FTAs to boost global opportunities for Indian professionals: Commerce Secretary

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

Agrawal said India’s demographic dividend offers significant potential to meet the growing global demand for professional services. To leverage this advantage, he said it is important to adopt global best practices and ensure that Indian professionals are equipped with upgraded skills aligned with changing global market requirements and technological developments.

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

The Commerce Secretary was addressing a brainstorming session on ‘Expanding Global Horizons: Opportunities for Indian Professionals’ on December 23.

Agrawal emphasised the need for stronger 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 secured commitments under several free trade agreements, including the recently announced pact with New Zealand, which provides for easier norms and visa facilitation for Indian professionals.

Under the India–New Zealand agreement, around 5,000 Indian professionals, including yoga instructors, chefs, Ayush professionals, IT and education teachers, nurses and caregivers, will receive professional visas to serve the New Zealand economy.

The session deliberated on four key areas — making Indian professionals globally ready; strengthening international mobility through mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) and memoranda of understanding (MoUs); developing networks and expanding professional chapters abroad; and leveraging FTAs to boost exports of professional services.

Discussions on MRAs focused on challenges related to entering into such agreements and ensuring effective utilisation of existing pacts. Emphasis was placed on the need for clear outcome metrics to assess the effectiveness of MRAs.

The discussions also highlighted the need to make India’s sectoral regulatory frameworks more “recognition-ready” to facilitate the pursuit of MRAs. The ministry said emphasis was also placed on greater openness within the Indian professional services landscape to allow foreign professionals to practise in India, with the aim of achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.

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

India’s services exports stood at about USD 390 billion in 2024–25.