The Ideas Page: For Delhi and Brussels, challenge is to move from breakthroughs to delivery 9 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE AHMEDABAD, LATE CITy, 18 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I Ly F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A n D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K n O W , M U M B A I , n AG P U R , PAT n A , P U n E , VA D O DA R A seCurity And defenCe pArtnership, mobility frAmeworK Among 13 pACts ‘equity regulAtions’ India and EU seal the deal No discrimination against anybody: Govt after protests on new UGC norms FTA: ‘Not just a trade agreement, a new blueprint for shared prosperity... sending a clear message to the world’ shubhajit roy & ravi dutta mishra New Delhi, January 27 SEALING wHAT they called “a  new  blueprint”  and  the  “mother of all deals”, India and  the  European  Union  announced  Tuesday  that  they  had reached a free trade agreement, “a milestone” in their  strategic partnership to deepen  economic  ties  and  “drive  shared prosperity”.  The  FTA,  clinched  after  nearly two decades of negotiations between the two sides  representing 2 billion people,  comes  at  a  time  when  both  India and the EU have been hit  by the Trump administration’s  steep tariffs, adding urgency to  their search for markets elsewhere.  The pact, once it is vetted  and  ratified,  will  eliminate  duties on 99.5% of Indian exports, including textiles and  gems, while reducing tariffs on  97% of EU goods, such as cars  and wine, to 0% in many cases.   Firming up 13 outcomes at  their summit meeting in New  Delhi, India and the EU signed  the conclusion of the FTA negotiations, a security and defence partnership, a mobility  framework and a joint IndiaEuropean Union Comprehensive Strategic Agenda 20262030.  Prime Minister Narendra  Modi,  speaking  alongside  European Council President  Antonio Luis Santos da Costa  and  European  Commission  President  Ursula  von  der  Leyen, said, “Today is another  historic  occasion,  when  the  world’s two largest democratic  powers are adding a decisive  chapter  to  their  relations.  Today, India has concluded the  largest Free Trade Agreement  in its history so far.”  »Continued on pAge 2  After two decades of negotiations, how the deal was clinched Anil sasi New Delhi, January 27 THE  INDIA-EUROPEAN  Union Free Trade Agreement  (FTA), nearly two decades in the making, has  finally  gone  through.  But there was another  point when a trade deal  appeared tantalisingly  close to fruition — only  to be jettisoned.  This was 2013, when the 27nation bloc’s chief negotiator,  Ignacio García Bercero, was  abruptly moved out, effectively  shutting the window of opportunity.  The lessons appear to have  been learnt this time.  Officials on the Indian side  testified to a palpable need for  urgency, fearing that the impetus could be lost and the window could close again.  The deal attempts to be far  more  pragmatic.  It  takes  a  graded approach to contentious  issues  such  as  automobiles,  spirits, and has left out agriculture products altogether.  And, the key difference from the last time  is evolving geopolitics.  America’s  shadow  on  global trade and politics  has created a broader  strategic  objective  beyond trade gains.  IN A significant departure on  Ukraine, India signed off on a  joint statement with the EU  which said they would support efforts based on the principles of  “independence, sovereignty and territorial  integrity”. This is an important framing since this goes  against what Russia has been  asking for. India and the EU  have so far differed on Russia’s  actions on Ukraine, and these  divergences have dominated  the Delhi-Brussels discourse  over the last four years.    PAge 10 New Delhi, January 27 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with European Council President Antonio Costa (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der leyen during their meeting at hyderabad house, in new delhi, on Tuesday. PTI l How the deal fell last time The first round of India-EU  trade  talks  was  initiated  in  2007. By October 2013, New  Delhi  and  Brussels  had  exchanged offers on tariffs and  services, and were focusing on  identifying the outlines of a  possible  agreement  for  the  tricky market-access component of the FTA.   »Continued on pAge 2  inside wHo gains wHaT, wHaT nexT For india Marine sector Chemical the editoriAl pAge PAge 8 For eU Before FTa after FTa up to 26% 0% up to 12.8% 0% Leather & footwear up to17% 0% Plastic & rubber Textile & apparel Base metal Gems & jewellery up to 6.5% up to 12% up to 10% up to 4% 0% 0% 0% 0% Railway, aircraft, ships up to 7.7% 0% Furniture & light consumer goods up to 10.5% Toys Sports goods E. Shift on Ukraine in joint statement Abhinaya hargovind, Vikas pathak & Vidheesha Kuntamalla up to 4.7% up to 4.7% Before FTa after FTa Motor vehicles 110% 10% (quota of 250k/yr) Wine 150% 20% (premium); 30% (medium) Spirits Beer Olive Oil Kiwis & pears up to 150% 110% up to 45% 33% 40% 50% 0% 10% (in-quota) Machinery & electrical equipment up to 44% 0% for most products 0% Aircraft & spacecraft Iron and steel Pharma up to 11% up to 22% 11% 0% for most items 0% for most items 0% for most items 0% 0% Processed food (bread, biscuit, pasta, up to 50% chocolate, pet-food) 0% l India’s labour-intensive annual exports worth $35 billion benefit immediately lDeal expected to come into effect by early next year lSigning of the deal expected later this year lIndia will receive same flexibility as US on EU’s carbon tax lLegal scrubbing to take 4-5 months SOURCE: COMMERCE & InDUSTRy MInISTRy, EUROPEAn UnIOn Big swap: Automobiles, wine Mobility pact eases options for labour-intensive goods for Indian students, workers ravi dutta mishra New Delhi, January 27 REFLECTING INDIA’S priority  to shore up trade-linked jobs in  textiles, footwear and the marine sector amid the US tariff hit,  and Europe’s bid to revive its industrial base through automobile exports in the face of Chinese  competition  in  global  markets, New Delhi and Brussels closed negotiations on a  high-stakes trade-off: EU access for automobiles and wine  in return for concessions on In- dia’s labour-intensive sectors.  The market access trade-off  assumes significance as IndiaEU trade talks had collapsed in  2013 over market access negotiations  for  automobiles.  For  India, zero duty on labour-intensive goods brings it at par  with competing countries, particularly with Vietnam, which  signed a trade agreement with  the EU in 2019, which helped it  assume a key role in the global  supply chain.  Commerce Ministry officials   »Continued on pAge 2  divya A & shubhajit roy New Delhi, January 27 IN A new framework to facilitate movement of people, India  and the European Union have  signed a mobility pact aimed at  easing the movement of Indian  students, workers and professionals across 27 EU member  countries.  This comes at a time when  the  US  is  making  H1-B  and  other visa routes for Indian  citizens  more  expensive,  stricter.  Under the new framework  for mobility, the EU has committed to “an uncapped mobility for Indian students”, according  to  officials,  allowing  Indians greater ease to travel,  study  and  work  across  EU  states.  There  are  already  around 1.20 lakh Indian students across the EU, with Germany  clocking  in  around  50,000,  making  Indian  students the largest group of international  students  in  the  country.  »Continued on pAge 2  Happening ready To show all documenTs; delighTed ThaT govT gave me Padma honour: 74-year-old arTisTe today Gujarat BJP leader objects to his name on poll roll, l lthe budget session begins with President Droupadi Murmu’s address at a joint sitting of both Houses. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1. The government has rejected the Opposition's demand for discussions on the VB-G RAM G Act and the Special Intensive Revision. luK prime minister Keir Starmer will meet China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang during his visit to Beijing and Shanghai — the first by a British leader since 2018. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com dholak player is on another list — Padma Shri Kamal saiyed Earlier, BJP corporator from  the Junagadh Municipal Corporation (JuMC), Sanjay ManDAYS  AFTER  a  controversy  vara, filed an objection through  when a BJP leader raised an ob- Form 7 under the Special Intenjection to the name of dholak  sive Revision (SIR) exercise beartiste Mir Haji Kasam in Guja- fore the Election Commission  rat's electoral roll, Kasambhai's  on January 13  raising an objecname featured in the  tion to the inclusion  page 1 list  of  the  Padma  of the name of Haji  awardees  (Padma  Rathod  and  his  Shri) announced on  family in the electothe eve of Republic Day.  ral rolls citing  “absent/permaThe 74-year-old artiste, re- nently shifted” on the form as  ferred to by many as Mir Hajib- the reason.  The  Congress  party  has  hai Kasambhai, is also known  as 'Haji Ramakdu' and 'Haji Ra- taken up the issue, with the  thod'.  leader of Opposition in the muSurat, January 27 anchor mir haji kasam nicipal corporation, Lalit Pansara, showing a copy of 'form 7'  filed by Manvara at a press conference in Junagadh on Tuesday while demanding legal ac- tion against the BJP leader. The  party's state unit spokesperson,  Manish Doshi, posted on X an  image of the  form.  Pansara told The Indian Express, “Haji Ramakdu is a noted  and respectable person in Junagadh as a talented 'dholak  vadak”.  The  Centre  has  announced his name and honoured him with the Padma Shri  award two days ago. He is the  pride of Junagadh, Gujarat and  India, as he has done 3,000  shows across the country and  internationally.  He  was  awarded the Gujarat Garima   »Continued on pAge 2  A SignAl of freer trAde, A good AUgUry AMID PROTESTS over the recently notified “equity regulations” for higher education institutes by the University Grants  Commission  (UGC),  Union  Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Tuesday that  no one would be allowed to misuse the provisions and that “discrimination will not be allowed  against anybody”.  “... Oppression will not be  allowed  against  anybody…  there won’t be discrimination…  Nobody will have the right to  misuse (the regulations)... The  UGC,  Union  government  or  state governments... there will  be responsibility,” Pradhan told  mediapersons.   The  regulations,  which  were notified on January 13,  were “within the ambit of the  Constitution” and “done under  the supervision of the Supreme  Court”, he added.  The  UGC  (Promotion  of  Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, which  replace the 2012 equity regulations of the commission, have  Business as Usual eConomy PAge 16 indiA’S biggeSt chAllenge: eU’S regUlAtory regiMe By EP UNNY EXPLAINED how new Ugc norMS ShArPen ProviSionS on cASte biAS PAge 14 seen protests by groups, mostly  on social media, claiming that  these could be used to “harass”  general category students and  create  “caste  divisions”.  On  Tuesday, some students protested outside the UGC office in  Delhi seeking the withdrawal of  the regulations.  On Monday, Bareilly City  Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri  announced his resignation citing  the  regulations,  among  other reasons, while there were  reports of 11 BJP office-bearers  in Uttar Pradesh stepping down  in protest.   The main objection that has  been raised is that there is no  provision for penalties in the  regulations against “false complaints of discrimination”, and  that institutions can be subjected to action for not complying with the regulations.  »Continued on pAge 2  THE BIG PICTURE AUto StockS SlUMP, bUt textile coMPAnieS cliMb explAined PAge 14 how Shifting trAde windS nUdged indiA-eU tAlkS AcroSS finiSh line A carrot story Sikandrabad is now a carrot hub. Meet the former Army man behind this PAge 13