With an economic think tank stating that India should avoid rushing into a trade deal with the US, the Congress on Monday warned against MASALA -- Mutually Agreed Settlements Achieved through Leveraged Arm-twisting -- deals, and said in "our desire to curry favour, we have to be very careful".

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Earlier there have been Masala Bonds issued by companies outside India but denominated in rupees. The International Finance Corporation did so in 2014 and 2015 and HDFC and NTPC followed a year later."

Now the New Delhi-based Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI) has sounded a warning on the trade deal being negotiated by India with the US, he said in a post on X.