The United Kingdom and India have been negotiating a FTA since January last year. The 10th round of negotiations for the FTA recently concluded in the United Kingdom.

Panda was in the United Kingdom for the FICCI Forum of Parliamentarians, a bipartisan initiative for political outreach.

The Indian delegation was briefed on areas of interest in the bilateral relationship over a series of discussions with businesses and parliamentarians.

"As far as Indian businesses are concerned, we are competitive, confident and looking to engage with the world," Panda was quoted as saying by a news agency.

"We hope that this is something that will be concluded and we have offered whatever inputs we had to provide as a chamber to the government of India, or some of our members have also individually provided feedback. So, based on that we're comfortable that common ground will be found for an FTA which is broad-based and works in the interests of both countries," he said.

"When we talk about growth today, the focus is not just on growth but on inclusive and sustainable growth. And talking about the sustainability part of it, when it comes to electric mobility or renewable energy or high-end industrial applications, all of these ultimately boil down to some critical mineral or the other," explained Panda, who is also managing director of Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA).

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)