Services
Domestic regulations and India’s trade in health services: A study of hospital and telemedicine services
Estimated at US$36 billion and employing over four million people, the Indian health care sector is one of the largest service sectors in the economy today. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent, the Indian health care sector is expected to reach US$280 billion by 2020. A 2003 report titled India’s New Opportunity: 2020, prepared jointly by the All India Management Association, Boston Consulting Group and the Confederation of Indian Industries, predicts that over 40 million new jobs and US$200 billion increased revenues are expected to be generated by the Indian services sector by 2020, and the health care sector will play an important role in generating these jobs and revenues (AIMA/BCG 2003). Hence, this sector is predicted to grow rapidly and is seen to have considerable potential due to the growing demand for health care services in India. The reasons are many, including rising incomes, a growing propensity to spend on health care, an emergence of lifestyle-related diseases, and demographics.
Technical notes
GDP (Gross domestic product) is the sum of output within the country’s territory minus the sum of intermediate consumption (increased by taxes net of subsidies on products). Sources: World Bank, Eurostat, and national sources.
Reasonableness, impartiality and objectivity
Similar to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) imposes requirements of reasonableness and impartiality on World Trade Organization (WTO) members with respect to their administration of certain measures. This general obligation of procedural fairness offers a potentially powerful mechanism for ensuring equitable treatment for traded services and service suppliers beyond the substantive disciplines of WTO law, such as those related to discrimination. Yet, the provision has been subject to relatively little extended commentary or jurisprudence, perhaps because of an underlying concern about the sovereignty implications of WTO dispute settlement organs assessing the reasonableness of WTO members’ administration.
Introducción
Los Perfiles comerciales contienen información detallada sobre las corrientes del comercio de mercancías, incluidos los principales productos con que comercia cada economía, una sección más amplia sobre el comercio de servicios comerciales y estadísticas sobre propiedad intelectual. Esta información, que está a disposición de los Miembros de la OMC, los observadores ante la Organización y otras economías determinadas, proviene de múltiples fuentes, como las estadísticas aduaneras, las cuentas nacionales, las estadísticas sobre la balanza de pagos, el comercio de servicios de filiales extranjeras y la propiedad industrial. Los datos se han obtenido de la Secretaría de la OMC y de fuentes externas. Se presentan en un formato normalizado y fácil de visualizar, para su rápida consulta.