NEW DELHI, July 25 -- India secured significant business mobility concessions for its professionals in the free trade agreement formalised with the United Kingdom on Thursday, overcoming years of British reluctance on immigration-sensitive issues. The breakthrough came after protracted negotiations that began in January 2022 but stalled due to political uncertainty in the UK and mutual sensitivities over market access. "The UK was unwilling to grant business mobility because of political sensitivities involved with immigration in general. On the other hand, India was guarding its automobile and agri-food market with up to 110% and 150% (whisky) tariffs, respectively," an official familiar with the talks said, asking not to be named. Under the final agreement, an "innovative" Double Contribution Convention exempts Indian workers and their employers from UK social security contributions for three years, boosting competitiveness and earnings - a significant cost-saving measure for Indian IT and financial services companies sending employees to Britain on work visas. The mobility provisions cover professionals in IT and IT-enabled services, financial and legal services, professional and educational services, and digital trade, with "simplified visa procedures and liberalised entry categories, making it easier for talent to work in the UK," the commerce ministry said in a statement. However, the UK has imposed a quota of 1,800 per year for qualified Indian traditional chefs, yoga instructors and classical musicians entering as contractual service suppliers, with temporary entry and stay permissible up to 12 months in any 24-month period. In turn, India has also opened key segments of its services economy to British firms, granting access in sectors such as accounting, auditing, financial services (with FDI in insurance capped at 74%), telecom (allowing 100% FDI), environmental services, and auxiliary air transport. While India has made commitments on market access across 108 sub sectors in services, the UK has made commitments across 137 sub sectors, practically covering more than 99% of India's exports. All key areas of India's interest such as IT, business services such as management consulting, accounting, engineering, telecom, financial services, education and health are covered. Experts said the inclusion of a business mobility chapter in the agreement is beneficial, but pointed to the quotas. "Overall, the UK's services package shows reluctance to ease mobility for Indian professionals - one of India's core demands," said Ajay Srivastava, founder of Global Trade Research Initiative. "India granted full market access in telecom, financial, and professional services, but the UK offered minimal concessions on mobility, visas, and mutual recognition." "The UK has offered an annual quota of 1,800 visas for niche roles like yoga instructors and classical musicians, but it has not made binding commitments on broader visa categories, including business visitors or IT professionals. The UK's refusal to restore post-study work visas is a disappointment for Indian students, and the FTA does not override the UK's points-based immigration system - meaning Indian professionals must still meet regular education, salary, and job offer thresholds," he said. The deal required significant concessions from India, which reduced tariffs on British automobiles to 10% with quota arrangements, and whisky tariffs to 75% from enforcement, falling further to 40% over 10 years. However, "India protected sensitive agricultural sectors by placing "dairy items, vegetables, apples, edible oils, oats" on the negative list," an official said. For India's agricultural exporters, the deal opens new opportunities for "turmeric, cardamom, pepper, mango pulp, pickles, and pulses" which will now enjoy duty-free access to the UK, enhancing farmers' market reach and profitability," said Federation of Indian Export Organisations president SC Ralhan. "By exempting Indian employees on short-term assignments to the UK from UK social security contributions for up to 36 months, it removes a major cost and compliance barrier," said Puneet Gupta, partner at EY India. "The cosmetics sector will see a boost, particularly with the harmonisation of standards enabling smoother market access. This also opens doors for Ayurvedic and natural ingredient-based products both from India to the UK and vice versa," said Anand Ramanathan, partner at Deloitte India. Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal called it a "landmark" deal that "will serve as a catalyst for inclusive growth, benefiting farmers, artisans, workers, MSMEs, startups, and innovators while safeguarding India's core interests and accelerating our journey towards becoming a global economic powerhouse."...