India–New Zealand FTA to Enter into Force on 20 October 2026

The correct answer is 20 October 2026. On 21 September 2026, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand's Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay announced that the agreement would come into force on that day, which is Dussehra–Vijayadashami. Goyal said the auspicious day had been chosen on purpose.

The other dates are all connected with the agreement, which is why they mislead. 27 April 2026 is the date the FTA was signed at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. 16 September 2026 is the date New Zealand's Parliament passed the legislation needed to implement it. 1 January 2027 has no link with the agreement at all. Keep the three dates in order: signed in April, approved by New Zealand's Parliament in September, in force from October.

The correct answer is USD 20 billion. The agreement includes New Zealand's commitment to facilitate investment of this amount into India, and the Commerce Ministry says it is expected to benefit Indian agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and start-ups.

The other figures are distractors. Do not confuse the investment commitment with the trade target: under the Strategic Partnership "Roadmap to 2030", the two countries aim to double two-way trade in goods and services to NZ$7 billion, about ₹35,000 crore, by 2030. Bilateral merchandise trade was only about USD 1.1 billion in 2025-26, which shows how much room there is to grow. Investment commitments of this kind have become a feature of India's recent trade agreements with developed economies, alongside tariff cuts.

The correct answer is 5,000. The agreement sets aside a dedicated quota of 5,000 Temporary Employment Entry visas for skilled Indian professionals, giving them a clear route to work in New Zealand.

The figure of 1,000 is also in the agreement, but for a different visa: it is the number of Working Holiday visas available each year to young Indians, which makes it the most tempting wrong answer. 3,000 and 10,000 are distractors. The services chapter also opens about 118 sectors, including IT, professional services, audio-visual, construction and tourism, with Most-Favoured Nation treatment in about 139 sub-sectors. For students, there is no cap, and STEM graduates get post-study work rights of up to three years, while doctoral scholars get up to four.

The correct answer is Dairy products. To safeguard farmers, India has excluded sensitive products from tariff concessions: dairy, animal meat except sheep meat, key agricultural commodities, sugar and edible oils. This matters because New Zealand is one of the world's largest dairy exporters, and dairy has long been India's most sensitive issue in trade talks.

The other three options are the opposite case. Wooden logs, coking coal and metal scrap are inputs that Indian manufacturers will now be able to import from New Zealand free of duty, which lowers their costs and helps them compete in global markets. For New Zealand's apples, kiwifruit and Manuka honey, the agreement offers only limited access through tariff rate quotas with a minimum import price and seasonal windows, backed by an Agriculture Productivity Partnership to help Indian growers.