Mumbai: The free trade agreements (FTAs) finalised by India in the last three and a half years will help provide duty-free access to domestic goods, boost the country's exports and generate lakhs of jobs for people, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
He said that India and New Zealand have recently signed a trade pact, under which the island nation will invest USD 20 billion (about Rs 2 lakh crore) in India.
"We are opening new markets for the Indian industry and taking steps to support them ... we have finalised nine FTAs in the last three and a half years ... recently we have signed with New Zealand ... it will help create jobs for lakhs of people," Goyal told reporters here.
India and New Zealand on March 27 inked a 'once-in-a-generation' trade pact, giving duty-free access to 100 per cent of domestic exports, including textiles, leather footwear, and gems and jewellery, in the island nation.
The pact is expected to be implemented by the end of this year as it requires New Zealand Parliament's approval. In India, the Union cabinet approves a trade pact.
For the second time in a trade deal, India has received an FDI (foreign direct investment) commitment of USD 20 billion over 15 years. A similar commitment of USD 100 billion was made by four-European nation bloc EFTA in its pact with India.