FTAs to open overseas opportunities for Indian professionals: Commerce Secretary

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said legally binding FTA commitments on professional services will expand overseas opportunities for Indian professionals, stressing skill upgrades, global best practices, MRAs and stakeholder coordination to leverage India’s demographic dividend and boost services exports

New Delhi: Legally binding commitments on professional services such as chartered accountants, doctors and architects under various Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed by India will help open up overseas opportunities for these professionals, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said.

He has stated that India’s demographic dividend offers immense potential to meet the rising global demand for professional services.

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To tap into this potential, Agrawal said, it is critical to adopt global best practices and equip professionals with upgraded skills aligned with evolving global market needs and technological developments.

He also encouraged professional bodies like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to organise and participate in international conferences to enable knowledge sharing and provide platforms for enhanced collaboration.

The secretary said this while addressing a brainstorming session on ‘Expanding Global Horizons: Opportunities for Indian Professionals’ on December 23 here.

Agrawal, it said “emphasised the importance of enhanced stakeholder coordination, reforms in the domestic ecosystem, and legally binding commitments on professional services under various FTAs to unlock global markets for Indian professional services.

India has received commitments under various free trade agreements, including the recently announced pact with New Zealand, for easier norms and visa facilitation for its professionals.

As many as 5,000 of India professionals such as yoga instructors, chefs, Ayush professionals, IT, education teachers, nurses, caregivers, will get professional visas for serving the New Zealand economy under the pact.

Four main issues were deliberated upon in the sessions – Making Globally Ready Professionals; Strengthening International Mobility through MRAs (mutual recognition agreements) and MoUs; Developing Networks, Formation and Expansion of Professional Chapters Abroad; and Leveraging FTAs for Boosting Professional Services Exports.

Discussions on MRAs centred on key challenges associated with entering into these agreements as well as ensuring effective utilisation of existing pacts.

“Emphasis was placed on the need for clear outcome metrics to assess the effectiveness of MRAs. Discussions also focused on making India’s sectoral regulatory frameworks more ‘recognition-ready’ for pursuing MRAs,” the ministry said, adding emphasis was placed on the need for greater openness within the Indian professional services landscape to foreign professionals practising in India to craft win-win outcomes.

Issues related to data privacy and protection, as well as opportunities arising from foreign universities setting up branches in India, were also discussed.

India’s services exports stood at about US$ 390 billion in 2024-25.