Critically evaluate the investment and mobility commitments under India's recent FTAs, taking the India–New Zealand agreement as a case study.

India's new-generation trade pacts — UAE CEPA, Australia ECTA, and the India–New Zealand CECA signed on 27 April 2026 [3] — reach beyond tariffs into investment pledges and Mode-4 mobility. These widen the gains from trade, yet their enforceability remains weak.

Investment commitments — the merit

• New Zealand will facilitate USD 20 billion of investment into India over 15 years [1], giving a long-horizon capital anchor for manufacturing, infrastructure and services.
• Pairing tariff access with capital signals investor confidence and supports Make in India value-addition rather than mere market-swapping.

Investment commitments — the limitation

• The pledge averages roughly USD 1.3 billion a year, against total bilateral trade of only USD 2.24 billion (2025-26) [1] — meaningful, not transformative.
• The verb is "facilitate": governments do not own private capital, and the agreement carries no annual milestone or penalty for shortfall [1]. Such figures are best-effort targets; the real test is India's realised FDI data.

Mobility commitments — the merit

• A Temporary Employment Entry visa pathway offers 5,000 slots for stays up to three years, covering AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, chefs and IT, healthcare and engineering professionals [2].
• First-ever Student Mobility and Post-Study Work annexe, alongside a dedicated Ayurveda/Yoga annexe [4], converts India's soft power into billable services trade.

Mobility commitments — the limitation

• The quota is capped "at any one time" against a 292,092-strong Indian-origin community in New Zealand [1] — a controlled door, not a migration highway.
• Mode-4 under GATS is still treated by partners as immigration policy, so numbered quotas — as in ECTA and CEPA — replace genuine liberalisation.

On balance, these commitments deliver template value rather than immediate revenue: India secured firsts in traditional medicine and student mobility while keeping 29.97% of tariff lines, including dairy, excluded [3]. The way forward is to institutionalise review mechanisms that convert pledged capital and quota slots into audited outcomes, so that economic diplomacy translates into verifiable gains for Indian workers and industry.