Publications & Documents

This report examines governance frameworks to counter illicit trade. It looks at the adequacy and effectiveness of sanctions and penalties applicable, the steps parties engaged in illicit trade take to lower the risk of detection - for example through small shipments - and the use of free trade zones as hubs for managing trade in illicit products. It also identifies gaps in enforcement that may need to be addressed. The report provides an overview of selected enforcement issues in BRICS economies (Brazil, China, India, the Russian Federation and South Africa).

This report contains the 2017 Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information on Request of India.

India’s economy continues to grow at an impressive rate, with projected annual GDP growth of 7.5% in 2017-18. India will thus remain the fastest-growing G20 economy. Unprecedented growth in exports in services since the 1990s has made India a global leader in this sector. Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) grew at three times the annual world average rate in the last decade, reflecting the success of efforts to attract international investment and gradually loosen restrictions to foreign investment. India’s economic successes are being translated into increased well-being for its population. As GDP per capita has more than doubled in ten years, extreme poverty has declined substantially. Access to education has steadily improved, and life expectancy has risen. Multiple opportunities present themselves for India, and the right mix of policies is needed to take advantage of them. India has made advances in integrating in global value chains and developing a competitive advantage in fields such as information and communication technology. Now is the time to secure continued progress by boosting competition and further lowering barriers to trade and investment. Looking to the future, it will be vital to fully tap into the potential offered by India´s young population. This means investing in the large numbers of young people entering the labour market. Likewise, the rapid pace of development must be matched with the upgrades to infrastructure necessary to support it.

The State continues to remain an important shareholder in listed companies worldwide, especially among emerging economies, which rely increasingly on mixed-ownership models. With the benefit of hindsight and more recent examples, this book provides fresh perspectives on the motivation to list state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the process it entails. Drawing from the experiences of five economies (People's Republic of China, India, New Zealand, Poland and Turkey), the book concludes that broadened ownership generally has a positive impact on the governance and performance of these companies. However, country practices show that the act of listing cannot guarantee that these companies are completely averse to State interests; and deviations from sound corporate governance practices, as enshrined in the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of SOEs, can in some cases, raise concerns with regards to non-State shareholder rights, commercial orientation, board independence, conflicting State objectives, transparency, disclosure and more.

A combination of rapidly increasing energy demand and fuel imports plus growing concern about economic and environmental consequences is generating growing calls for effective and thorough energy governance in India. Numerous policy reforms over the past 20 years have shifted the country’s energy sector from a state-dominated system towards one that is based on market principles. However, with the reform process left unfinished, India now finds itself trapped halfway along the transition to an open and well-performing energy sector. India suffered from the largest power outage ever in late July 2012, affecting nearly half of the population. While this incident highlights the importance of modern and smart energy systems, it indicates that the country is increasingly unable to deliver a secure supply of energy to its population, a quarter of which still lacks access to electricity. Understanding Energy Challenges in India aims to provide an informative and holistic understanding of India’s energy sector to stakeholders in India as well as the broad public. The publication explores in detail the policies, players and issues of the country’s power, coal, oil and gas, renewables and nuclear sectors. It also highlights the key challenges India faces, challenges that must be resolved for the evolution of the fast-growing country’s energy sector towards a sustainable energy future and eventually critical for the prospects of the Indian and global economies.