Title: Trade Relations Between India and The United Kingdom: From Colonial
Legacies To The 2025 Free Trade Agreement
Authors:
Aadya Sharma and Udbhav Sachan
Journal:
International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER)
ISSN: 2455-8834
Volume:
11
Issue:
7
Publication Date:
July 2026
DOI:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i07.014
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Aadya Sharma and Udbhav Sachan
Birla Vidya Niketan, New Delhi
MLA 8 Sharma, Aadya, and Udbhav Sachan. "Trade Relations Between India and The United Kingdom: From Colonial Legacies To The 2025 Free Trade Agreement." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 7, July 2026, pp. 3059-3072, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i07.014. Accessed July 2026.
APA 6 Sharma, A., & Sachan, U. (2026, July). Trade Relations Between India and The United Kingdom: From Colonial Legacies To The 2025 Free Trade Agreement. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(7), 3059-3072. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i07.014
Chicago Sharma, Aadya, and Udbhav Sachan. "Trade Relations Between India and The United Kingdom: From Colonial Legacies To The 2025 Free Trade Agreement." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 7 (July 2026), 3059-3072. Accessed July, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i07.014.
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ABSTRACT:
This research paper delves into the transformative evolution of the economic and strategic
relationship between India and the United Kingdom. It spans from the 17th-century colonial
encounter to the contemporary era of the 2025 Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The study traces
India’s historical shift from a dominant global industrial power to a colonial supplier of raw
materials. Its share of global industrial output plummeted from 25% in 1750 to just 2% by 1900.
The paper further analyses India’s post-independence phase of import-substitution
industrialisation and the subsequent 1991 liberalisation. These events led to a reversal of
economic hierarchies, exemplified by major Indian acquisitions of British industrial icons.
Finally, the research examines the impact of Brexit as a structural rupture that compelled the
UK to prioritise India as a strategic partner.
Through cooperation in defence, technology security, and healthcare, the research argues that
the bilateral tie has matured into an interdependent alliance. This alliance is shaped by the
Roadmap 2030 and a vibrant 1.86 million-strong diaspora.
The International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research Inviting Papers/Articles for Upcoming Issue Volume 11 No. (10) October 2026 .
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