Our purpose is to undertake a comparative analysis of the likely impact of tariff reduction under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on various macro and trade variables of the Indian economy under different scenarios. The TPP was concluded in October 2015, but it is yet to be ratified by the partner countries, and while Asian giants like India, China and Korea have not joined the TPP, there are some talks about their joining the partnership in future. Ours is a unique study that evaluates India's perspective on joining the TPP, in terms of tariff reduction, and not in terms of the removal of non-tariff barriers. We employ the widely used standard Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model for this exercise. This is a unique framework with a global economy-wide approach, in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) setting. Five different scenarios of complete integration in terms of tariff reduction between different regions are simulated using the GTAP model. Under each scenario, the tariff among members of a group of regions is eliminated, but is unchanged for other regions. Higher welfare arising from allocative efficiency comes with the cost of a relatively lower consumption of domestic products and investment, resulting in a loss in terms of GDP. Therefore, we conclude that there are mixed prospects and no strong reason for India to pursue being part of the TPP in future, from a perspective of tariff reductions.

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This article examines the economic impact of trade facilitation between Commonwealth country members, using a global computable general equilibrium framework. We document enormous economic impact, much higher than a complete tariff liberalisation amongst these countries. The economic impact is quite visible in terms of welfare, gross domestic product, employment and trade in several sectors. We abstract from the costs involved in such trade facilitation—accounting for them is beyond the scope of this study. JEL Classification: F13, F62, F68

India is targeting malaria elimination by 2030. Understanding and adopting the strategies employed by countries that have successfully eliminated malaria can serve as a crucial thrust in this direction for a geographically diverse country like India. This analysis is based on extensive literature search on malaria elimination policies, strategies and programmes adopted by nine countries (China, El Salvador, Algeria, Argentina, Uzbekistan, Paraguay, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Armenia) which have attained malaria-free status over the past decade. The key points which India can learn from their journey are mandatory time-bound response in the form of case reporting and management, rapid vector control response, continuous epidemiological and entomological surveillance, elevated community participation, more training and capacity building, private sector involvement, use of quality diagnostics, cross-border collaborations, inclusion of prevention of re-establishment programmes into the elimination plans, higher investment in research, and uninterrupted funds for successful implementation of malaria elimination programmes. These learnings would help India and other South Asian countries steer their programmes by devising tailor-made strategies for their own regions.

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