India-UK FTA To Boost Services Sector, Trade Worth $120 Billion Eyed In 5 Years: NSE CEO Ashish Chauhan

India has scored in the services sector under the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), according to Ashishkumar Chauhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Stock Exchange.

"For services, the trade is around $56 billion. This deal is expected to take the total trade around $120 billion over the next five years," Chauhan told NDTV Profit. "In my understanding, it could be even larger, as it has opened up the services sector in a big way, in addition to pharma, agriculture, and other sectors," he added.

India-UK FTA unlocks nearly $23 billion in opportunities for labour-intensive sectors, marking a new era for inclusive and gender-equitable growth shared Union Ministry of Commerce Piyush Goyal on his X profile.

75,000 Indian workers in UK to gain from 3-year exemption from social security contribution. While, up to 1,800 Indian chefs, yoga instructors and classical musicians can move temporarily to UK to provide services.

"India was shortchanged in the WTO regime, where huge benefits were extended to China over the last 30–40 years," Chauhan pointed out. He explained that China had received the maximum benefits from multilateral agreements signed under the WTO, ASEAN, and other frameworks. "Now, with the shift towards bilateral deals, India stands to benefit significantly," he said.

"India and the UK have a historic relationship, but India did not benefit commercially from it," he noted. "Our merchandise trade is currently around $24 billion, largely in favour of India. Yet, under the WTO regime, India was not treated fairly," Chauhan said.

He also highlighted an important change for Indian professionals working in the UK. "Earlier, Indian professionals had to pay Social Services Tax in the UK, but they weren’t eligible for any benefits upon returning to India. Now, that issue has been resolved.

Indian professionals’ salaries won’t be cut as much, which is a major gain for our services sector. People will now be able to work longer in the UK, indicating that the visa regime is also being revised," he said.