Ain't gonna happen.

"The ongoing negotiations of India for the proposed comprehensive free trade agreements with the UK and European Union are on track," a top government official said in January 2023. ET. In the latest round of talks the EU apparently asked for the rupee to be fully convertible on the capital account. Mint. "As of 2019, the Indian rupee is a partially convertible currency," Investopedia. The rupee is convertible on the current account. "Current account convertibility implies that the Indian rupee can be converted to any foreign currency at existing market rates for trade purposes for any amount." "Capital account convertibility allows freedom to convert local financial assets into foreign financial assets and vice-versa." From Rs 3.31 to one dollar in 1948, bookmyforex.com, to Rs 82.86 to one dollar this morning, xe.com, India's currency has been falling by over 1 rupee per year against the dollar. The slow drip of devaluation of the rupee combined with the negative real interest rate forced on us by the Reserve Bank (RBI) makes it highly possible that millions of Indians will rush to convert their savings into foreign currency to prevent the massive wealth erosion that we are made to suffer. Hence capital account convertibility can never be allowed. "As the Asian currency crisis of 1997 showed, large panic outflows can leave an economy shaken," reminded a Mint editorial. "To minimize exposure, the Tarapore Committee had laid out a path to convertibility with preconditions that had to be met for the sake of safety. The panel asked for fiscal consolidation, a mandated inflation target and the strengthening of our financial system." None of these conditions have been achieved. India's retail inflation rose to 6.52% in January from 5.72% in December, Reuters, "Aiming to reach a fiscal deficit level below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has fixed the deficit the deficit for 2023-24 at 5.9%, ET, and "Aftershocks from the Hindenburg report have knocked out over Rs 10 trillion of Adani Group's market value since its publication late January." Mint. However, capital account convertibility of the rupee is probably the last of the choke points in the negotiations. "The two sides are also negotiating an investment protection agreement (IPA), which will contain investment protection standards and an independent mechanism to settle disputes between investors and states under international law," wrote Prof Prabhash Ranjan. After being made to eat humble pie and return Rs 79 billion to Cairn Energy, which attached Indian properties in France, BS, the government is unlikely to agree to any bilateral investment treaty. Just weeks after the BBC a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK, "BBC offices in India have been searched as part of an investigation by income tax authorities." BBC. Winning an election means total power to commit any ruthless persecution. India will never agree to an IPA. The FTA is never going to happen.