FTAs, Not Tariffs, Drive India's Growth: Elara Capital's Harendra Kumar

• Harendra Kumar of Elara Capital argues that Indian markets are overly focused on tariffs, missing the larger impact of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
• India signed key FTAs in 2025, including agreements with the UK, Oman, and New Zealand, to expand market access for exports.
• Kumar states tariffs are a 'non-event' for India, with only a small portion of US exports affected, and markets have already repriced them.
• FTAs represent India's biggest reform since the 1990s, fundamentally changing its geo-economic strategy by opening markets and reducing trade barriers.
• FTAs are crucial for India to achieve 9% growth by boosting manufacturing exports and utilizing existing surplus capacity in export-oriented companies.

Why It Matters: FTAs are India's true growth engine, driving market reforms and export-led expansion, often underestimated by markets.