India, US have begun to move towards FTA, says Union Minister Piyush Goyal

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India is aiming to eliminate poverty in the next five years to ensure a good quality of life to every household of the country.

"India is poised to be amongst the top 3 economies of the world and our rightful place will be when we achieve for our people a USD 30,000-40,000 per capita income level. Five years from now, we want to make sure that poverty is completely eliminated from India and every home has a decent quality of life," said Goyal while speaking at the "US-India Forum: Partners for Growth" conference here.

"To reach the goal of USD 5 trillion economy, Prime Minister Modi has had extensive consultations with 80 ministries, the entire council of ministers and senior bureaucracy to bring in the interconnectivity between the different thought processes," he added.

He also said that India is aiming for 24 hours-electricity, clean cooking gas, access to the internet by the year 2022.

"Our goal is that by 2022, every family should have their own home with 24 hours electricity, clean cooking gas, access to the internet and good school and healthcare around the home," Goyal said.

The Union minister said that Indian and the US had begun talks to move towards a Free Trade Agreement.

Speaking at the conference organised to coincide with US President Donald Trump's visit to India, Goyal said: "I am delighted that both the leaders (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump) have decided to formally engage to move towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between these two big economies."

"We'll hopefully close the first end of the limited engagement that we have already discussed and nearly finalised, Ambassador Lighthizer and I. We'll get into legal vetting and close that quickly," Goyal said referring to the current United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Over the US President Donald Trump's maiden state visit to India, the Union minister said, "We have had some very productive engagement with the President of USA. The discussions have been extremely positive, in a spirit of collaboration, cooperation and friendship."

Commenting on the Modi-Trump chemistry, Union Minister said: "I think this is a personal relationship that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump share. I think the chemistry between the two leaders is evident in every one of their meetings every time that met and talks to each other.

"And I would not at any point of time think this is to any strategy or, in terms of managing any individually. It's more about the relationship, and more about trust," he added.