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Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Cabinet approves India-UK free trade agreement: Sources
The cabinet on Tuesday approved the free trade agreement between India and the UK, which will be signed in London on July 24, sources said. The pact, officially called as comprehensive economic and trade agreement , will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to London. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Finance Digital Marketing Degree Public Policy healthcare Artificial Intelligence Product Management Leadership Operations Management Project Management Data Science MBA Others Data Analytics others Healthcare PGDM Cybersecurity CXO Data Science Management MCA Design Thinking Technology Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Fintech & Blockchain India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta SEPO - IIMC CFO India Starts on undefined Get Details Modi's four-day visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives begins Wednesday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Retirees Who Collect Under $3,495/mo SS Could Now Be Entitled To These 'Extra' Benefits Better Finances Learn More Undo Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will accompany the prime minister. The two countries announced the conclusion of the negotiations for the trade agreement on May 6. Live Events The trade pact proposes to remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two economies to USD 120 billion by 2030. The pact has chapters on issues including goods, services, innovation, government procurement, and intellectual property rights. The text of the agreement is generally signed by the commerce ministers from both countries. Once the free trade agreement is signed, it will require approval from the British Parliament before it can take effect. The two countries have also concluded the negotiations for the Double Contribution Convention Agreement , or social security pact . It would help avoid double contribution to social security funds by Indian professionals working for a limited period in Britain. However, the talks for the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) are still going on. The FTA comes into force after signing and ratification by both the countries. In such trade agreements, two countries either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on maximum goods traded between them. They also ease norms for promoting trade in services and bilateral investments. India's exports to the UK rose by 12.6 per cent to USD 14.5 billion, while imports grew by 2.3 per cent to USD 8.6 billion in 2024-25. The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 21.34 billion in 2023-24 from USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Indian women's labour participation decades away from matching G20 peers, economists say: Poll
Indian women's participation in the workforce will take at least two decades to catch up with G20 peers, according to a Reuters poll of economists and policy experts, many of whom said they believed poorly-paid self-employment is inflating an already-low rate. Overall job creation is falling short of the needs of India's mostly young, rapidly-growing working-age population. Women, who make up half of that pool, are largely absent from the workforce and most women with jobs are not formally employed on payrolls. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Finance CXO Cybersecurity Data Science healthcare Others MCA Digital Marketing Artificial Intelligence Product Management Leadership MBA Data Science Degree Design Thinking Management Project Management others Technology Public Policy Operations Management Data Analytics PGDM Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Fintech & Blockchain India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta SEPO - IIMC CFO India Starts on undefined Get Details The official female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) rose to 31.7% from 27.8% in the latest 2023-24 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), but is well short of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2047 development goal to raise it to 70%, putting it more in line with advanced economies. India is at the bottom of the G20 table, behind Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and lower than even neighbouring Bangladesh and Bhutan, according to World Bank data. The G20 average is around 50%. A majority, 80%, of top independent economists and policy experts surveyed over the past month, 32 of 40, said it would take at least 20 to 30 years for India to reach a rate comparable to other G20 economies, including 18 who said it would take more than three decades. The remaining eight said it would take 10-20 years. Live Events "The kind of work women are involved in is not really what we call good jobs or good quality work. It's really just bottom of the ladder, survivalist kind. It's good they're participating but it's not the kind of transformational participation you might imagine," said Ashwini Deshpande, a professor and head of the department of economics at Ashoka University. "The job crisis is much more acute than in countries with similar levels of when jobs are scarce, men get the first priority everywhere," added Deshpande. Only 15.9% of working women are in regular wage or salaried jobs, the kind that come with contracts, steady pay or benefits. While officials have noted the recent rise in female labour force participation as a sign of progress, the latest PLFS survey showed 73.5% of rural working women and over 40% with jobs in urban areas are self-employed. Asked what they make of the official data over 70% of economists surveyed, 32 of 43, said it masked the real picture. " should see household earnings also go up when women are participating and that has not happened, which is a very big marker that this is potentially not the best kind of employment. It's potentially distress-driven," said Rosa Abraham, assistant professor at Azim Premji University. Asked if the recent rise in FLFPR signals real progress, she said: "That level of shift is still nowhere near what you would expect at this level of economic development that we are in and there's still a long way to go." Over 70% of experts said the Indian government's overall unemployment data was inaccurate and masked the severity of joblessness and underemployment. Even when jobs are available, safety concerns and unpaid care work prevent many women from applying. They spend nearly five hours daily on household duties, over three times as much as men, according to the 2025 Time Use Survey. "For women the productive and reproductive age coincide. Hence childcare and lack of suitable facilities serve as a constraint," said Sangeeta Shroff, former professor at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. "To address such issues, it will require aggressive policy intervention which will require considerable time and resources." Asked what the government should prioritise, respondents highlighted expanding childcare, safer workplaces and stronger anti-discrimination measures . Bina Agarwal, professor of development economics and environment at the University of Manchester, said young women need safe hostels in cities and small towns, safe transport to work and enforcement of workplace sexual harassment laws. "These are among many ideas feminist economists in India have been advocating for years. Is anyone listening?" she asked.
