New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- India's recently concluded free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU, almost two decades in the making, has injected fresh energy into the country's geo-economics. It offers strategists on both sides greater latitude to pursue higher economic and perhaps even geopolitical ambitions.

In a best-case scenario, it could act as a bulwark against global hegemony sought to be exercised by a third party. While the FTA is more symbolic than an economic reality at this point, it has three critical aspects that will determine its performance: manufacturing, mobility and non-tariff barriers.

The first is a no-brainer: the deal is visibly designed to boost the factory sector in both economies. India's enduring concern has been to ...