14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

The 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organization concluded in Yaoundé without consensus on extending the e-commerce duty moratorium.

What is the E-commerce Moratorium?

WTO members agreed in 1998 not to impose customs duties on electronic transmissions, which include:
Digital goods such as e-books, software, music, and video games.
Services delivered electronically such as streaming platforms.
The moratorium has been renewed biennially at successive Ministerial Conferences. Its expiry on March 31, 2026 allows countries to impose tariffs on digital trade.

Key Issues at Ministerial Conference (MC14)

Lack of Consensus on Extension: Developed countries such as the U.S., EU, and Japan supported a long-term or permanent extension.
Developing countries, including India, opposed the extension due to concerns over revenue loss and reduced policy space in the digital economy.
Disagreement over duration (2 years vs. 5 years) led to a negotiation deadlock.
TRIPS Non-Violation Moratorium: It led to the expiry of the safeguard against non-violation complaints under the TRIPS Agreement,
The safeguard since 1995 has protected the policy space of developing countries. Without it, even WTO-compliant measures, such as compulsory licensing, can be challenged by developed countries.
For India, this increases the risk of disputes over Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, which restricts patents for already-known drugs unless the new claims are superior in terms of efficacy. It curbs the evergreening of patents.
Fisheries Subsidies: Members celebrated the entry into force of the 2022 Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which bans support to illegal fishing, to the fishing of already depleted stocks without efforts to restore them, and to unregulated fishing on the high seas.
However the agreement does not cover subsidies causing overcapacity and overfishing.
The members agreed to continue negotiations on fisheries subsidies to address unresolved issues at the 15th Ministerial Conference.
Core Principles Advocated by India
Development-Centric Multilateralism: India stressed the importance of an open trading system and reiterated the principle of non-discrimination, as embedded in the Marrakesh Agreement.
Public Stockholding (PSH) for Food Security: India demanded a permanent solution on Public Stockholding (PSH). It argued that:
A large proportion of Indian farmers are small and resource-constrained.
The Minimum Support Price (MSP) system is essential for ensuring income security.
Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT): India emphasised the need for effective Special and Differential Treatment provisions for developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to address structural inequalities in global trade.
Dispute Settlement Mechanism: India stressed the need to restore a fully functional, automatic, and binding dispute settlement system.
The current paralysis of the Appellate Body undermines the credibility of the WTO.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

WTO is the international organization that deals with the rules of trade between countries.
History:WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War.
The Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization was signed by 123 countries in 1994, leading to the birth of the WTO on 1 January 1995.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Member: The WTO is run by its 166 members.
Mandate: Its aim is to promote free trade, which is done through trade agreements that are discussed and signed by the member states.
The preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement accords primacy to the developmental objectives of this organization.

Organizational Structure of WTO

Ministerial Conference: The WTO’s apex decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which usually takes place every two years.
All members of the WTO are involved in the Ministerial Conference and they can take decisions on all matters covered under any multilateral trade agreements.
General Council: It is just below the Ministerial Conference that meets several times a year at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva.
It meets as the Trade Policy Review Body and the Dispute Settlement Body.
Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council: It is for the Goods, Services, and Intellectual Property, and it reports to the General Council.
Source: TH

Census 2027

Syllabus: GS2/ Polity and Governance

Context

India is set to conduct its next population Census digitally, with the exercise scheduled to commence in 2026 and conclude by March 1, 2027.

Census in India

A census is a survey of the population of an area that includes collecting details of a country’s demographics including age, sex and occupation.
It is typically conducted every ten years and was scheduled for 2021 but had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
The government has made it mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.
The NPR is prepared under the provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
It is mandatory for every “usual resident of India” to register in the NPR.
History: Under W.C. Plowden, the Census Commissioner of India, the first synchronous decennial (every ten years) census was conducted in 1881.
Independent India’s first census was held in 1951 and since then it has happened in the first year of every decade.
The Constitution mandates that enumeration is carried out but the Census of India Act of 1948 does not specify its timing or periodicity.
The population census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Major Features of Census 2027
First Digital Census: The Census will be conducted using digital devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
Multilingual Access: The self-enumeration portal will be available in 16 languages.
Caste Enumeration: This will be the first Census since 1931 to capture granular caste data, beyond the broader classifications of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Key Structural Changes in Administrative Units
India now has 36 States and Union Territories, marking an increase of one since Census 2011.
The number of districts has increased significantly from 640 to 784, reflecting administrative reorganization.
Urban Expansion:
Statutory towns increased from 4,041 to 5,128, indicating formal urban growth.
Census towns rose from 3,892 to 4,580, reflecting rural areas transitioning into urban-like settlements.
Source: TH