Policy paper

UK-India trade deal: conclusion summary

Published 6 May 2025

1. Introduction

The United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of India have concluded talks on a trade deal Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Alongside this, we have agreed to negotiate a Double Contributions Convention (DCC), which will come into force in line with the wider trade deal.

Agreement was reached on 6 May 2025 between the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Modi, following final talks in London between the Business and Trade Secretary, the Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, and the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal.

The UK has secured the best deal that any country has ever agreed with India. By unlocking new opportunities for businesses across the UK, this agreement helps to deliver economic growth and supports the Plan for Change.

This ambitious and comprehensive deal is expected to increase UK GDP (gross domestic product) by £4.8 billion and UK wages by £2.2 billion each and every year in the long run.^{[footnote 1]} Bilateral trade is also expected to increase by £25.5 billion each and every year in the long run.^{[footnote 2]}

As a result of this deal, businesses will now be able to trade with India with confidence and security – taking advantage of the huge opportunities offered by the complementary nature of our 2 economies and India’s rapid growth.

This document seeks to explain what has been agreed between the UK and India, with chapter summaries outlining its terms. Work is continuing to finalise the legal text of the deal. Once this has been completed and legally verified, arrangements will be made for the signing of the agreement. Following signature, and subject to fulfilment of both countries’ governmental requirements, including UK parliamentary procedure, the agreement will enter into force.

2. The strategic case for a deal with India

As set out by the Prime Minister, the number one mission of this government is to secure sustained economic growth. As a trade-intensive economy, the UK benefits from open export markets and access to competitive imports that support production at home. Boosting trade and securing opportunity for business is essential to delivering a strong domestic economy and supporting the security of working people.

The UK and India have a deep and broad relationship, underpinned by a strong ‘living bridge’ of at least 1.9 million people with Indian heritage living in the UK.^{[footnote 3]} Even though the Indian market sits behind some of the world’s highest barriers to trade, it was the UK’s 12th largest trading partner, with total trade worth £43 billion, in 2024.^{[footnote 4]}

India represents one of the most dynamic and exciting economies in the world. It has the highest growth rate in the G20, which is expected to remain above 6% over at least the next 5 years.^{[footnote 5]} It has recently risen to become the fifth largest economy in the world and is expected to grow to the third largest by 2028.^{[footnote 6]}

All this growth presents significant opportunity for UK businesses. As India grows, so will the number of consumers looking to purchase high-quality UK goods and services. By 2030, India’s middle class will number an estimated 60 million and rising, potentially reaching a quarter of a billion by 2050.^{[footnote 7]} India’s overall demand for imports is projected to grow by 144% in real terms between 2021 and 2035, reaching £1.4 trillion.^{[footnote 8]}

However, there have been significant challenges for UK businesses seeking to access this growing market. India has the highest average tariffs of any G20 economy, with some products facing duties above 100%. It is ranked as the eighth most restrictive services market by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and has an uncertain regulatory environment.^{[footnote 9]} Risk and cost have historically hindered UK companies looking to move or expand into India.

Despite these challenging conditions, UK businesses have high ambitions for the future of trade with India. Grant Thornton’s recent International Business Report indicated that 42% of UK businesses surveyed without an existing presence in India plan to build one in the next 2 years.^{[footnote 10]} Of those with an existing presence, 96% plan to expand further. This deal supports those efforts – with 72% of UK businesses surveyed saying that an FTA would encourage them to explore opportunities in the Indian market.

Global events in the last few years have demonstrated the value of diverse and resilient supply chains and certainty in trading relationships. This deal will strengthen the UK partnership with India, bringing down barriers to trade and granting stability to businesses in both countries.

Greater ties and access to India present significant opportunities.^{[footnote 11]} In addition, India is already the second most sought after manufacturing destination in the world due to economic growth, low costs, and a large labour market.^{[footnote 12]} As a result, it is estimated manufacturing will account for 21% of India’s GDP by 2031.^{[footnote 13]}

Both the UK and India have been clear in their ambitions to strengthen the relationship further. In July 2024, the UK and India launched the Technology Security Initiative, a first-of-its-kind agreement built on partnerships between government, industry, and academia.

In March 2025, the Foreign Secretary and Indian External Affairs Minister met to drive forward the UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, centring our relationship on mutual economic growth, technological innovation, and collaboration on global challenges including climate change.

This trade deal marks another critical step in realising our ambitions of a stronger and mutually beneficial relationship between our two countries. This deal slashes red tape and cuts tariffs, making it quicker, cheaper and easier to trade from the first day the deal comes into force. Locked-in access will give businesses the certainty they need to make long-term decisions for sustained economic growth.

Alongside this, we have sought to secure a deal that will keep pace with India as it grows. Alongside India committing to more than double their tariff reductions over the next 10 years, we have also secured numerous mechanisms that ensure that if India were to offer better terms to a different country, we could return to the table.

3. An agreement that delivers growth

The core mission of this government is to deliver economic growth that raises living standards and puts money in people’s pockets, and that is exactly what this deal will do.  

Securing an agreement is expected to significantly accelerate trade between the UK and India – increasing bilateral trade by £25.5 billion, £15.7 billion of which is expected to be from rising exports from UK businesses into India.

As a result of this deal, UK GDP is expected to increase by £4.8 billion (0.1%) each and every year in the long term. Workers will benefit from wages growing by a further estimated £2.2 billion each and every year in the long term.

Benefits will stretch right across the UK and come in both the short and long term. As soon as the deal comes into force, UK products will benefit from a saving up to an estimated £400 million a year, from India cutting its tariffs on existing trade alone, which could increase to around £900 million a year after staging over 10 years.^{[footnote 14]} This will help exports from a variety of high growth sectors, such as advanced manufacturing sectors including for automotives, electrical circuits and high-end optical products, and medical devices.

Iconic UK products that are sold around the world will benefit from cut tariffs into India. This includes tariff reductions on products such as cosmetics, whiskies, as well as on other agri-food products such as gin, soft drinks, and lamb.

Many of the UK’s services sectors, such as telecoms and construction services, will now benefit as we guarantee access to the growing Indian market. This will provide UK services companies, who export over £500 billion worldwide^{[footnote 15]}, with the certainty they need to expand into India and take advantage of its rapidly growing economy. For financial and professional business services, measures such as binding in India’s foreign investment cap for the insurance sector, ensuring that UK financial services companies are treated on an equal footing with domestic suppliers, and measures to encourage the recognition of professional qualifications will all support growth.

Alongside these benefits, this deal will also give UK businesses unique and unprecedented access to India’s public procurement market, comprising approximately 40,000 tenders with a value of at least £38 billion a year.^{[footnote 16]}

Beyond securing new market access for goods and services exports, this deal will also make it easier for UK businesses to trade with and in the Indian market. Faster processing at customs, reductions in technical barriers to trade, agreements to recognise and facilitate digital systems and paperless trade, and reaffirmations of standards in areas like sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) will all contribute to increased trade openness and facilitation while protecting UK standards and providing greater certainty for exporters. This is particularly important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which may otherwise be unable to justify the high fixed costs and complexities of operating in the Indian market. Alongside this, bespoke support for SMEs, such as dedicated contact points, will help them as they enter the market and trade with India.

This agreement will also help to support collaboration – including on new technologies in areas like agriculture, health, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy.

Enhanced copyright protections will support sectors such as the creative sector, enabling our exporters to feel confident exporting to India with a commitment that works will continue to be protected for at least 60 years.

Increased trade with India will also unlock opportunities across every region and nation in the UK. Scotland’s current largest export to India is beverages, worth £188 million in 2024^{[footnote 17]}, which will benefit from the significant tariff reductions we have secured to key iconic products, such as whisky. Northern Ireland, who exported £176 million of services in 2022^{[footnote 18]}, will benefit from secured guaranteed access through the agreement and closer ties on innovation. Securing access for key exports such as lamb, where there is currently a 33% tariff on sheep meat, will also benefit Welsh businesses. And new opportunities to access India’s procurement market will support innovative clean energy companies in all 3 nations.

This agreement will also support businesses of all sizes across England from automotive producers in the North West, to electrical producers in the West Midlands, to logistics companies in Yorkshire. For services companies, such as those in London and the South East who collectively exported over £3.6 billion billion of services in 2022^{[footnote 19]}, new locked-in access to India’s services economy will help access the fastest growing economy in the G20.

This deal will benefit consumers, offering them greater choice and access to the best Indian exports as our trading relationship grows, including in clothing, footwear, and food. New commitments will help protect consumers from spam texts from India, which could include requiring opt-out or prior consent.

This deal also supports our net zero ambitions – securing the highest levels of environmental commitments India has ever agreed to in a deal. Together we are promoting green trade and facilitating clean growth, making it easier for us to trade in products such as renewable energy equipment. UK businesses will also have new access to government procurements in the green infrastructure and energy sectors – using their expertise to support India’s own transition. Alongside these, we have committed to promote action on issues including tackling air pollution, defending the marine environment, reducing deforestation, protecting biodiversity, and reducing waste.  

We have championed our values – securing India’s first ever chapters in a free trade agreement on Anti-Corruption, Labour rights, Gender, and Development. We have protected the NHS, ensured the points-based immigration system is not affected, upheld our high food standards, and maintained our animal welfare commitments.  

This agreement does not limit the UK’s ability to protect its key domestic interests or respond appropriately to international developments in future. It will not prevent the UK from taking justifiable measures to protect its security interests. We have ensured that our agreement respects our existing obligations to the EU under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and Windsor Framework.

4. Chapter Summary

These chapter summaries outline what has been agreed in the UK-India trade deal. Work is continuing to finalise the legal text and resolve the last issues. Once the text has been finalised and legally verified, and domestic approvals obtained, arrangements will be made for the signing of the FTA. Following signature, and subject to fulfilment of both countries’ governmental requirements, including UK parliamentary procedure, the agreement will enter into force.

4.1 Anti-Corruption

The chapter will set out the UK and India’s shared ambition to combat the trade-distorting impacts of bribery and corruption on businesses.  

Bribery and corruption are significant barriers to international trade, as they increase the cost of doing business, and create an unfair trading environment.  

Through this agreement, the UK and India will reinforce their international obligations on bribery and corruption at the United Nations and will work together to tackle these global issues within the trade and investment context.   

The chapter will include obligations to maintain a range of measures to prevent and combat bribery and corruption, including the criminalisation of bribery and prohibiting fraudulent book-keeping practices. It will also include provisions covering the prohibition of facilitation payments and measures to combat embezzlement and money-laundering.

This chapter will support long-term growth by promoting fair competition and a level playing field, reducing operational risks and attracting foreign investors. Bribery and corruption hinder economic growth by undermining the foundations of a healthy and competitive market^{[footnote 20]}. Bribery also inflates business costs, which can disincentivise economically productive activities like exporting^{[footnote 21][footnote 22]}. This chapter will help businesses recognise and reduce risks and strengthen their defences against bribery and corruption, to put the UK’s growth on solid and sustainable foundations. 

4.2 Temporary movement of natural persons

Business travel between the UK and India is essential to the delivery of goods, services and investment, and a strong contributor to economic growth. As part of this agreement, we will lock in business mobility rules for the foreseeable future. These rules will cover short term, temporary and limited business travel. 

This chapter will give UK businesses certainty that existing access to the Indian market will continue indefinitely. This will ensure UK professionals can travel to India (and, conversely, Indian professionals can travel to the UK) to attend conferences, transfer to an Indian branch of their organisation, and supply a service as part of a contract. This will benefit professionals and businesses across a wide range of sectors including engineering and architectural services, accountancy services, and management consultancy.

The UK and India will ensure that visa application processes remain transparent, and that governments do not create unnecessary obstacles for professionals to travel between the UK and India.

This chapter is in line with our broader immigration policy. 

4.3 Core Text

The Core Text chapters will provide an effective legal and institutional architecture for the agreement. This will ensure that once in force, the UK-India FTA will continue to support economic growth and the expansion of trade and investment between the UK and India.  

The ‘Preamble’ will provide a set of high-level joint statements between the UK and India which articulate the economic objectives of the agreement, as well as reflecting key UK priorities for trade with India.  

‘Initial Provisions and General Definitions’ will provide for the establishment of a free trade area between the UK and India, provide for an appropriate set of legal relationships between the agreement and other international agreements, and set out a series of definitions that will be used across the agreement. It will also include a provision that sets out the interaction between the Windsor Framework and this agreement.

‘General Provisions and Exceptions’ will allow for the UK and India to take various kinds of measures that would not otherwise conform with the commitments made in the agreement, to serve the legitimate public policy objectives set out within the individual exceptions. These flexibilities will protect domestic policy space and preserve the UK and India’s rights to regulate in the public interest. The chapter will incorporate the General Exceptions found within the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and a dedicated exception relating to national security. It will also provide policy-making discretion in matters of taxation and macroeconomic management, and a provision recalling the exclusions and exceptions elsewhere in the agreement that are applicable to the National Health Service.

‘Administrative and Institutional Provisions’ will create a Joint Committee that is responsible for overseeing the agreement. The chapter will set out the powers and functions of the Joint Committee, as well as the decision-making and administrative processes for the Joint Committee and other bodies established under the agreement. As this Joint Committee will oversee the agreement, it has an important role to play in ensuring the agreement can continue to drive economic growth in the UK and India in future years. The chapter will also establish a subcommittee on Sustainability.

‘Transparency’ will commit the UK and India to a number of transparency principles that are mutually beneficial and aim to make relevant information open and available to the users of the agreement. This will enable businesses and other stakeholders to utilise the agreement with ease, and therefore access the opportunities created by it.

‘Final Provisions’ will set out processes for the entry into force, amendment, and, if appropriate, termination of the agreement. It will also provide a mechanism for the agreement to be extended to the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. These provisions facilitate smooth implementation, reduce uncertainty and help sustain trade liberalisation over the lifetime of the agreement.   

4.4 Competition and consumer protection

As a result of this FTA, both the UK and India will maintain their respective competition and consumer protection regimes as part of a transparent regulatory environment. Healthy, strong competition is vital to drive innovation, productivity, investment and economic growth.  

This chapter will include commitments that those competition laws are applied and enforced in a non-discriminatory manner by independent authorities.

It will also ensure both the UK and India maintain procedural rights for people and businesses under investigation by competition authorities, including the right to be treated fairly and to defend themselves.

The UK and India will also agree to promote cooperation on the application and enforcement of competition and consumer protection policies and law.  

4.5 Customs and trade facilitation

This chapter will ensure that customs procedures in both countries are non-discriminatory, transparent, and consistent. It will reinforce the UK and India’s cooperation to promote trade facilitation while maintaining effective customs control.

This chapter will provide traders with clear, predictable, and transparent customs procedures, including specific customs simplifications to eligible traders and timeframes for the release of goods. This will increase certainty for traders in how their goods will be treated at the border, with eligible traders benefiting from procedures which minimise their administrative burden. This chapter, alongside other goods focused chapters in this agreement, will help incentivise trade, which could increase cross-border trade and support UK growth. 

The UK and India have also agreed to release goods as rapidly as possible after arrival at customs, endeavouring to do so within 48 hours if all requirements have been met and where no physical examination is necessary. This will provide traders with greater certainty about the customs clearance process.  

To reduce the administrative burden for traders, the UK and India will further simplify certain customs procedures for eligible traders. This includes allowing the payment of customs duties to be deferred until after the release of imported goods and offering traders the ability to pay customs duties and taxes that cover multiple imports at periodic intervals. The UK and India have also agreed to minimise the requirement for paper documents if electronic copies are provided. 

To give traders clarity about customs processes, the UK and India have agreed that customs-related laws, regulations and procedures should be available online in English, to the extent possible and practicable. This includes details of enquiry points, operating hours for customs offices, provisions to disclose or correct an error in a customs transaction and any requirements for customs brokers.

4.6 Trade and development cooperation

This chapter will reinforce the UK and India’s commitment to promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth, by incorporating trade as a tool for poverty reduction in third-party developing countries.

The chapter will include provisions on exchanging information and sharing best practices on trade and development policies and programmes, as well as a commitment for cooperation and joint advocacy in international fora related to trade and development.  

Through this chapter, both the UK and India will also monitor the effects of the agreement on developing countries. This will allow us to identify risks and maximise opportunities for development.

As well as including a standalone development chapter, we have also incorporated development into other inclusive trade chapters, such as gender and services.

4.7 Digital trade

This chapter will reduce unjustifiable barriers to digital trade and promote compatibility of digital trading systems, including through supporting the legal recognition of electronic contracts and electronic authentication.

Digital trade is an important driver of growth, accounting for over half (55%) of UK exports. Harnessing the potential of digital trade is central to delivering a strong and resilient economy in the UK. Digital trade agreements and cooperation can support consumers and businesses to access new opportunities and safeguard the broader digital environment. This FTA will help to drive growth through the openness and stability of digital markets and reverse the trend of increased digital trade restrictiveness.   

The chapter will give UK businesses greater confidence in expanding into India and make trade cheaper, faster, easier and more accessible both for businesses and consumers.

The chapter will cut red tape for businesses, including SMEs, thanks to provisions that support the use of electronic contracts and transactions. It will also drive innovation and support emerging technologies through UK-India collaboration, maximising the benefits of both, including through trade.

Businesses will be protected from forced transfer of their source code, allowing UK businesses to expand to India with greater confidence. 

The chapter will help make consumers safer online, including protecting them against spam on their phones. Unsolicited commercial messages will be minimised, for example by requiring consent or working towards making spam clearly identifiable, such as by including who they are sent on behalf of. The chapter will also include ambitious cutting-edge commitments to protect online consumers.

The chapter will include provisions on cross border data flows and data localisation, which will allow the UK the opportunity to negotiate these rules with India when they agree similar commitments with other FTA partners. This commitment does not affect the UK’s high standards of data protection, and any transfer of personal data will still be protected under the UK’s data protection law.

4.8 Disputes

The full economic benefits of the UK-India FTA can only be realised if the agreement is faithfully implemented and complied with. The chapter will establish a robust state-to-state dispute settlement mechanism for resolving certain disputes, should they arise under the agreement.

The UK and India have agreed a modern and comprehensive Dispute Settlement chapter, which will ensure that trade disputes between the UK and India are dealt with in a consistent, fair, cost-effective, transparent and timely manner. The mechanism balances strong enforcement with the encouragement of dispute prevention and early resolution.    

This chapter will signal intent from the UK and India to uphold the agreement, which will secure the benefits of the deal and drive UK economic growth by providing greater certainty to businesses. The inclusion of a robust dispute settlement mechanism will also ensure the UK can enforce certain commitments that have been made under agreement.

The chapter will also ensure that dispute settlement proceedings will be suitably transparent, allowing interested businesses, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other entities to engage in the process while safeguarding confidential information.

Trade disputes can have a significant commercial and financial impact on UK firms and can have a significant impact on key sectors of the UK’s economy. By providing a strong deterrent, the dispute settlement mechanism will incentivise compliance with the agreement and help avoid costly disputes.

4.9 Environment

This chapter will support the UK’s climate and environment goals – including delivery of the Clean Energy Superpower Mission and the transition to net zero – and will also establish a subcommittee on sustainability bilateral trade or investment. It will recognise the right of the UK and India to regulate in pursuit of our ambitious climate and environment goals, such as net zero by 2050.

The environment chapter will also reaffirm our mutual commitments to global environmental agreements including the Paris Agreement and 1.5°C temperature goal, commit the UK and India to endeavour to facilitate and promote trade in environmental goods and services and encourage the transition to clean energy, and strengthen cooperation in areas such as on emerging technologies with low global warming potential, sustainable forestry management, marine wild capture fisheries, and a resource-efficient and circular economy.

The UK will also agree provisions with India to endeavour to promote trade in environmental goods and services, which could help the UK boost exports in key green sectors, such as clean energy industries, and drive economic growth at home. We will also agree provisions that will support cooperation and trade in key UK growth sectors such as clean energy, transport, recycling, and that promote a circular economy. These provisions demonstrate the importance that the UK places on driving investment and opportunity in these sectors. In addition, supporting circular economy efforts will enhance the value that UK businesses can derive from scarce or critical resources, while also minimising waste.

4.10 Financial services

The deal will secure UK companies’ ability to deliver financial services to clients in India, supporting the long-term competitiveness and stability of the UK’s financial services sector. This will support opportunities for businesses and consumers in all regions and nations of the UK, to boost UK growth.

This chapter will underpin our future relationship and support our continued cooperation in financial services.

On foreign direct investment, UK ownership or investment into Indian insurance or banking firms will be locked in at up to 74% UK owned or invested.

This chapter will take important steps to support innovation in financial services in the UK and India. We have jointly recognised the importance of developing an efficient, safe and secure environment for cross-border electronic payments. The deal will commit the UK and India to cooperate on issues such as FinTech and diversity in finance, alongside promoting financial stability, and improving market integration.

This deal will include non-discrimination rules that will ensure that UK firms are treated fairly when providing services in India’s market. It will include comprehensive transparency commitments which will ensure that India’s rules and practices for the authorisation of UK financial services firms are fair and transparent, and that regulatory measures are administered in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner.

4.11 Goods market access

Through this deal, India will remove or reduce tariffs, or pre-existing zero tariffs, on 90% tariff lines, which will cover 92% of existing goods imports from the UK (based on 2022 trade). Based on this trade alone, this amounts to India cutting tariffs worth over £400 million, which will more than double to around £900 million after 10 years. Reducing costs to trade can increase trade flows and support UK economic growth.

India’s tariffs can be high, so securing tariff free access and reduced tariffs for the majority of UK exports provides valuable certainty and competitive advantages to British businesses. The agreement will provide new and preferential access for UK products, enabling them to reach India’s growing middle classes, expected to number 60 million by 2030.

This deal will also provide opportunities for UK high growth sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy. There will be market access wins for advanced manufacturing and medical technology companies within the wider life sciences sector, and for clean energy.

As soon as the deal comes into force, 64% of tariff lines will be eligible for tariff-free imports into India, covering £1.9 billion of current UK exports to India (2022). This will include UK exports of advanced manufacturing such as aircraft parts and scientific and technical measuring instruments. This is alongside opening up new opportunities through tariff-free access for UK agri food, such as fresh and frozen salmon and cod, and lamb.

After staging over 10 years, the agreement will mean 85% tariff lines and 66% of existing Indian imports from the UK will be eligible for tariff-free entry into India. This will include UK food and drink, such as chocolate, gingerbread and sweet biscuits, soft drinks and non-alcoholic beer. This will apply to advanced manufacturing exports such as auto parts, machinery and tools, and medical technology devices, including surgical, dental and veterinary instruments.

Indian imports from the UK of whisky/whiskey, worth over £200 million a year in 2022 and currently facing Indian tariffs of 150%, will see duties cut to 75% on day one and staged to 40% from year 10 onwards. Gin, which is growing in popularity with Indian consumers, will benefit from the same tariff reductions.

UK car manufacturers will benefit from a quota that reduces tariffs from over 100% to 10%. This starts with internal combustion engine (ICE) cars but transitions to electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid to reflect how manufacturing in the UK is evolving. Similarly, Indian access to the UK market for EVs and hybrid is also staged and under a quota to support the UK auto industry’s transition to fully EVs, while increasing consumer choice.

This deal will cut tariffs for UK cosmetics and toiletries exporters, who have seen rapid recent rises in Indian sales, despite current tariffs of between 10% to 20%. Through this deal, tariffs on soaps, shaving cream, face cream and nail polish will either be removed on day one or removed after staging over 10 years. In addition, perfumes and eau de cologne will see tariffs of 20% halved after staging, increasing the opportunity for exporters and reducing costs.

UK businesses and consumers will also have increased access to tariff-free imports from India, with tariffs being eliminated on 99% of Indian goods which could provide better choice, quality and affordability of a wide range of Indian products such as frozen shrimp, apparel and textiles.

This deal excludes domestic sectors from liberalisation, such as sugar, milled rice, pork, chicken, and eggs.

4.12 Good regulatory practice (GRP)

The GRP chapter will aim to promote a transparent regulatory environment, bilateral regulatory cooperation and the exchange of information. This will promote economic growth for the UK by encouraging good governance and accountability within regulatory processes which will provide a stable and predictable regulatory regime for UK businesses. 

The UK and India will ensure that their regulations are made accessible. Both countries will also make commitments to provide a reasonable opportunity for interested persons to comment on proposed major regulatory measures, and to encourage regulatory authorities to cooperate on current and future regulation. This cooperation could identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary trade barriers, supporting innovation and economic growth. 

4.13 Government procurement

This chapter will guarantee access to the Indian government procurement market for UK businesses and ensure that government procurement processes in both countries are fair, open, and transparent.

For the first time, UK businesses will be able to compete for a broad variety of goods, services, and construction procurements, for the majority of central government entities in India, as well as for several of India’s federal state-owned enterprises at thresholds lower than ever before. India spends an estimated 20% of its GDP on public procurement^{[footnote 23]}, and UK suppliers will have greater opportunities to bid for many of these contracts, on better terms and with greater access to the relevant information to support their bids. This increased market access in India could lead to more successful contract awards for UK companies, boosting their revenues, helping to increase UK economic growth.

India’s federal government entities covered by the agreement, publish, on average, approximately 40,000 tenders per year with a value of at least £38 billion.^{[footnote 24]} With this chapter, UK businesses will have legally guaranteed access to compete for a proportion of these contracts that meet the criteria specified within India’s schedule.

UK companies will get exclusive treatment under the ‘Make in India’ policy, which currently provides preferential treatment for federal government procurement to businesses who manufacture or produce in India. UK companies will be treated as a class 2 supplier if at least 20% of their product or service is from the UK – granting them the same status that only Indian firms currently enjoy (the Make in India preference will still apply for approved ‘class 1’ suppliers offering 50% or more of their goods or services from India).

The chapter will also enable UK businesses to access information on published tender notices for procurements covered by the agreement, free of charge, through India’s single website portal. 

4.14 Innovation

This chapter will bolster support for innovation in the UK and India, including by fostering opportunities for innovation-intensive industries and encouraging trade in innovative products and services.  

Innovation and research and development investment can both significantly boost productivity growth. Innovation drives trade by bringing new products to international markets while trade drives innovation through greater competition, demand and international collaboration. Both trade and innovation drive productivity, which in turn drives trade competitiveness.

The UK and India share a highly productive relationship, collaborating on research and development for innovation. This will play an essential role not only for economic growth, but also in tackling global challenges.

This chapter will establish an Innovation Working Group, which will allow the UK and India to enhance existing collaboration, research, and development. Discussions under this cooperative framework may cover a range of areas, including future regulatory approaches, the commercialisation of new technologies and supply chain resilience.

The working group will provide an opportunity for industry, academia and civil society to advise government on key challenges surrounding innovation and trade, and to help shape an appropriate response. We will work with India to achieve the early identification and mutually beneficial resolution of unintended barriers to trade, including by monitoring regulatory frameworks for new technologies, supporting businesses to maximise their global trading ambitions.  

4.15 Intellectual property (IP)

This IP chapter will support our economies through effective and balanced protection and enforcement of IP rights. This chapter will cover copyright and related rights, designs, trade marks, geographical indications (GIs), patents, and trade secrets, as well as the enforcement of IP rights, and ongoing cooperation in relation to IP matters.

This chapter will go far beyond India’s precedent in FTAs, building on our shared commitments in numerous international IP treaties and the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which is the international baseline of intellectual property protection.

IP protection fosters innovation and creativity and ensures that industry is rewarded for the efforts and investment that generate valuable intellectual property outputs. This supports our knowledge economy, arts, and renowned British brands.    

Given many UK exports are reliant on intellectual property assets (such as brand value, patents, copyright, design rights, trade secrets, geographical indications), IP protection is crucial to ensure UK exports retain their value in overseas markets. Ensuring the protection of patents, copyright, trade marks and geographical indications is an essential element of protecting the market for UK exports of goods and services. These rights reduce the risk that the market for distinctive and quality UK creative products is not unfairly flooded with cheap imitations of UK brands, pirated versions of UK films and music, and unlicensed versions of UK inventions and discoveries. 

Effective IP protection is therefore fundamental to global business growth, leading to more highly skilled jobs and local economic development, and is an essential tool for protecting and enhancing the value of UK goods and services exports. Locking in text which ties both countries to standards which go beyond the international baselines on IP provides business with the confidence that these standards will be maintained and provides the UK with an opportunity to hold India to account on these standards. This can encourage UK firms to begin exporting or expand exports to India, driving UK growth.

This chapter will secure improvements to patent procedures in India to reduce the administrative burden, speed up processes, and lock in commitments that provide for transparency and legal certainty in the patent system.   

India will also commit to engaging on aspects of copyright and related rights, addressing the interests of UK creators, rights holders, and consumers. This includes around public performance rights and artist’s resale rights, which acknowledge the importance of royalty rights. India will also conduct an internal review of their copyright terms of protection.   

The UK will have the ability to apply for India’s highest standard of protection for all UK GIs listed for protection in the FTA, extending this beyond wines and spirits, which are the only products that currently benefit from the higher standard. The chapter will not commit the UK to domestic legislative change, nor will it undermine the UK’s own IP system or our international positions on IP.   

4.16 Labour

This chapter will demonstrate our commitment to upholding international labour standards, ensuring sustainable economic growth and a predictable business environment. Labour provisions in this FTA will complement our domestic growth agenda and our Make Work Pay plan which contribute to creating the right conditions for long-term sustainable, inclusive, and secure economic growth. 

Both the UK and India will commit to upholding international labour protections for workers in both India and the UK. This includes protections on freedom of association and protection from forced labour in line with the obligations of both parties to uphold these protections in their domestic legislation. This is by virtue of their membership of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations (UN) agency that sets international labour standards.  

The chapter will also encourage good business practice and corporate responsibility, advance our mutual ambition to tackle forced labour and gender discrimination in the workplace, and promote decent working conditions. The deal also contains commitments for the effective enforcement of labour laws.

This chapter will ensure fair competition for UK and Indian business through a commitment that neither country will selectively disapply their labour protections. The UK and India will continue to retain flexibility to regulate for domestic interests.  

4.17 Professional business services

Professional services covers a diverse range of sectors comprised of highly skilled, tradable services provided by professionals such as accountants, auditors, architects, solicitors and barristers, engineers, and more.

We have agreed a professional services annex where the UK and India will identify and encourage mutually interested UK and Indian relevant bodies to enter into negotiations on mutual agreements or arrangements for recognition of professional qualifications. These agreements or arrangements can streamline processes for UK professionals seeking to have their professional qualifications recognised in India and vice versa, by reducing administration, time, and costs, and by providing certainty to businesses seeking to operate abroad. This would help to liberalise trade and supports UK economic growth.

This annex will establish a Professional Services Working Group which will create a dedicated forum for UK and Indian government officials to review and monitor the annex’s implementation, appropriately liaise to support relevant bodies in pursuing the annex’s objectives and exchange information on issues relating to professional services. 

The annex will not affect the autonomy of UK relevant bodies to set, maintain and assess against the standards for their professions.

4.18 Rules of Origin

This chapter and its annexes will specify the criteria a good or product must meet, as well as the compliance documents needed, to benefit from the preferential tariffs we have agreed in this deal.

This deal will secure rules of origin which facilitate improved access to the Indian market for swathes of British products. This means that British producers and manufacturers will be able to continue to source some of their ingredients and materials from other countries. They will then be able to export the finished product to India – taking advantage of the reduced tariffs we have agreed. The rules of origin will work for key exports from across the whole of the UK. For example, whiskey distilled in Northern Ireland can use barley or neutral grain spirit from the Republic of Ireland and can be bottled in transit, on the way to India.

By prioritising rules of origin that businesses across the UK can comply with, this chapter will unlock preferential tariffs making UK exports more competitive in the Indian market, facilitating more exports to India and supporting UK economic growth.

This chapter will also prevent fraudulent activities such as such as circumvention, ensuring that only genuinely British or Indian goods can access preferential tariffs. To qualify for reduced tariffs, the rules of origin specify that a product must either be wholly obtained or significantly transformed through processing in either the UK or India. This chapter will also provide robust mechanisms for compliance to be checked.

4.19 Remedies

The Trade Remedies chapter will provide a safety net for domestic industry against unfair trading practices such as the dumping of low-priced goods into the domestic market, imports of subsidised goods, or unforeseen surges in imports.  

We have secured a comprehensive chapter which will support the ambitious trade agreement to facilitate growth, while also ensuring a robust defence for UK domestic industry in the event of unfair or unforeseen surges of imports.

The chapter will affirm both countries’ rights and obligations under the WTO, allowing Members to apply trade remedies proportionately and transparently.

Alongside this, we will agree additional provisions on the proportionate and transparent application of trade remedy measures.

We will agree a ‘bilateral safeguard’ mechanism. This will allow the UK or India to temporarily increase tariffs or suspend tariff concessions if the tariff liberalisation agreed in the FTA leads to a surge of imports that causes or threatens to cause serious injury to domestic industry. This will provide reassurance to businesses but ultimately supports tariff liberalisation. This mechanism will provide the opportunity for trade to be rebalanced should the UK or India apply a bilateral safeguard. This temporary measure will allow the industry to adjust to the new market conditions of the FTA. 

4.20 Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)

The UK and India will agree to an ambitious and robust SPS Chapter. It will facilitate trade while ensuring the protection of human, animal and plant life and health.  

The chapter will build on the UK and India’s long-standing trading relationship. It will support economic growth in the UK by making it easier for UK businesses to access the growing Indian market. This will be achieved through commitments on transparency and timeliness of approval processes and dialogue structures to resolve technical issues.

The chapter will ensure both the UK and India can protect their biosecurity, while putting in place enhanced commitments, structures and processes that will allow us to avoid unnecessary trade barriers.    

There is nothing in this agreement that will compromise the UK’s high food standards. Imports will still have to meet the same respective UK and Indian food safety and biosecurity standards. The chapter will also protect our regulatory autonomy to set our own, independent standards, ensuring the UK can continue to uphold our high level of protection for human, animal and plant health. 

The chapter will include provisions on the processes that UK and India may undertake in determining the equivalence of each other’s SPS measures and the recognition of regional conditions. Provisions on equivalence and regionalisation will aid the export of agri-food products to India and facilitate the safe import of such products to the UK. We have reinforced the principle of equivalence, which, in this context, is the agreement that 2 SPS measures are equivalent and therefore meet the appropriate level of protection. Future recognition of equivalence could help facilitate access for goods into each country’s market and make it easier for producers to export.

Provisions on regionalisation will provide greater transparency, clarity, and timeliness when the UK and India put in place measures to control disease and pest outbreaks. This will help avoid unnecessary trade restrictions and facilitate the safe movement of goods between the UK and India where disease is present but safely managed.    

The UK and India will recognise the connection between the improved health and the welfare of farmed animals and will cooperate and exchange information and expertise in the field of animal welfare and on international animal welfare standards. We will also recognise the importance of tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the global threat it poses, and we will cooperate through exchanging information, experiences, expertise and data on AMR.

4.21 Small and medium-sized enterprises

This chapter will promote SME participation in trade with India through commitments from the UK and India on cooperation and information-sharing. It will commit both countries to cooperation to reduce the trade barriers that SMEs may otherwise face, by increasing transparency and access to information.

This cooperation will include setting up contact points and facilitating the exchange of best practices that make it easier for SMEs to enter the market. The UK and India will also make trade information accessible online and easier to understand, so that SMEs can clearly understand and navigate the other country’s systems and processes. We may also explore how we can further reduce trade barriers for SMEs and share best practice on important issues that may prevent SMEs from exporting, such as access to finance.  

Tackling these barriers will help UK SMEs export to and import from India, leveraging the trade deal’s opportunities to drive UK economic growth.

4.22 State-owned enterprises (SOEs)

This chapter will demonstrate the UK’s commitment to working with trading partners to promote free and fair trade and tackle unfair practices.  

Businesses owned or controlled by governments and engaged in commercial activities are often known as SOEs. Unfair commercial practices by SOEs or advantageous treatment due to their relationship with government undermine trust in the rules-based trading system and prevent UK businesses from competing fairly. Tackling these practices promotes UK competitiveness and can contribute to economic security and growth.  

The chapter will promote open and fair competition between private enterprises and businesses owned by either government, promoting competitiveness and economic growth. The provisions will include commitments that SOEs should operate in accordance with commercial practices, and appropriate means to raise concerns. The chapter will also promote cooperation between UK and Indian authorities on the corporate governance of SOEs and provide for appropriate means to raise concerns where they arise.  

The chapter will ensure that UK SOEs, particularly those providing public services, can continue to operate as they do now.

4.23 Subsidies

This chapter will reaffirm and build upon existing WTO subsidy rules.  

Unfair practices in providing subsidies undermine trust in the rules-based trading system and prevent UK businesses from competing fairly with foreign businesses.

Tackling these practices promotes UK competitiveness and can contribute to economic security and growth.  

The chapter will not prescribe the specifics of subsidy control arrangements for the UK or India, but will instead provide for transparency in subsidies granted, and for appropriate means to raise concerns where they arise, complementing the tools available through the WTO.

4.24 Technical barriers to trade

The Technical Barriers to Trade chapter will set out commitments between the UK and Indian governments on how technical regulations setting out product characteristics should be developed. These commitments will help us make trade easier, fairer and more transparent.

This chapter will help us remove or reduce technical barriers to trade for goods, while upholding the safety and quality of products on the UK market. It will also help us identify and address further barriers in the future.

4.25 Telecommunications

This chapter will contain a strong set of obligations which are based on pro-competitive principles including transparency and non-discrimination.

This chapter will create a strong framework of trade rules to ensure service suppliers have fair and competitive access to telecommunication markets in the UK and India. This will facilitate UK telecommunications suppliers’ expansion or entry into the Indian market and drive UK economic growth.

UK telecoms suppliers will have guaranteed access to the facilities and services in India on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. The chapter will also ensure access to telecommunications networks and services for UK suppliers in India and guarantees that critical scarce resources are administered in an open and objective manner. These critical resources include spectrum and radio frequencies that are essential for any wireless communication, such as allowing a phone to make calls or connect to the internet.

Reflecting on the strength and importance of UK-India telecommunications trade, the chapter will also foster cooperation on the opportunities and challenges in the telecommunications sector and working together in international fora to promote international standards. This cooperation will include dialogue and sharing of best practice on network security, diversification and international mobile roaming.

4.26 Trade and gender equality

This chapter will enhance the opportunities for women to access the full benefits of the UK-India FTA. It will also advance women’s economic empowerment and promote gender equality through trade.  

This chapter will create the space for the UK and India to work together to support women business owners, entrepreneurs, and workers to fully access and benefit from the opportunities created by this agreement. Women’s economic empowerment is a growth enabler, which is at the heart of the UK government’s agenda. 

Through enabling women to fully engage in trade and the economy, countries can realise their potential and boost economic growth. If gender parity in the global economy is achieved, it could add trillions of dollars to global GDP.

As trade plays a pivotal role in driving growth and prosperity, increasing the participation of women in the labour market would, according to the World Bank, increase a country’s productivity and GDP, creating jobs and leading to greater economic diversification, innovation and poverty reduction. 

4.27 Trade in services

The trade in services chapter will build on the already strong trading relationship between the UK and India by guaranteeing UK businesses trading in a range of service sectors will not face new challenging barriers to trade with India now or in the future. 

This chapter will secure market access for many services sectors. Sectors benefiting from greater certainty will include telecommunications services, environmental services and construction services. UK businesses in the covered sectors will not face restrictions such as limits on the number of businesses able to supply a service. UK businesses will not need to set up a company in India or be a resident in India to supply their services in covered sectors.

This chapter will ensure that UK businesses in covered sectors will benefit from the same treatment granted to Indian businesses by the Indian government. This means businesses in a number of services sectors have greater certainty that they won’t be disadvantaged compared to domestic Indian competitors.

This chapter will support an open trading environment for the covered sectors by addressing procedures for authorisation to do business such as licence applications. For example, the chapter ensures the information necessary to get a licence is published, that any associated fees are reasonable, and that applicants can be updated on their applications.

Certainty for businesses trading services increases exports. By locking in access for UK services suppliers from a range of sectors, this chapter could unlock export opportunities for UK businesses and support economic growth.

This chapter will not compromise the UK’s ability to regulate key public services, and the UK does not negotiate over its right to regulate public services.

5. Double Contributions Convention (DCC)

Alongside the FTA, the UK and India have agreed to negotiate a reciprocal DCC. The DCC will support business and trade by ensuring that employees moving between the UK and India, and their employers, will only be liable to pay social security contributions in one country at a time. The DCC will also ensure that employees temporarily working in the other country for up to 3 years will continue paying social security contributions in their home country, preventing the fragmentation of their social security record. 

This agreement will operate on similar principles to the UK’s other Social Security Agreements (SSA) with the EU and countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Japan, Chile and South Korea. As a more limited kind of SSA, the DCC will not affect individuals’ rights to access benefits from the country in which they pay social security contributions or the requirement to pay the UK immigration health surcharge. The DCC will come into force in line with the wider trade deal.

6. What happens next 

Now that we have concluded negotiations, the UK and India will work together to finalise the legal text of the Free Trade Agreement and produce a usable and legally binding treaty. We will end this process by signing the completed treaty text. The DCC will enter into force alongside the trade agreement.

Following this, the UK’s independent Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) will be commissioned to scrutinise the Free Trade Agreement and produce a report on whether the measures within the FTA are consistent with the maintenance of UK statutory protections in relation to animal and plant health and life; animal welfare; and the environment.

Informed by the TAC’s advice (as well as advice from the UK’s Food Standard Agencies) the Government will lay its own report under section 42 of the Agriculture Act 2020 (s42 report). The s42 report will cover the same topics as the TAC report, with the addition of analysis covering the maintenance of UK statutory protections in relation to human life or health.

This deal will be subject to the usual pre-ratification scrutiny procedures under the Constitutional Reform and Governance (CRaG) Act.

Any legislative changes required to give effect to the FTA will need to be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual ways before ratification of the agreement can take place. Legislation necessary to implement the agreement will be brought forward, and duly scrutinised by Parliament, when Parliamentary time allows.

Entry into force will take place once both the UK and India have completed their ratification processes. Once the deal has taken effect, businesses, and citizens from across the UK will be able to capitalise on the benefits of the agreement. 

The government will help businesses to benefit from the deal through the export services, which help businesses understand what has been agreed in the FTAs, what it means for their sector, and support them to identify new export opportunities.

1. DBT CGE Modelling. For further information please refer to Technical Note ↩

2. DBT CGE Modelling. For further information please refer to Technical Note ↩

3. Population of England and Wales - GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures: the ONS 2021 Census (covering England and Wales only) records 1.9 million identified with the Indian ethnic group ↩

4. Trade data sourced from Office for National Statistics data on UK total trade (seasonally adjusted data). ↩

5. OECD Data Quarterly real GDP growth - G20 countries and India - Gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate 2029 Statista ↩

6. IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2024 ↩

7. Projections are calculated using the methodology described in DBT’s Global Trade Outlook, February 2023, with middle class being defined as earning over $12,525 a year ↩

8. DBT Global Trade Outlook (Feb 2023) ↩

9. OECD – Service Trade Restrictiveness Index 2024 includes all 38 OECD countries plus China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. ↩

10. Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) on mid-market companies. Interviews conducted on 301 mid-sized businesses between April and June 2024. ↩

11. DBT Global Trade Outlook, February 2023. ↩

12. India Economic Boom: 2031 Growth Outlook, Morgan Stanley ↩

13. India Economic Boom: 2031 Growth Outlook, Morgan Stanley ↩

14. DBT Technical Note: Technical Note: The preliminary economic impacts of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement ↩

15. DBT UK trade in numbers (2024) accessed April 2025 ↩

16. Internal DBT analysis ↩

17. His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Regional Trade Statistics (October to December 2024) ↩

18. ONS Subnational Trade in Services, February 2025 ↩

19. ONS Subnational Trade in Services, February 2025 ↩

20. Literature reviews of academic studies confirming this include (Jenkins, 2017; Nichols, 2012; and DfID, 2015). ↩

21. HMG, DIT National Survey of Registered Businesses’ Exporting Behaviours, Attitudes and Needs, 2017. Companies who had decided not to export to a given country were asked the factor behind their decision. 6% identified corruption and fraud.    ↩

22. In a review of 427 foreign bribery cases, OECD found that bribes represented an average of 10.9% of the total value of transactions. OECD (2014), OECD Foreign Bribery Report: An Analysis of the Crime of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264226616-en ↩

23. World Bank, Global Public Procurement Data (2021): https://www.globalpublicprocurementdata.org/gppd/country_profile/IN  ↩

24. This analysis utilises three full financial years of data from India’s e-procurement dashboard which is not exhaustively used by all federal government agencies for all procurements. Therefore, several entities included within India’s market access schedule cannot be included within the analysis. This analysis does not take into account restrictions on access as a result of Make in India, the chapter thresholds and tenders for goods or services not covered by the government procurement chapter. ↩