New Delhi, May 7 -- India and the UK on Tuesday clinched a free trade agreement (FTA) that will boost Indian exports of textiles, leather and engineering goods and cut levies on British whisky, automobiles and medical devices, and which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, would catalyse trade, investment and job creation.

The deal between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies was finalised three years after Modi and his former British counterpart Boris Johnson set a target of concluding the FTA by October 2022. Since then, the negotiations were affected by differences on a range of issues, including tariffs on alcohol and automobiles and mobility of Indian professionals, and political turmoil in the UK.

The deal, concluded amid g...