Indian businesses brace for competition after Iran sanctions lift

New Delhi

INDIAN businessman Pankaj Bansal is losing sleep. He says that any nuclear deal under which global powers lift sanctions against Iran could wipe him out. "I have been forced to take sleeping pills now to avoid nightmares as my business with Iran has drastically come down," said Mr Bansal, 43, from his base in a teeming commercial district of South Delhi.

Mr Bansal's trading firm, TMA International, has expanded from metals into motors, car parts and chemicals as rivals were shut out of Iran by Western sanctions aimed at forcing Teheran into a nuclear compromise. Talks to finalise a deal have run deep into overtime but may wrap up on Friday.

He is one of thousands of exporters who enjoyed a three-year run because India did not back the sanctions. In that time, India's exports to Iran doubled to US$5 billion, h…