India, July 25 -- Indian professionals will gain freer access to the UK and British exporters secure easier entry to India's vast market through dramatic tariff cuts under a comprehensive trade deal signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer on Thursday, hailed by both as a landmark partnership for shared prosperity.

The pact will boost two-way commerce by $35 billion in the long run and the two sides also unveiled plans to negotiate a Double Contribution Convention (DCC) that exempts employers of Indian workers from paying social security contributions in the UK for three years in what is expected to particularly help finance and technology sector workers.

They will also work on a Defence Industrial...