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Addressing concerns over UK companies entering India's Government Procurement (GP) space under the new India-UK FTA, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said the move will ultimately benefit Indian MSMEs, as UK firms will need to establish manufacturing units in India to remain competitive, benefiting India's MSMEs.
Speaking exclusively to the ANI, Mittal acknowledged that while UK companies can now participate in government procurement, there is a threshold above which they can bid. The concerns on Government Procurement were raised by the experts, who stated that the access to the British firms in the GP process will hinder the compatibility of Indian small firms. As agreed by the two countries, UK-based suppliers will be eligible to bid for government tenders only for orders of more than Rs 200 crore. Market access to the UK under the FTA will be limited to the Non-sensitive central-level entities only, and access for sub-central (state/local government) level entities is excluded. Mittal said that for larger tenders, UK-based companies can compete, but they are required to set up manufacturing units in India to remain competitive. "There's a threshold about which the government procurement, the UK companies can participate. So that means protection for the smaller companies. And for the larger tenders, UK companies can participate, and I would say this is again good because while opening it up to the UK, which is a very special gesture, what would it mean? These companies will have to come to India to set up manufacturing units; otherwise, they will not be competitive," Mittal said. This move, he believes, could be beneficial for both Indian MSMEs and UK companies, ensuring that the latter contribute to India's manufacturing ecosystem while competing in larger government tenders. According to the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, the UK has agreed to take a binding commitment to provide non-discriminatory treatment to our suppliers under the UK's Social Value regime in their public procurement system. Reacting to the signing of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Mittal said, "This is a historic day for India and the UK. For the first time, you're seeing 2 large markets of this size entering into a trade deal, which is a win-win for both sides. This will certainly set the roadmap for our agreements with the EU and some other trading blocs. I would say the US remains a very separate track, which is a very large market. It's a set apart from everybody else." In the presence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the eagerly anticipated historic India-UK Free Trade Agreement was signed, expanding access to goods and services between the two nations. (ANI)
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