New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- As a geopolitical seismic shock, the US walling itself off isn't close to the Berlin Wall falling, but it poses India a familiar question: Go global or play local? As in 1991, we should aim to prove it a false choice.

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This time, it'll need a bolder bet on a recovery in world trade from its current spasms. For an all-out export thrust to succeed, though, we'll need wider trade bloc integration and cheaper imports.

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Critically, competitive intensity at home must rise, with allocative efficiency driven by a reduction in the state's role. We need trend ...