India-Britain Relations: From Empire to CETA

The English East India Company came to India to trade. Step by step, it won land and the right to collect taxes. Then the British Crown took over from it.

How did the Company win power in Bengal?

The Company won the Battle of Plassey in 1757. This victory broke the power of the Nawab of Bengal. It gave the Company control over the whole of Bengal.

What was the Dewani grant of 1765?

The Dewani is the right to collect land revenue. In 1765 the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II granted it to the Company. The grant covered Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The emperor called it a “free gift”.

What did the Treaty of Allahabad say?

The Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 16 August 1765. It came after the Battle of Buxar. Its main terms were simple:

• The emperor kept Kora and Allahabad as royal land.
• The Nawab of Awadh agreed to pay the Company 50 lakh rupees for the war.
• Banaras and nearby districts went back to the Nawab of Awadh.
• The Company could trade duty free across the Nawab’s lands.

Why did the revolt of 1857 matter?

In May 1857 a huge uprising began against the Company. Sepoys rose first at Meerut. Soon the revolt spread across the plains of north India. It threatened the Company’s very presence in India.

How did the Act of 1858 end Company rule?

The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act, 1858. The Act said the Company’s powers would “cease to be vested in” the Company. Power passed to Queen Victoria.

• A new Secretary of State in London took charge of Indian affairs.
• He took over the powers of the old Board of Control.
• Crown rule then lasted until 1947.

Remember the hinge. 1757 starts Company power. 1858 starts Crown rule. The Act of 1935 is a different law.

Two stories show how unequal the empire years were. One is about a diamond. The other is about an Indian voice in London.

How did the Kohinoor reach Britain?

The Kohinoor is a famous diamond. In 1849 the British took over the Punjab. Maharajah Duleep Singh had to accept a set of terms.

• Term 1: he gave up all claim to rule the Punjab.
• Term 2: the property of the State went to the Company.
• Term 3: the Kohinoor “shall be surrendered” to the Queen of England.
• Term 4: he would get a yearly pension of four to five lakh rupees.

Was the Kohinoor a gift?

The treaty text does not call it a gift. Its key word is “surrendered”. The terms came right after a lost war. So many people still ask whether the transfer was fair. This lesson sticks to what the treaty itself says.

Who was Dadabhai Naoroji?

Dadabhai Naoroji was a businessman and writer who lived in London for many years. He was among the early leaders of the Indian National Congress. He also guided the younger nationalists.

The Congress was founded in December 1885. That year, 72 delegates from all over India met at Bombay.

When did Naoroji sit in the British Parliament?

The House of Commons record lists him as member for Finsbury Central. His term ran from 1 July 1892 to 16 July 1895. So 1892 is the year he won the seat.

His winning margin is reported differently in different places. So this lesson does not give a number.

What was the “drain of wealth”?

Early Congress leaders spoke of a drain of wealth to England. British officers sent a large part of their salaries home. Leaders hoped that more Indians in top jobs would reduce this drain.

India became free in 1947. It soon chose to become a republic. A special deal in 1949 let it stay in the Commonwealth.

How did independence come?

The Indian Independence Act, 1947 set up two new Dominions. They were India and Pakistan. Both came into being on 15 August 1947.

Why was a republic a problem?

A republic has no king or queen as head of state. But Commonwealth members at that time owed “a common allegiance to the Crown”. So could a republic stay inside?

What did the London Declaration say?

In April 1949 Commonwealth leaders met in London. They issued the London Declaration.

• India said it would become a sovereign independent republic.
• India also wished to keep its full membership of the Commonwealth.
• India accepted the King as the symbol of the free association of members.

So loyalty to the Crown was no longer a rule for every member. India stayed in.

When did India become a republic?

India’s Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. From that day India was a republic. The London Declaration came first, in April 1949.

Both are long-term plans for India-UK ties. Roadmap 2030 came first, in 2021. Vision 2035 followed in 2025.

What is Roadmap 2030?

On 4 May 2021 the two Prime Ministers held a virtual summit. They adopted Roadmap 2030 for a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Think of it as a ten-year to-do list.

What trade goal did it set?

The leaders set an ambitious target. They aimed at “more than doubling” UK-India trade by 2030. They also agreed to keep removing trade barriers on the way to a free trade deal.

What is Vision 2035?

On 24 July 2025 Prime Minister Modi met Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers. Chequers is the UK Prime Minister’s country home in Buckinghamshire. There the two leaders adopted the India-UK Vision 2035.

• The leaders first reviewed the whole relationship.
• It steers the partnership for the next ten years.
• It gives new push to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

CETA is a trade deal between India and the UK. Its full name is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. It took three big steps to get from talks to real rules.

How long did the talks take?

The talks ran for fourteen rounds. The deal was concluded on 6 May 2025. “Concluded” means the two sides agreed on the text.

Where and when was CETA signed?

CETA was signed on 24 July 2025 in London. Two ministers put their names to it.

• India: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
• UK: Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

Both Prime Ministers were present at the signing. On the same day, the leaders also met at Chequers. Chequers was a meeting place, not the place of signing.

When did CETA come into force?

CETA came into force on 15 July 2026. Both governments had first finished their own steps and ratifications.

Signing and coming into force are two different steps. Signing shows that both sides mean to keep the deal. Coming into force means the rules now apply.

What is the Double Contribution Convention?

Some workers are sent abroad by their employer for a short stint. Before, they often had to pay social security in both countries. That is called double contribution.

• The Double Contribution Convention (DCC) ends this.
• A worker posted to the UK by an Indian employer pays only at home during the posting.
• The posting limit rose from 3 years to 5 years. UK guidance puts it as 36 to 60 months.
• The DCC came into force on 15 July 2026, the same day as CETA.

CETA cuts taxes on goods that cross the border. Those taxes are called tariffs. Each side gains in its own way.

What does India gain?

India’s main gain is zero-duty access. About 99% of India’s exports to the UK can enter without duty. These cover nearly 100% of trade value.

Note the wording. The 99% figure is about India’s exports. It is not “99% of all trade”.

What does the UK gain?

Scotch whisky is the best-known UK gain. India’s tariff on it was 150%.

• It falls to 75% at once.
• It then drops to 40% over the next ten years.

India will also remove or cut tariffs on 90% of its tariff lines. These lines cover 92% of goods India now buys from the UK.

How big is India-UK trade?

Goods trade reached USD 25.12 billion in 2025-26.

• India’s exports to the UK were USD 13.44 billion.
• India’s imports from the UK were USD 11.68 billion.
• So India had a trade surplus of USD 1.76 billion.

How many people of Indian origin live in Britain?

The 2021 Census counted 1,864,318 people of Indian ethnic group. That is about 1.86 million, or 3.1% of people in England and Wales. Note the limit. This figure leaves out Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Who leads the UK now?

Andy Burnham became UK Prime Minister on 20 July 2026. He gave his first speech that day in Downing Street.

• 21 July 2026: Modi congratulated him. Modi noted that CETA was entering into force that month.
• 31 July 2026: the two leaders spoke by phone.

What did the two leaders discuss?

The UK account of the call gives the main points:

• Burnham “underlined the value” of the recently introduced Free Trade Agreement.
• They discussed the Middle East and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
• They hoped to meet in person soon.

Exams test dates, places and the order of events. Here are the traps that come up most.

What are the common traps?

1. Which Act ended Company rule? The Act of 1858, not the Act of 1935.
2. Who created the Secretary of State for India? The same 1858 Act.
3. When did Naoroji win? In 1892, for Finsbury Central.
4. Which came first? The London Declaration in April 1949, then the Constitution in January 1950.
5. Three CETA dates. Concluded in May 2025, signed in July 2025, in force in July 2026.
6. Where was it signed? In London, by two ministers. The leaders met at Chequers.
7. What does 99% mean? Zero-duty access for India’s exports, not 99% of all trade.

Which past questions have come up?

Here are three real past questions from one paper, in the order they appear below.

The answer is (b). The 1858 Act gave the Company’s powers to a Secretary of State in London.

The answer is (d). The emperor got Kora and Allahabad. Banaras went back to the Nawab of Awadh.

The site’s key gives (b). Statement II is the empire’s own defence. It is not the reason behind Naoroji’s view.

How can you remember the order?

Think “57, 58, 47, 50” for the empire years. Then think “May, July, July” for CETA: concluded, signed, in force.