India on Thursday urged members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to restore a fully functional dispute settlement system, saying the current mechanism has deprived countries of effective redressal, PTI reported.Speaking on the opening day of the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal stressed the need to revive the automatic and binding nature of dispute resolution within the global trade body.“A dysfunctional Dispute Settlement System has deprived Members from effective redressal. We must restore the automatic and binding dispute settlement system,” he said.The WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism has faced prolonged disruption since 2009 after the US blocked appointments to the Appellate Body.Goyal also called for a reassessment of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, which WTO members have periodically extended since 1998. India has repeatedly raised concerns over the potential revenue implications of the arrangement.“In the absence of a common understanding among Members on the scope of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and given its potentially significant implications, the continued extension of this moratorium warrants careful reconsideration,” he said.The four-day MC14 is scheduled to conclude on March 29.On broader WTO reforms, Goyal emphasised that any restructuring should be transparent, inclusive and member-driven, with development concerns at the centre. He underlined that core principles such as non-discrimination, consensus-based decision-making and equity must be upheld. The minister added that the principle of special and differential treatment (S&DT) should be made precise, effective and operational.On agriculture negotiations, he said a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes, the special safeguard mechanism and cotton are long-pending mandated issues that member countries “must deliver on them on priority”.“India remains committed to negotiating a comprehensive Fisheries Subsidies Agreement that balances current and future fishing needs, protects the livelihoods of poor fishers, with appropriate and effective S&DT,” Goyal said.He also stated that incorporating plurilateral outcomes into the WTO framework should be based on consensus and should not undermine the rights of non-participants or impose additional obligations on them.“We will engage constructively to show that WTO remains central to global trade and strive to Reform it to remain responsive, Perform in delivering on development, equity, and inclusiveness, and Transform to better serve the interests of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized people, anchored in consensus and multilateralism,” he said.Other WTO members also highlighted the need for reforms. According to a statement from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the organisation has struggled to address systemic issues such as persistent trade imbalances, structural excess capacity, economic security and supply chain resilience.“As ministers, our focus should be on reforms that would make the WTO more responsive to Members and improve our ability to achieve outcomes that optimize our trading relationships,” Greer said, adding that countries should consider making the e-commerce duty moratorium permanent.Separately, a ministerial statement by the G-33 grouping of developing countries reiterated that public stockholding for food security remains a crucial policy tool for developing and least developed nations.“We urge all WTO Members to work together in reaching a permanent solution on this issue as per the Ministerial mandates,” the statement said.China also called for restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement mechanism at the earliest to strengthen the WTO’s role in global economic governance. The UK said it wanted to “improve accountability by reinstating a functioning dispute settlement system”.EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic warned that inaction could weaken the rules-based trading system. “Maintaining the status quo is not an option — we cannot go on as we are. If we do, we risk erosion of the rules-based system and the WTO sliding into irrelevance. Therefore, I strongly believe we must act urgently to reform the WTO,” he said

NEW DELHI: With the big Gulf carriers operating a fraction of their schedules, foreign airlines are expanding their India flights to meet the increased demand for options to the likes of Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. SWISS will operate a second daily light between between Delhi and Zurich from April 1 to May 31, 2026. British Airways will have a third daily service from Delhi starting April 7, followed by a third daily service from Mumbai from May 15. Air India has been adding flights to the west whenever possible during the Iran war.In a statement Thursday, Lufthansa group carrier SWISS said it is increasing its flight offering between Switzerland and India. “From April 1 to May 31, 2026, in addition to its regular service from Zurich to Delhi, SWISS will operate a second daily connection using an Airbus A330. Numerous passengers of other airlines are currently unable to take their originally booked flights via the Gulf region. As a result, many are switching to direct connections to and from Asia. SWISS is seeing a corresponding rise in demand for such nonstop services. We are pleased to offer our customers this additional flight to Delhi over the next two months. The flights are available for booking with immediate effect,” SWISS said in a statement.“Depending on further developments in the Middle East, SWISS continuously assesses how aircraft and capacities that become available can be deployed where demand is particularly strong. In addition to demand, key factors include operational constraints such as available airport slots, traffic rights and fleet deployment capabilities,” SWISS statement added.British Airways also announced additional flights from Delhi and Mumbai “to meet strong travel demand”. “In response to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, the airline is adding short-term capacity from Delhi and Mumbai to meet customer demand. A third daily service from Delhi will launch on April 7, followed by a third daily service from Mumbai from May 15. With this additional capacity, British Airways will operate up to 63 weekly flights with more than 1,000 additional seats per week between India and the UK, offering more options for customers travelling to the UK or connecting onwards across the airline’s global network,” BA said in a statement.Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ chief planning and strategy officer, said: “As we continue to respond to the evolving situation in the Middle East, we’ve been able to reallocate additional capacity to meet strong demand to other destinations across our route network. India remains one of our most important global markets, and these additional services from Delhi and Mumbai respond to customer demand and provide greater choice and flexibility for our customers when travelling to the UK and beyond. We will continue to review our network and make adjustments based on where our customers want to fly this summer.”