Modi saved Indian economy from RCEP: Skoch Group

Socio-economic think tank Skoch Group on Tuesday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to opt out of the RCEP, or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, keeping India's interests in view.

"RCEP would have been a bigger blunder than signing the World Trade Agreement and would have run completely contrary to Modi ji's vision of Make in India as well as making India a $10 trillion Economy by 2030. I am truly thankful to Modi ji for averting this disaster," Skoch Group Chairman Sameer Kochhar said in a statement.

The SKOCH Group had voiced its concerns on the agreement at a recent meeting with the BJP. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch led by Ashwani Mahajan had strongly opposed the agreement for its adverse impact on farmers, particularly on the dairy sector.

"Our concerns were related to a raw deal on services as well as high end value capture in all intellectual property related areas like artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals etc. We were also deeply concerned about clauses like Rachet that would have impinged on our sovereignty," added Kochhar.

On Monday evening, India announced that it would pull out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. India's core issues remained unresolved during the negotiations, which led the government to opt out.

"Neither the talisman of Gandhiji nor my own conscience permits me to join RCEP," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangkok on Monday as India stormed out of the free trade agreement negotiations that began seven years ago.

( With inputs from IANS )