Towards VAT
The states have agreed to move towards a value-added tax (VAT) system of domestic trade taxation. This may have something to do with the inevitable decline in import tariffs, under the WTO regime, to international levels in the not-too-distant future.

Financial jugglery
The government seems to be desperate for funds. That is the real reason for the imaginative proposal to sell the National Hydro-electric Power Corporation to the National Thermal Power Corporation.

China's WTO entry is a boon for Third World
It has been a long scrappy wait. China, in fact, has waited since 1986 to join the World Trade Organisation (then called the GATT).

Delhi, allies need to ensure a fair deal this time round
Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have been in force since the beginning of 1995. The basic and underlying idea behind this multilateral agreement is the protection of intellectual property, irrespective of the point of origin or source of the idea.

Professional vs family management
The euphoria over the spreading culture of professional managers being asked to take over management of companies hitherto being managed by members of controlling families is eminently explainable in the context of liberalisation and compelling changes it demands in corporate governance.

Safeguarding joint ventures
In a representation to the Government, the CII has suggested that a foreign company should given approval to set-up a 100% subsidiary only after two years - euphemistically described as the cooling period - from the day the joint venture (JV) in which it is already involved, gives its nod for the same.