The eighth ministerial of the World Trade Organisation was on the surface an inconsequential meeting of an organisation fighting a descent into irrelevance. But there were attempts by the powerful economies to craft a plurilateral approach that would keep out the majority of WTO member countries.

Is the Indian model of growth in the age of financial globalisation beginning to weaken? (Editorial)

As part of the global phenomenon of trade liberalization, Nepal embarked on market-oriented trade reforms in the mid-1980s. These efforts intensified in the early 1990s after the restoration of a democratic system. Nepal's accession to the WTO in 2004 and commitment to comply with many conditions related to restructuring tariff rates and opening the economy in general and the services sector in particular further augmented that process.

The anti-corruption movement has enabled the Indian middle class to feel smug about itself. Its members have gone through a vast range of emotions during the last two decades, from self-hatred to self-righteousness. Liberalisation of the economy has created for this class an excitement of many kinds. It has meant the freedom to pursue the quest for wealth without guilt and, at the same time, it has meant feeling set adrift from tradition and the culture it signifies.