Ans. RCEP stands for regional comprehensive economic partnership, and it is the largest regional trading agreement to date. RCEP was originally negotiated by 16 countries, i.e. ASEAN members and the countries with which they have entered free trade agreements (FTAs). Those countries were New Zealand, Australia, India, Korea, Japan, and China. RCEP was formed to make it easy for these countries to import and export products and services across these regions. Since 2013, the countries have been in negotiation, and India was supposed to be one of the signatories until it decided to op-out in November 2019. India decided to opt-out since RCEP failed to address India’s outstanding concerns and issues.  This decision was taken to safeguard the interests of sectors like agriculture and dairy. This decision also gives an advantage to countries’ services sectors.