London, Dec 1 (TIWN) India and Britain are provisionally scheduled to embark on quite ambitious negotiations later this month, with the objective of arriving at a services driven Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries by early 2024.

An upbeat UK India Business Council (UKIBC) posted on its website: "We believe it is both the right ambition and is eminently achievable."   The UKIBC, however, added: "An open dialogue between businesses and government will be critical for successful FTA negotiations."   It has already held 18 pre-FTA consultation roundtables with businesses as part of consultation and gathering intelligence. These took place in partnership with the British government's Department of International Trade (DIT).  The DIT said: "Preparations for the launch of negotiations for the UK-India FTA remain underway, and DIT continues to engage counterparts in the government of India."   It confirmed that bilateral working groups had met face-to-face in Delhi in October.