Can you explain what is this sugar dispute that India has been fighting in the WTO?

I think you are referring to the dispute raised by countries like Australia, Brazil and Guatemala about the sugar subsidies offered by the Indian government. The Indian government had given subsidies to support the sugar sector and make them competitive in the export market due to India’s cost of production being higher. WTO had ruled against India and in response, India has appealed against the WTO Trade Dispute Panel ruling.

WTO has termed India’s support for sugar exports as a domestic subsidy, which is against the tenets of WTO. However, India has maintained that the support given by the Indian government to the sugar sector was totally as per the WTO privileges granted to developing countries. The other countries had objected to this subsidy on the grounds that had India not offered such a subsidy, the global sugar prices would have moved higher.

India has filed the appeal with the WTO Appellate Body, which is the final deciding authority on this matter. India had maintained the stand all along that it had not violated WTO provisions in any manner and has held on to that stance. Major sugar producers in the world like Brazil, Australia and Guatemala had objected that the sugar subsidies were inconsistent with WTO trade rules. India had exported sugar to reduce the domestic inventory.