Shuffling of trade negotiators: Trade ministry looks to retain institutional memory

Faced with tough negotiators from the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), the Commerce and Industry Ministry has started looking at ways to strengthen India's negotiating capabilities. Among other things, this exercise is likely to focus on plugging loopholes that emanate due to the loss of institutional memory on account of the routine transfer of key civil servants steering extended trade negotiations. Among the multiple steps under consideration, the Ministry is working on preparing a set of fresh standard operating procedures (SOP) on streamlining trade talks. Earlier, the Ministry had a 60-page SOP with details of approaching trade…