India, July 25 -- Forty-two months after India and the UK opened negotiations on a trade deal, the two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on Thursday, dismantling significant tariff and non-tariff barriers for trade. The deal is a hard-won one, considering the long-drawn-out negotiations between the two sides. Given it seems balanced and beneficial from the vantage points of both countries, it has been worth the wait. CETA gives India deeper and wider access to the world's sixth-largest economy, while the UK can tap into India's mammoth market. The deal targets to double bilateral trade in the next five years - up from $57.8 billion in 2024 to around $112 billion by 2030.

To that end, CETA gives India ...