New Delhi, July 7 -- The opening of India's $52 billion annual government procurement business on a reciprocal basis while protecting Indian small and medium enterprises is a key feature of India's trade negotiations with the United States and the European Union, people in the know said. The recently concluded India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) has a chapter on government procurement and the same template, with country-specific changes, could be applied in other two deals under negotiations, the people added, requesting anonymity. In order to protect micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), government contracts below Rs.200-250 crore each may be kept out the purview of the trade agreements, the people said. And in an effort to protect domestic industry, companies from countries with which India has FTAs could be treated as so-called Class-II suppliers, they explained. Class-I suppliers will get the first priority in the award of bids. As per existing central government norms, Class-I supplier is a vendor or service provider, whose goods and services meets the minimum local content of 50%. For a Class-II supplier, this is 20%, one of them said. Currently central government procurements are primarily open for companies that manufacture or produce in India. Hailing the India-UK FTA as "the best deal" , a British government document said: "For the first time, UK businesses will be able to compete for a broad variety of goods, services, and construction procurements, for the majority of central government entities in India, as well as for several of India's federal state-owned enterprises at thresholds lower than ever before." "The UK businesses are keen to get this access to participate in India's energy transition and green infrastructure," a second person said. As the deal is reciprocal, Indian firms will also get similar business opportunities in the UK, he said. Specific details of FTA are being drafted and will be made public after both sides sign off, which may take about a year's time, he added. India's focus on multi-billion-dollar infrastructure creation is one of the major attractions of all present and potential FTA partners, the first person said. While an India-UK free trade agreement was reached on May 6, its text is undergoing legal scrubbing before the deal will be enacted and enforced next year. India-EU FTA negotiations are likely to be concluded by the end of this year. India and the US aim to finalise an interim deal soon before concluding the first tranche of a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement by October....