India's exports have nearly doubled to $51.7 billion in 2002-03 from $26.3 billion in 1994-95, in less than a decade since it became the member of the World Trade Organisation in 1995.

India's share in total world exports of goods and commercial services has gone up to 0.86 per cent in 2001 from 0.61 per cent in 1995, an official release said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

India and the WTO: News and Issues

In total world imports of goods and commercial services during the same period, the country's share has increased to 0.99 per cent from 0.78 per cent.

By being a WTO member, India also avails of the Most Favoured Nation treatment and National Treatment for its exports to other WTO members.

Regarding textiles, in accordance with the WTO agreement on textile and clothing, all WTO member countries were required to integrate specific volumes of their textiles and clothing trade into the WTO framework.

In addition, the size of quotas was expanded annually by the restraining countries that maintained the quota.

These measures have led to increase in market access, to a certain extent, although most of these quotas would be removed only at the last stage of integration on December 31, 2004, the release said.

With effect from January 2005, the entire textiles and clothing trade would get integrated into multilateral framework of the WTO, with the completion of the phase-out of the regime of textile quotas.

Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce, in collaboration with UNCTAD and the UK Department for International Development has launched a project -- "Strategies and Preparedness for Trade and Globalisation in India."

This initiative has been taken to understand the development dimension of key trade issues and to strengthen the country's human and institutional capacity.