Who is he?
Anand Sharma is the minister of commerce & industry for the government of India, initially assuming the role in May 2009. He has previously been the minister of state for External Affairs, Textiles and Information & Broadcasting. He leads the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, a critical bilateral forum for the discussion of trade and investment issues between the United States and India, which hasn’t met, however, since June 2011.
Mr. Anand Sharma of India at the 2010 World Economic Forum in Davos. Source: World Economic Forum’s flickr photostream, used under a creative commons license.
Why is he in the media?
He led the government’s effort to open the multi-brand retail sector to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). While the final policy has yielded only a single application so far, he has actively engaged with newly-elected state leaders — particularly in Delhi and Rajasthan — who are trying to close their states to foreign retailers.
Mr. Sharma’s ministry is also front and center in dealing with disputes over domestic content in India’s National Solar Mission and concern over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ban on import of drugs from Ranbaxy Laboratory Ltd. The U.S. trade authorities decided to not impose tariffs on steel tubes from India.
What can we expect from him?
He took a counter-aggressive stance to deal with disputes in the United States. Sharma has defended the focus on domestic requirements and suggested on a counter WTO application in response to U.S. action. However, with India’s national elections to be held in May, he is expected to shift his focus to strengthening the Indian National Congress party’s campaign in Himachal Pradesh.
