UK seeks India's markets, not its workers

WHILE whisky and machinery grab headlines, the most sensitive chapter of the UK-India trade deal is professional mobility, the ability of Indian nurses, engineers and IT specialists to work in Britain with fewer barriers.

The issue touches the core of both nations' ambitions. India wants its skilled citizens to move freely in a global market; Britain wants growth without reopening the door to mass migration. The trade pact, signed in July and now reinforced by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to India, tries to square that circle.

The deal was concluded at Chequers on July 24 when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the UK for the signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Nearly 7,000 new UK jobs were announced during Modi's visit. "These investments are a powerful endorsement of the UK's global standing and economic potential," Starmer said while hosting him. "Nearly 7,000 new jobs spread across every region of our country will mean more opportunities, more innovation, and make working people better off."

Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle added that Indian companies were now "investing billions of pounds to back thousands of jobs," proof, he said, of the scale of opportunity this presents for British businesses.

Three months later, when Starmer arrived in Mumbai for his first visit to India as Prime Minister, he was determined to show that July's deal was more than a photo-op. "It was an honour for me to host you in the United Kingdom in July," he told his hosts. "We struck the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in July."

Speaking to business leaders, he added, "I think the opportunities are already opening up. Our job is to make it easier for you to seize the opportunities." At the Global Fintech Fest, he urged Indian entrepreneurs to use Britain as their gateway: "We want the UK to be your number one partner of choice for finance and fintech."

He also announced that more than 10,000 further jobs had been created during his delegation's visit and described India as "on track to become the third-largest economy by 2028, with the UK perfectly placed to be a partner in that journey."

Yet the deal's long-term gains remain modest. A House of Commons briefing projects a GDP boost of only 0.13 per cent, or about £4.8 billion. Most benefits will come in services such as finance and education, where the free flow of people is crucial.

The government itself admits that India remains one of the most protectionist markets, with non-tariff barriers that have long restricted UK exports.

RAND Europe, a research instiute, called the agreement "as much politics as economics," warning that strict quotas and narrow sectoral focus could limit its broader impact.

The mobility clause is where that political tension is sharpest. The so-called Mobility Partnership is designed to smoothen the way for Indian professionals, not only doctors and engineers but also creative-industry specialists, fintech analysts and chefs.

In practice, Starmer's new immigration white paper tightens several other visa routes, creating an uneasy contradiction. "The deal's economic logic rests on talent flows," one Warwick Business School economist said, "yet politically, talent mobility remains the hardest sell."

Trade unions share the ambivalence. They welcome skilled labour but fear that without safeguards, wages could fall and contract work may spread. For India, meanwhile, freer movement is the tangible reward that turns trade rhetoric into human opportunity.

Industrial Britain has its own stake. Tariffs on Scotch whisky are dropping from 150 to 75 per cent immediately and to 40 per cent within a decade; machinery and automotive components also gain. But in the Midlands, where small engineering firms already face cheap imports, enthusiasm is cautious. One chamber official told me, "Investment promises don't always reach the shop floor. Many small and medium-sized enterprises — or SMEs — still need help navigating Indian standards and customs processes."

Large players such as Tata, Mahindra, Infosys and TVS are expanding, yet smaller suppliers worry that partnership could shade into dependence. The manufacturers' body, Make UK, warned that trade deals alone do not rebuild factories; they must be matched by skills, investment and infrastructure.

Ultimately, the success of the UK-India pact may not be measured in whisky barrels or export tonnage but in human movement, the students, nurses, engineers and entrepreneurs who make the corridor between London, Birmingham, Mumbai and Bengaluru busier than ever.

As Starmer put it recently in Mumbai, "Our job is to make it easier for you to seize the opportunities." Whether Britain's politics allows him to deliver on that promise may decide if this deal becomes a milestone, or just another memorandum.

Shyam Bhatia is  The Tribune's  London Correspondent.