India to ask for longer stay options for students in UK as part of Free Trade Deal: Report

NEW DELHI April 26: Indian government will be pushing for easier visa rules for skilled professionals hired by its companies investing in UK and longer term work options for Indian students in the UK, says reports.

India is aware of the reluctance with UK on the visa demands and business visa issue was a key hurdle that led to talks blowing past an October 2022 deadline, said the report.

The goal posts and time lines on finalizing the outlines of the pact — which is expected to double bilateral trade between the two nations by 2030 — have shifted a few times.

The latest round of talks comes this week as ties between the two countries have been strained in recent months after the Indian High Commission in London was vandalized and the British Broadcasting Corp. ran a critical documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Negotiations on the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) resumed from April 24 after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi spoke over the phone and agreed to expedite progress on outstanding issues.

The next round of talks on the proposed free trade agreement will take place from April 24 to 28, according to a statement by MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

According to a Downing Street spokesperson, the two leaders agreed to follow up on their discussions at the G7 meeting in Japan in May and the G20 Summit being hosted by India later in the year. “Both agreed to direct their teams to expedite progress to resolve outstanding issues and ensure a world-leading deal that would see both economies thrive,” the spokesperson earlier said.

A trade deal with India has long been a prized goal for the British government, which wants to cut tariffs and open opportunities for UK services to operate in the South Asian country.

For New Delhi, a free trade pact with the seventh largest buyer of Indian goods is crucial to hit its target of $2 trillion in exports annually by 2030 and to become a top choice for companies shifting supply chains away from China.

However, a spokesperson for UK’s business and trade department said, “The UK has been clear in negotiations that trade and immigration are separate policy areas.”