UK India Business Council Welcomes the Signing of the Landmark Trade Deal Agreement between UK and India

New Delhi, July 24, 2025: The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) welcomes the signing of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a landmark deal that promises to unlock unprecedented trade and investment opportunities between two of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies. The mega deal, signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UK visit marks a historic milestone in the bilateral relationship.

Both the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to enhance the UK-India partnership with unveiling an “U.K.-India Vision 2035”. As India and UK signed the Free Trade Pact, British PM Keir Starmer said, “A landmark deal with India means jobs, investment and growth here in the UK. It creates thousands of British jobs, unlocks new opportunities for businesses and puts money in the pockets of working people. That’s our Plan for Change in action.”

Inviting British Prime Minister to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that signing the FTA marks a historic day in India-UK relations. “Today marks a historic day in our relations. I am delighted that after the hard work of several years, today our two nations have signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, after the hard work of many years, economic cooperation has materialised between the nations”

 India’s large and fast-growing economy, with a 1.4 billion market and an expanding middle class, offers UK businesses significant export and investment opportunities. Tariff reductions under the FTA are expected to boost UK exports. With the deal, Britain welcomes almost £6 billion in new investment and export wins, which aim to create over 2,200 British jobs across the country with the Indian firms expanding their operations in the UK and British companies secure new business opportunities in India.

For India, FTA will bring significant benefits to India’s services sector by creating opportunities in Information Technology and IT-enabled Services (IT/ITeS), Financial Services, Professional Services such as management consultancy, architectural and engineering, Other Business Services, and Education Services. One of the most significant aspects of the UK-India FTA is the enhanced market access it provides to both countries.

It is worth noting that UK-India Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and India1 was £42.6 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2024, an increase of 8.3% from previous year. This level of trade has almost doubled from before the pandemic in 2019, when the UK-India trade was £24.1 billion.

The economic implications of the India-UK FTA 2025 are profound. It is projected to increase the UK’s GDP by £3.3 billion by 2035 and double bilateral trade by 2030. This growth trajectory is expected to create significant job creation in India.

Richard Heald OBE, Chair, UK-India Business Council, said, “The UK-India FTA marks a historic milestone in the bilateral relationship. Businesses across both countries have long called for an agreement that reduces barriers, enhances market access, and creates a clear framework for long-term, sustainable growth. We congratulate both governments for their commitment and ambition in bringing this complex negotiation to fruition. Success in the FTA will support further economic growth for the world’s 4th and 6th largest economies. It will catalyse collaboration into other areas too.

As India charges ahead towards Viksit Bharat@2047, UKIBC and more broadly, British businesses recognise that a successful FTA is a critical milestone in a longer-term journey and are keen to support India’s ambitions. As a trusted partner to both governments and businesses, UKIBC has actively supported the FTA journey through consultation, policy input, and sector-specific insight.”

 UKIBC has played an active role in supporting the FTA process, facilitating consultations with industry, providing evidence-based recommendations, and ensuring the voices of UK and Indian businesses—especially mid-sized and sector-specific players—are heard and reflected in the negotiations. As the UK and India gear up to implement the agreement, UKIBC will continue to support members in understanding and leveraging the FTA’s provisions, with a particular focus on sectors like digital trade, services, manufacturing, education, and innovation-led collaboration.

About the UKIBC

UKIBC is a policy advocacy and strategic consulting not-for-profit, with a mission to grow the UK-India trade and investment. To do that, we provide strategic and practical support to businesses and universities to explore, enter, and expand in both markets.

We want to help more UK businesses to uncover opportunities and succeed in India.

Business looking at the India opportunity need to develop a strategy based on factual market insights, and then implement that strategy. The UK India Business Council has the knowledge, networks, and people to help do this.

UK-India collaboration creates prosperity and jobs in both countries, and UK and Indian business have ideas, technology, services and products which improve lives. We work closely with the UK and Indian governments, the devolved administrations, England’s city regions, and State governments across India. We believe a strong UK-India economic partnership is a force for positive change globally.

 For more information, please contact:

Nishtha Grover
Senior Manager – Communications, UK India Business Council
Mobile – +91 9818021223
Email- Nishtha.grover@ukibc.com