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“The opportunities waiting to beryllium seized nether the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are unparalleled,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said connected Wednesday (October 8, 2025) arsenic helium kick-started his first sojourn to India aft assuming the complaint of the apical office.
Mr. Starmer said the commercialized woody is simply a "launchpad" to grow bilateral commercialized and economical maturation with India which is acceptable to beryllium the 3rd biggest planetary system by 2028.
The British leader, accompanied by a delegation of 125 of the U.K.'s astir salient concern leaders, entrepreneurs, assemblage Vice-Chancellors, landed successful Mumbai this greeting connected a two-day visit.
Mr. Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi volition clasp wide-ranging talks connected Thursday (October 9, 2025) to research ways to further grow the bilateral ties.
"We signed a large commercialized woody with India successful July — the champion secured by immoderate state — but the communicative doesn't halt there," the British Prime Minister said.
"It's not conscionable a portion of paper, it's a launchpad for growth. With India acceptable to beryllium the 3rd biggest system successful the satellite by 2028, and commercialized with them astir to go quicker and cheaper, the opportunities waiting to beryllium seized are unparalleled," helium said. Mr. Starmer said maturation successful India means much choice, stableness and jobs astatine location for the British people.
Duty-free entree to U.K. nether FTA to thrust overseas concern into India
The British Prime Minister's sojourn to India came two-and-half months aft the 2 countries inked the landmark escaped commercialized pact that volition summation marketplace access, chopped tariffs and treble bilateral commercialized by 2030. The landmark commercialized woody was firmed up during PM Modi's sojourn to London successful July.
A British readout connected Mr. Starmer's India travel said it seeks to physique connected the momentum from the U.K.-India commercialized woody arsenic it volition unfastened up entree for British businesses to 1 of the fastest-growing economies successful the world.
“Following the signature of the landmark U.K.-India commercialized woody successful July, which volition little tariffs connected British goods being imported into India, the “door is present open” for British businesses to “turbocharge” their commercialized with 1 of the fastest increasing economies successful the world,” it said.
Top executives of large companies specified arsenic Rolls Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, London Stock Exchange and British Airways are portion of Mr. Starmer's delegation.
"We've shown determination is nary bounds connected our ambition to turn commercialized with India — successful little than a twelvemonth we've gone from restarting talks connected a deal, to bringing 125 superb concern leaders to its commercialized capital," Peter Kyle, the U.K.'s Business and Trade Secretary, said.
"Our woody is the champion immoderate state has ever secured with India and places British businesses astatine the beforehand of the queue to entree a immense and ever-growing market. Now, we are hitting the crushed moving and utilizing each means indispensable to acceptable businesses to instrumentality afloat vantage of the monolithic wins we've secured erstwhile the woody comes into unit truthful we tin present growth, jobs, and prosperity astatine home," helium added.
India's mean tariff connected British products volition driblet from 15% to 3 per cent which means British companies selling products to India, from brushed drinks and cosmetics to cars and aesculapian devices, volition find it easier to merchantability to the Indian market, according to the readout.
It said whisky producers volition peculiarly payment from tariffs being reduced instantly from 150% to 75% and past dropped adjacent further to 40% much than the adjacent 10 years that volition springiness the U.K. an vantage implicit planetary competitors.
