India-EU trade deal is a pact whose time has come |
After several years of negotiations, the India-EU trade deal appears to be inching towards a conclusion. Twenty out of the 24 chapters in the free trade agreement are said to have been finalised. The intent, according to a report in this newspaper, is to reach an agreement before the visit of EU leaders to India this month — the President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be chief guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations. Successfully concluding the deal now — it........