The free trade agreement (FTA) on investments and services that India recently signed with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) might prove to be a game changer for the country. It has the potential to open up new vistas for the country’s teeming professionals. However, it all depends on all the Asean members ratifying the agreement.
Ever since coming to power in May, the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a cautious approach to signing trade deals and has ordered a 360-degree review of all bilateral and multilateral trade pacts as it wants to bring out a comprehensive model for negotiating such agreements. The FTA with Asean last month is the first trade pact inked by the National Democratic Alliance government, though it had been negotiated and readied by the previous regime.