Mumbai: Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra Friday welcomed the signing of the free trade agreement with the UK, saying it will help multiple sectors of the Indian economy.
Speaking at the FE Modern BFSI Summit here, Malhotra said multilateralism has “unfortunately” taken a back seat and the country needs more such pacts (like the UK FTA) with countries and added that negotiations with the US are in “advanced stages”.
“Hopefully it (FTA with UK) should help us… that is the way going forward now, because unfortunately multilateralism seems to have taken a back seat,” Malhotra said in the central bank’s first comments on the trade deal with the UK signed in London.
“It should help various sectors in our manufacturing as well as on the services side,” Malhotra added.
Malhotra said given the current realities where multilateralism has taken a back seat, it is necessary for India to have more such pacts with countries and noted that an agreement with the US is in “advanced stages”.
He also acknowledged that there are many more such pacts in the negotiation stage.
India and the UK signed the FTA during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the UK. The agreement has been in the making for many years now and will open up markets for both countries across goods and services.
Meanwhile, Malhotra backed up his US counterpart Jerome Powell for his work on upholding the Federal Reserve’s independence, at a time when US President Donald Trump has gone public with his disappointment with its policies.
“… He (Powell) is doing a very good job. Maintaining independence of the central bank is very important. I think he has done a commendable job,” Malhotra said.
PTI
