India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement talks from Nov 1
The Hindu
The Commerce and Industry Ministry released a statement after Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s meeting with British International Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss
Formal negotiations for the proposed India-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will begin on November 1, with an interim 'early harvest' agreement to be completed by March 2022, the government said on Tuesday. The interim trade pact would involve early tariff or market access concessions on certain key ‘high priority products and services’, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement, following Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s meeting with his British counterpart, International Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss on Monday. The U.K. government, in a separate statement, said the two ministers agreed on the steps to get ready to launch negotiations ‘later this year’, including a series of trade working groups from September to help both sides ‘better understand each other’s position on potential chapter areas in any trade deal including tariffs, standards, IP and data regulation’.Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”
The festival in Bengaluru is happening at various locations, including ATREE in Jakkur, Bangalore Creative Circus in Yeshwantpur, Courtyard Koota in Kengeri, and Medai the Stage in Koramangala. The festival will also take place in various cities across Karnataka including Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Hassan, Chitradurga, Davangere, Chamarajanagar and Mysuru.