Context

• The India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA), hailed as a landmark achievement, has triggered concerns about India compromising on critical aspects of its digital sovereignty. While agricultural and manufacturing sectors received attention, the editorial raises red flags over overlooked concessions in digital trade that may jeopardise India's long-term strategic autonomy and economic competitiveness. 

Background

• The India-U.K. FTA, called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), has been promoted as a "gold standard" by the Indian government.
• While agriculture and labour-intensive manufacturing were treated as sensitive sectors, digital trade - despite its crosssectoral impact, was neglected in scrutiny. 
• The editorial critiques this neglect and argues that India's digital sovereignty has been compromised. 

India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) 

• Trade Boost: Aims to double bilateral trade to $120 billion by 2030. 
• Tariff Elimination: Removes tariffs on 99% of Indian and 90% of UK tariff lines. 
• Indian Sectoral Gains: Benefits for labour-intensive sectors (textiles, leather, toys, gems & jewelry), engineering goods, chemicals, marine, sports goods, and auto parts. 
• UK Sectoral Gains: Increased access for whisky, salmon, chocolate, and advanced manufacturing. Farming: Protects traditional farming knowledge through patent recognition. 
• MSMES: Indian MSMEs gain access to UK government procurement. 
• Professional Mobility: Eased visa norms for Indian professionals in IT, finance, engineering, education, yoga, etc. 
• Regulatory Improvements: Simplifies customs, reduces non-tariff barriers. 
• Global Benchmark: Positions India-UK CETA as a model for fair, modern, and ambitious trade deals between democracies.

Challenges Highlighted

• Loss of Sovereign Regulatory Rights: India agreed not to seek ex ante source code disclosure for foreign digital products/services, a reversal of its earlier stand at WTO. This affects India's ability to ensure software compliance, security, and real-time upgrades across sectors like AI, telecom, and health.
• Data Sovereignty Undermined: India agreed to give equal and non-discriminatory access to its Open Government Data to U.K. entities. 
• Erosion of Future Negotiating Power: India's commitment to offer the U.K. the same digital trade terms extended to any future partner weakens its strategic flexibility.
• No Political Constituency for Digital Sovereignty: Unlike agriculture or manufacturing, digital sovereignty lacks a powerful lobbying group, resulting in underrepresentation in trade talks.
• Risks of Becoming a Digital Colony: The editorial warns of a historical parallel with colonial exploitation — India might again be giving away critical resources (data, regulatory power) without adequate safeguards.

Way Forward

• Develop a Digital Sovereignty and Industrialisation Policy: India must articulate a coherent policy that integrates digital governance, data rights, and strategic trade goals.
• Reform Trade Negotiation Framework: Include domain experts on digital sovereignty in FTA teams. Negotiators should have regular access to top political leadership to align with long-term national interest.
• Maintain Regulatory Space: Avoid permanent rule-making in FTAs that undermines India’s autonomy in shaping digital norms and platforms.
• Shift to Proactive Strategy: Move from a reactive to a proactive, vision-based engagement with global digital governance.