the colonial economic exploitation.
• Gopal Hari Deshmukh was one of the firsts to advocate economic swadeshi in 1849.
• But the credit for translating it to a call to action goes to the ‘college faction’ of the Arya Samajists in Punjab.

Pre-Swadeshi movement

• A group of middle-class, western-educated Punjabis– prominent among them were Lala Lajpat  Rai, Lala Harkishan Lal, and Sir Dayal Singh Majithia came together to found the Punjab National Bank (1894). This was the first major Indian-owned bank.
• Lala Harkishan Lal, who soon emerged as the moving force behind this venture, went on to found a series of joint-stock companies.
• In Bombay, a Parsi lawyer Ardeshir Burjorji Sorabji Godrej (1868-1936) came to realise the importance of indigenous manufacturing. After failing in a series of ventures, he tasted business success with mechanised locks and founded Godrej & Boyce in 1897.
• Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861-1944), a pioneering chemist, founder of Bengal Chemicals (India’s first pharmaceuticals company), and a devoted nationalist spent his entire life in promoting education and scientific research.

Swadeshi Enterprises

The announcement of the Partition of Bengal (1905) unleashed a surge of nationalism and rekindled the Bengali entrepreneurial spirit.

(1) Textiles

• Bengal’s leading landlords, businessmen, and political leaders came together to launch the most high-profile swadeshi venture – Banga Luxmi Cotton Mill (1906).
• Two years later, Mohinimohan Chakraborti, landlord and retired Deputy Magistrate, launched a smaller Mohini Mill in East Bengal to challenge the monopoly of the only British cotton mill in Bengal.
• The biggest beneficiary of the boycott of Manchester cloths turned out to be Bombay and Ahmedabad, where 39 mills came up between 1904 and 1910 to cater to swadeshi demands.

(2) Promotion on Science and Tech

• One of the great contributions of the swadeshi period was the promotion of science. Meritorious students were sent to Japan, Germany, and the USA for technical education.
• Some of them came back to set up successful businesses like Calcutta Chemicals, Calcutta Potteries, and Bengal Waterproof.
• The National Education Movement (1905-1938) helped set up colleges and schools, and one of the institutions associated with it metamorphosed into Jadavpur University.
• In Madras, firebrand nationalist leader V O Chidambaram Pillai launched his Swadeshi Steam  Navigation Company from Tuticorin (1906), to challenge the British monopolies but had a short life.

(3) Emergence of modern banking

• Indian Bank: In Madras, a group of eminent citizens and businessmen came together under the leadership of a lawyer (later on, High Court judge), V Krishnaswamy Iyer, to set up the Indian Bank in 1907.
• Canara Bank: Among the other smaller ventures in the Madras Presidency were the Canara Banking Corporation of Udupi (later Corporation Bank) and the Canara Hindu Permanent Fund (later Canara Bank).
• Central Bank of India: Similar groups in Bombay founded two major banks – the Bank of India (1907) and the Central Bank of India (1911, the first Chairman was Sir Pherozeshah Mehta).
• Bank of Baroda: In Baroda, Maharaja Sayajirao II led the way to set up the first major bank in a princely state – Bank of Baroda (1908). 
• Punjab and Sindh Bank: Business elites in Punjab set up the Punjab and Sind Bank in the same year.

Swadeshi and decline of consumerism

• Boycott of foreign goods and the use of India-made products– the trend that started in Bengal in  1905, spread to the rest of the country with Mahatma Gandhi and his advocacy of khadi.
• With rising nationalism, there was a definite change in consumer culture too.
• Irrespective of whether they were actively participating in political movements or not, people wanted to use India-made/local products as a badge of their patriotism.

Establishment of National Planning Commission

• In 1938, Congress President Subhas Chandra Bose set up a National Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• This Commission had prominent industrialists  like Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Walchand Hirachand, A D Shroff, and Ambalal Sarabhai as  members, along with technocrat M Visvesvaraya and scientist Meghnad Saha.
• In 1944-45, eight leading industrialists – J R D Tata, G D Birla, Ardeshir Dalal, Lala Shri Ram, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, A D Shroff, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, and John Matthai came out with a blueprint for independent India’s economic development.

The Bombay Plan

• This ‘Bombay Plan’ outlined the strategy for doubling of the agricultural output and five- fold increase in the industrial sector within 15 years.
• They accepted that without State support this would not be possible.
• Though it was never officially accepted but the post-independence economic planning did follow the same path of State interventions and a mixed economy with large-scale public sector.

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The government has unveiled the first part of the much-awaited National Hydrogen Policy.

In this article, we shall study some broad contours of this policy – how will it benefit producers of green hydrogen, how will it boost India’s energy security and also make India the hub of green hydrogen.

What is Green Hydrogen?

• Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas produced through electrolysis of water.
• It is an energy intensive process for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen— using renewable power to achieve this.

Key takeaways of the Green Hydrogen Policy

• The new policy offers 25 years of free power transmission for any new renewable energy plants set up to supply power for green hydrogen production before July 2025.
• This means that a green hydrogen producer will be able to set up a solar power plant in Rajasthan to supply renewable energy to a green hydrogen plant in Assam.
• It would not be required to pay any inter-state transmission charges.

Major incentives offered

• The government is set to provide a single portal for all clearances required for setting up green hydrogen production.
• It will facilitate producers to transfer any surplus renewable energy generated with discoms for upto 30 days and use it as required.
• The requirement of time bound clearances for these projects would spur investment while grid connectivity on priority will ease operational processes.
• The energy plants set up to produce green hydrogen/ammonia would be given connectivity to the grid on a priority basis.
• State DISCOMS may also procure renewable energy to supply green hydrogen producers but will be required to do so at a concessional rate.
• Such procurement would also count towards a state’s Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) under which it is required to procure a certain proportion of its requirements from renewable energy sources.

Hydrogen Energy: A Backgrounder

• Hydrogen is an important source of energy since it has zero carbon content and is a non-polluting source of energy in contrast to hydrocarbons that have net carbon content in the range of 75–85 per cent.
• Hydrogen energy is expected to reduce carbon emissions that are set to jump by 1.5 billion tons in 2021.
• It has the highest energy content by weight and lowest energy content by volume.
• As per International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Hydrogen shall make up 6 per cent of total energy consumption by 2050.
• Hydrogen energy is currently at a nascent stage of development, but has considerable potential for aiding the process of energy transition from hydrocarbons to renewable.

Why hydrogen?

• Better properties: At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a nontoxic, nonmetallic, odourless, tasteless, colourless, and highly combustible diatomic gas.
• Clean fuel: Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen. It can be used in fuel cells or internal combustion engines. It is also used as a fuel for spacecraft propulsion.
• Ample sources: Hydrogen can be sourced from natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.
• Phasing out carbon: India remains committed to environmental and climate causes with a massive thrust on deploying renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.
• Diversification of our energy basket: This would be the key lever enabling this transition. That’s why the emergence of hydrogen at the centre stage is a welcome development.

How Hydrogen can be produced?

Commercially viable Hydrogen can be produced from –

1. Hydrocarbons including natural gas, oil and coal through processes like steam methane reforming, partial oxidation and coal gasification
2. Renewables like water, sunlight and wind through electrolysis and photolysis and other thermo-chemical processes.

How is green hydrogen produced?

• For source material, green hydrogen today is typically generated from water through a process known as electrolysis, which uses an electric current to split water into its component molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. 
• This is done using a device called an electrolyzer, which utilizes a cathode and an anode (positively and negatively charged electrodes). 
• This process produces only oxygen – or steam – as a byproduct. 
• As for energy supply, to qualify as “green hydrogen,” the source of electricity used for electrolysis must derive from renewable power, such as wind or solar energy.
• Currently the production of green hydrogen is two or three times more expensive than blue hydrogen.

How can green hydrogen be used?

Hydrogen can be used in broadly two ways. It can be burnt to produce heat or fed into a fuel cell to make electricity.

• Fuel-cell  Mobility: Hydrogen electric cars and trucks
• Container ships powered by liquid ammonia made from hydrogen
• “Green steel” refineries burning hydrogen as a heat source rather than coal
• Hydrogen-powered electricity turbines that can generate electricity at times of peak demand to help firm the electricity grid

Challenges in producing Green Hydrogen

India’s transition towards a green hydrogen economy (GHE) can only happen once certain key issues are addressed.

• Supply-Chain Issues: GHE hinges upon the creation of a supply chain, starting from the manufacture of electrolysers to the production of green hydrogen, using electricity from a renewable energy source.
• Technology: Green hydrogen needs electrolysers to be built on a scale larger than we’ve yet seen.
• Storage: Either very high pressures or very high temperatures are required, both with their own technical difficulties.
• Explosion Hazard: It is hazardous because of its low ignition energy and high combustion energy.
• Risk to use: Automotive fuels are highly inflammable, but a vehicle laden with hydrogen is likely to be more vulnerable in case of a major accident.
• High Cost of Production: To become competitive, the price per kilogram of green hydrogen has to reduce to a benchmark of $2/kg. At these prices, green hydrogen can compete with natural gas.
• Energy intensivity: Creating green hydrogen needs a huge amount of electricity, which means an enormous increase in the amount of wind and solar power to meet global targets.
• Lack of proper infrastructure, only 500 Hydrogen stations exist globally. Only countable manufacturers are involved as market players in this technology.
• Others: Low user acceptance and social awareness. Developing after-sales service for hydrogen technology.

Policy and Economic Challenges

• Economic sustainability: One of the biggest challenges faced by the industry for using hydrogen commercially is the economic sustainability of extracting green or blue hydrogen.
• Technological challenges: The technology used in production and use of hydrogen like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and hydrogen fuel cell technology are at nascent stage.
• Cost Factor: These technologies are expensive which in turn increases the cost of production of hydrogen and will require a lot of investment which in turn add fiscal pressure on government.
• Higher Maintenance costs: Maintenance costs for fuel cells post-completion of a plant can be costly.
• Need for legal and administrative adherence: Certification mechanisms, recommendations, and regulations for different components of the system.

Way forward

• Hydrogen energy is at a nascent stage of development but has significant potential for realizing the energy transition in India.
• The new policy is a futuristic vision that can help the country not only cut down its carbon emissions but also diversify its energy basket and reduce external reliance.
• Having missed out on many technology-led innovations in the past, hydrogen presents India with the opportunity to lead the change.
• India’s transition towards a green hydrogen economy can be a testament to the world on the achievement of energy security, without compromising the goal of sustainable development.
• The GoI must strongly pursue the objective of creating a GHE to make India a global manufacturing hub and place itself at the top of the green hydrogen export market.

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Context

• India currently has 11 Free Trade Agreements or Regional Trade Agreements with other countries/regions in addition to 6 limited coverage Preferential Trade Agreements.
• Strategically, FTAs have helped India compete at a global level and enhance its growth.
• Last year Parliament Standing Committee on commerce in its report had recommended the government to iron out the issues hindering the signing of Free Trade Agreements with the US and the EU nations.

So what are the opportunities and challenges of FTAs.

What is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?

• A FTA is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them.
• Under a free trade policy, goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions to inhibit their exchange.
• The concept of free trade is the opposite of trade protectionism or economic isolationism.
• Countries often agree to FTAs if their economic structures are complementary, not competitive.

Difference between Free Trade and Fair Trade

• Although these terms are often confused, there are significant differences between free trade and fair trade.
• FTAs are aimed at fostering open trade between nations to improve economic growth among all involved parties.
• The fair trade movement is focused on fostering economic equity on a global scale so that the workers who make goods in other countries receive fair wages and improve their lives and communities.

How many FTAs does India have?

• India has signed it’s first Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka in 1998.
• Likewise, India had FTAs with: Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Singapore, ASEAN, Japan and Malaysia.
• India has signed Preferential Trade Agreements such as:

1. Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) with Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka
2. Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP)
3. India – MERCOSUR PTA etc. with South American countries

Key benefits offered by FTA

• Reduction or elimination of tariffs on qualified: For example, a country that normally charges a tariff of 12% of the value of the incoming product will rationalize or eliminate that tariff.
• Intellectual Property Protection: Protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the FTA partner country is upheld.
• Product Standards: FTA enhances the ability for domestic exporters to participate in the development of product standards in the FTA partner country.
• Fair treatment for investors: FTA provides treatment as favourably as the FTA partner country gives equal treatment for investments from the partner country.
• Elimination of monopolies: With FTAs, global monopolies are eliminated due to increased competition.

Disadvantages of FTAs

The biggest criticism of free trade agreements is that they are responsible for job outsourcing. There are some primary disadvantages:

• Increased job outsourcing: Reducing tariffs on imports allows companies to expand to other countries. Without tariffs, imports from countries with a low cost of living cost less.
• Theft of intellectual property: Many developing countries don’t have laws to protect patents, inventions, and new processes.
• Crowd out domestic industries: Many emerging markets are traditional economies that rely on farming for most employment. These small family farms can’t compete with subsidized agri-businesses.
• Poor working conditions: Multinational companies may outsource jobs to emerging market countries without adequate labour protections.
• Degradation of natural resources: Emerging market countries often don’t have many environmental protections. Free trade leads to the depletion of timber, minerals, and other natural resources.
• Destruction of native cultures: As development moves into isolated areas, indigenous cultures can be destroyed. Local peoples are uprooted.  
• Reduced tax revenue: Many smaller countries struggle to replace revenue lost from import tariffs and fees.
• Bane to Indigenization: An FTA will basically put a big challenge to the ‘Make in India’ programme which the current government is aggressively promoting.

Assessment of India’s FTAs

(1) India-ASEAN FTA

• Despite the fact that the Trade Agreement with ASEAN has helped trade grow immensely with India, still, the issue remains that the agreement has benefitted the ASEAN region more than India.
• With the agreement in goods signed, the domestic markets have faced stiff competition because they have to compete with the cheaper goods of the ASEAN region.
• For example, the rubber imports from Malaysia, palm oil imports from Indonesia have made it a tough ordeal for the local manufacturers of palm oil and rubber.

(2) India- RCEP [India opted out from signing]

• The agricultural sector of India, which faces issues like lack of investment, low productivity, obsolete technology and fragmented landholdings will suffer more.
• Indian market will be flooded with products from other nations which are comparatively cheaper and have a more efficient agricultural sector.

Way Forward

• India is one of the fastest-growing large economies of the world and FTAs have played a significant role in enhancing the trade volume of the country.
• FTAs must bring the expected tangible benefits.
• Therefore, there is a need for a detailed assessment of FTAs in terms of goods, services and investment flows by all the stakeholders involved.
• Beyond mere economic cost-benefit analysis, India must approach such FTAs from a geostrategic perspective also.

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