Gopichand Hinduja, the Chairman of Hinduja Group, has underscored the need to expedite the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom (UK) at the bureaucratic level. In an exclusive interview with CNBC, he identified bureaucracy as the primary obstacle hindering investments in both nations. He said that while some progress has been made in resolving certain issues, bureaucratic delays continue to impede the FTA's advancement.

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Hinduja mentioned that Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's recent visit to the UK resulted in significant progress, with the resolution of a majority of the 26 or 24 issues. However, certain matters are still pending, which he attributed to bureaucratic challenges.

“Piyush Goyal, our commerce minister, last week was here in UK and I think from 26 or 24 issues, majority have been resolved, but still some are pending, you know why? Bureaucracy is the biggest problem. Even in India, if the bureaucracy would not have been formed, we would have much more investors in India,” he said.

India and the UK have been engaged in talks for a free trade agreement with negotiations being launched in January 2021 and the eleventh round of talks being concluded most recently. The talks between the two countries completed on 18 July 2023.

The Hinduja Group Chairman emphasized that overcoming bureaucratic delays is crucial to attracting more investors to India. The timely execution of the India-UK FTA would strengthen economic ties between the two countries and create favorable conditions for enhanced trade and investment opportunities, he said.

First Published:Jul 26, 2023 1:05 AM IST