Srinagar, Dec. 28 -- India's push to expand Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) has once again run into a familiar fault line: the tension between global trade ambitions and domestic agricultural interests. The recent concern flagged over apple imports highlights how trade liberalisation, if not carefully sequenced and safeguarded, can unsettle vulnerable farming communities-particularly in hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, where apples are not just a crop but an economic lifeline.FTAs are designed to lower tariffs, improve market access and integrate economies into global value chains. For a country like India, they are also strategic tools-meant to counter protectionism, attract investment and boost exports. However, agric...