Addressing a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) conference in New Delhi on 19 May, Additional Secretary Darpan Jain described the recently-concluded India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as the “mother of all deals” and singled out professional mobility as one of its 20 pillars. According to the official, the FTA creates a predictable framework for the temporary movement of intra-corporate transferees, contractual service suppliers and independent professionals, with the EU covering 144 of 155 services sub-sectors in its schedule. For global mobility managers, the headline changes include fast-track visas of up to three years for Indian ICT staff, mutual recognition of professional qualifications in IT, engineering and healthcare, and a commitment to negotiate bilateral social-security totalisation agreements within two years of entry into force. The agreement also establishes a joint committee empowered to resolve work-permit bottlenecks within 30 days—a feature the Commerce Ministry says is the first of its kind in any Indian trade deal. Universities and corporate training providers will likewise benefit: the mobility chapter contains a dedicated annex on academic recognition and sets a target of doubling Indian student enrolment in EU master’s programmes by 2030. Digital payment integration between India’s UPI system and EU Instant Credit Transfer rails is expected to support fee-free stipend remittances for secondees. Implementation will take at least 12 months while both sides ratify the 1,800-page agreement. Nevertheless, multinationals such as Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services have already begun mapping intra-EU deployment strategies, anticipating lower compliance costs and shorter lead times once the new visa categories are operational.
Source: The Tribune (ANI wire)
