(a) Explain the role of World Trade Organization (WTO) in the present context. Discuss the merits and demerits of TRIMs and…

(a) WTO in the present context; merits and demerits of TRIMs and TRIPs

The multilateral trading architecture under the World Trade Organization (WTO) faces systemic friction, marked prominently by the paralysis of its dispute settlement mechanism due to the non-appointment of Appellate Body members. Simultaneously, preserving Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) remains essential for developing countries to protect food security and rural livelihoods amidst rising global protectionism. The 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12, 2022) showed the WTO could still deliver: its Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies came into force in September 2025, and a decision eased TRIPS compulsory-licensing rules for COVID-19 vaccines. But MC14 at Yaoundé (March 2026) ended without a ministerial declaration or a reform work plan, the e-commerce customs-duty moratorium lapsed, and progress shifted to plurilateral routes such as the interim appeal arrangement (MPIA) and a plurilateral e-commerce agreement. Unilateral tariff escalation by major economies since 2025 has further tested the most-favoured-nation principle, so the WTO's present role is chiefly to keep rules, transparency and a forum for negotiation alive.

Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) eliminate trade-distorting investment policies. Its primary merit is fostering predictable, non-discriminatory foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and integrating developing nations into global value chains. However, its demerit lies in restricting domestic policy space by prohibiting Local Content Requirements (LCRs). For instance, India had to dismantle the indigenisation and trade-balancing conditions of its automobile MoU regime after the WTO panel ruling in India–Autos (2002).

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) establishes uniform intellectual property standards, incentivising global technological research and commercial innovation. Its major demerits include inflated monopoly pricing of life-saving drugs, biopiracy of traditional knowledge, and technological concentration in developed economies. India reconciled TRIPs compliance with public health priorities by enforcing Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970—upheld by the Supreme Court in Novartis v. Union of India (2013) to prevent evergreening—and preserving provisions for Compulsory Licensing.

(b) Economic growth and sustainable development: contradiction or compatibility

Economic growth and sustainable development are not inherently contradictory; the tension is contingent on technological adoption, energy intensity, and policy design. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis demonstrates that early stages of industrialisation inevitably degrade natural capital, but post-industrial stages can achieve relative or absolute decoupling between GDP growth and environmental footprint through green technology, circular economy practices, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework.

Empirical evidence across Indian states illustrates this dynamic. The traditional Gujarat model achieved high per capita output via resource-intensive manufacturing, while the Kerala model prioritised human capital and social safety nets with lower industrial emissions. The NITI Aayog SDG India Index highlights that high-performing states can balance economic dynamism with ecological management. Furthermore, India's target of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, and its crossing of the 50% non-fossil share of installed power capacity in 2025, five years ahead of its NDC target, show that clean energy transitions can drive capital formation, energy security, and job creation without retarding economic expansion.

(c) Role of planning in a market-oriented economy

The expansion of market mechanisms has redefined planning from prescriptive, resource-allocating dirigisme to strategic, indicative, and market-enabling governance. While price mechanisms ensure allocative efficiency in private goods, markets fail to address systemic externalities, spatial regional disparities, long-gestation infrastructure investments, and human capital formation. Planning bridges these critical market failures.

In India, this evolution is institutionalised through NITI Aayog, which replaced the Planning Commission in 2015; after the Twelfth Five-Year Plan ended in 2017, planning shifted to documents such as the Three-Year Action Agenda (2017–20), Strategy for New India @75 and the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision. Planning now functions through cooperative federalism and the sub-national localization of SDGs. Modern planning instruments—such as the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for integrated multimodal infrastructure and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes—do not supplant markets. Instead, they de-risk private investment, eliminate logistics bottlenecks, and direct market forces toward high-value strategic sectors, establishing a synergy between state direction and market enterprise.