Robert J Samuelson WASHINGTON WE'VE been having the wrong discussion about globalisation. For years, we've argued over whether this or that industry and its workers might suffer from imports and whether the social costs were worth the economic gains from foreign products, technologies and investments. By and large, the answer has been yes. But the harder questions, I think, lie elsewhere. Is an increasingly interconnected world economy basically stable? Or does it generate periodic crises that harm everyone and spawn international conflict?

WHAT'S the world's greatest moral challenge, as judged by its capacity to inflict human tragedy? It is not, I think, global warming, whose effects

The concept of "global village' refers to the process of transforming the whole world into a small village by integrating different nations. It aimed at making a country economically, technologically sophisticated and socially cohesive and integrated. In India, the concept of "global village' is getting widespread popularity with the introduction of the globalisation process in 1990's. By opening and liberalising the Indian economy, globalisation has aimed at integrating the Indian economy with the world economy.

Fourteen SAARC Summits have been held till date, but the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is yet to take off! While ASEAN and EU are reaping the benefits of a common market, South Asian countries continue to lag behind. Since the start of our liberal economic policies we have been opening up our market to foreign goods and investments, such as China and South East Asia . While we have signed FTA with Thailand , SAFTA is still elusive.

Free Food Trade Threatens Environment, Poor - Report UK: April 16, 2008 LONDON - Food trade liberalisation in developing countries can hurt attempts to alleviate poverty and damage the environment, according to a report from a United Nations and World Bank sponsored group issued on Tuesday. "Opening national markets to international competition can offer economic benefits but can lead to long term negative effects on poverty alleviation, food security and the environment without basic national institutions and infrastructure being place," the report said.