Summary
According to the Australian government, two-way trade between India and Australia stood at $24.3 billion ($18.3 billion) in 2020, up from just $13.6 billion in 2007. One of the main sticking points is agriculture, experts have said, in which Australia wants access to the Indian market, but Modi's government is reluctant to put its domestic farmers - a major vote bank - at risk.
Australia is on the verge of finalizing a free-trade deal with India, with an announcement in the "coming days" as the government works to strike a deal less than two months before an expected May election.
Australia's Trade Minister Dan Tehan said he and his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal were meeting daily and were "getting very close" to reaching an agreement. Tehan said he expects an announcement to be made soon.