The Centre for WTO Studies (CWS), Centre for Research in International Trade (CRIT), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), in collaboration with Centre for Studies in International Trade and Investment Laws (CITIL), Dharmashastra National Law University (DNLU), Jabalpur, hosted the launch of the edited book 'WTO and Digital Trade', published by Bloomsbury India, at the Auditorium of the Prime Minister’s Museum & Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi.
The book was launched by the Chief Guest,Supreme Court of India, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, and the Guest of Honor, Chairperson of the Armed Forces Tribunal Justice Rajendra Menon, and Vice Chancellor, DNLU, Prof (Dr) Manoj Kumar Sinha.
Other distinguished attendees included Vice Chancellor, IIFT, Prof (Dr) Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Director, Indian Law Institute, Prof (Dr) VK Ahuja, and Vice Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai, Prof (Dr) Dilip Ukey.
In his inaugural address, Justice Bhuyan reflected on digital trade’s transformative potential while cautioning against sovereignty, privacy, and fairness concerns. Justice Menon, in his special address, highlighted the need for legal preparedness and innovative frameworks to govern digitalization. Academic leaders further contributed their perspectives.
The book is edited by Head, CWS, Dr Pritam Banerjee and Director, CITIL, DNLU, Utkarsh K Mishra under the guidance of Prof Manoj Kumar Sinha, ICRIER, Prof (Dr) Arpita Mukherjee, Head Admin, CRIT Prof (Dr) Murali Kallummal and Senior Policy Advisor, Deepak Maheshwari.
The Managing Editorsof the book are Consultant, Legal, CWS, Dr Amit Randev, and Consultant, Legal, CWS, Monika.
The evening was marked by intellectual exchange, and deliberations, underscoring the growing significance of digital trade in the global economy and its intersection with multilateral trade governance. Far beyond a ceremonial release, the launch was a celebration of scholarship, policy relevance, and institutional collaboration.
The volume, edited and contributed to by leading experts, scholars and students examines legal, economic, and policy dimensions of digital trade. It explores how WTO can address the opportunities and challenges of the digital economy, with special attention to developing countries like India.
The event began with an introduction to the book by Utkarsh K. Mishra. He emphasized the book’s focus on e-commerce, data governance, cross-border flows, taxation, and the digital divide, noting its dual value as an academic resource and policy handbook.
The highlight of the evening was a panel discussion moderated by Prof (Dr) Pritam Banerjee, featuring Prof Abhijit Das, Prof (Dr) Murali Kallummal, Prof (Dr) James J Nedumpara, Deepak Maheshwari, and Dr Gargi Chakrabarti. The panelists addressed issues including policy space for developing countries, economics of digital platforms, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, consumer protection, Intellectual Property and gender dimensions of digital trade. The discussion was enriched by active audience engagement.
The event also witnessed the presence of researchers from CITIL, namely the Convenors, Suryansh Pandey and Aditi Mishra, along with Head, Centre Publications, Saurav Tiwari and Head, Trade-cum-Incubation Centre, Abhay Gupta who marked the CIITL’s presence at the launch.
Abhay and Saurav served as Assistant Editors in the book. Dr Amit Randev delivered the vote of thanks, followed by a fellowship dinner that reinforced the spirit of collaboration.
Key themes of the volume include defining digital trade under WTO frameworks, data flows and privacy, taxation, e- commerce negotiations, the digital divide, and the complementarity of domestic and international policy. The launch celebrated India’s intellectual leadership in global trade debates to advancing thought leadership in digital trade and multilateral governance.
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