PM Modi in Australia LIVE: PM invites Australian businesses to invest in India, seeks early conclusion of CECA
At the Australia-India CEOs Forum and an Economic Roadmap Business event in Melbourne, Australian businesses were invited to invest in India, citing sustained economic growth and policy reforms
The event, jointly addressed by the Indian and Australian heads of government, was attended by more than 200 CEOs and business leaders from both countries
Growth in trade and investment ties since the 2022 Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was highlighted, with a call for early conclusion of the broader Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
Collaboration areas discussed included rare earths, lithium, batteries, electronics, electric vehicles, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and defence supply chains
The event formed part of a wider three-nation tour, sequenced after Indonesia and ahead of a visit to New Zealand
India's FDI Policy — Automatic Route vs Government Route
India regulates foreign investment through the FDI Policy administered by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Investment proposals fall into two channels: the Automatic Route, where no prior approval from the government or the Reserve Bank of India is needed, and the Government Route, where proposals require approval from the concerned administrative ministry, used for sectors considered strategically sensitive (e.g., defence, multi-brand retail, print media, telecom in certain cases).
Key Details
- Most sectors permit 100% FDI under the Automatic Route, including IT/ITeS, most manufacturing, e-commerce (marketplace model), and infrastructure such as roads and ports
- Roughly 90% of India's total FDI inflows are received through the Automatic Route
- India's total FDI inflow for FY 2025-26 stood at approximately US $94.5 billion, of which FDI equity inflow was about US $58.8 billion
- The Union Budget 2025-26 proposed raising the FDI cap in the insurance sector to 100% (subject to conditions on premium reinvestment within India)
The investment pitch to Australian businesses is aimed at channelling capital into automatic-route sectors such as critical minerals processing, EV manufacturing and semiconductors — areas explicitly flagged at the CEOs Forum — without requiring case-by-case government clearance.
ECTA to CECA — India-Australia's Trade Agreement Upgrade Path
The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), signed on 2 April 2022 and in force from 29 December 2022, was India's first trade agreement with a developed economy in over a decade. It eliminated tariffs on about 100% of India's exports to Australia and roughly 90% of Australia's exports to India (by value), but as a goods-focused agreement it did not deeply cover services, investment protection or regulatory cooperation — gaps a full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is meant to close.
Key Details
- CECA negotiations began in 2011, stalled in 2016, and resumed in 2021, running parallel to and beyond ECTA's conclusion
- A CECA is expected to add services market access (e.g., professional mobility, education, IT services), investment facilitation, and mutual recognition of qualifications on top of ECTA's tariff concessions
- Bilateral goods-and-services trade between India and Australia was valued at roughly US $24 billion in 2025-26, with a joint target of AUD 100 billion by 2030
- India has followed a similar ECTA/interim-deal-then-CEPA graduation pattern with other partners, such as its early "Interim" trade pact with Australia followed later by deeper negotiations, and its comprehensive UAE CEPA (2022)
The call for "early conclusion of CECA" reflects the graduation of the bilateral relationship from ECTA's narrower tariff elimination to a comprehensive economic partnership, mirroring the CECA/CEPA structure India has pursued with other Indo-Pacific and Gulf partners.
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2020) and the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
India and Australia elevated their bilateral relationship from a Strategic Partnership (2009) to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) at a Virtual Leaders' Summit on 4 June 2020. The CSP created an institutional architecture — spanning defence, trade, critical minerals, education, cyber and critical technology, and people-to-people ties — that now houses the economic engagements such as the CEOs Forum.
Key Details
- The CSP framework led to the creation of a "2+2" Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue, with the inaugural dialogue held in New Delhi in September 2021
- The 2+2 format (foreign and defence ministers meeting jointly) is a mechanism India also uses with the US, Japan, Russia and the UK for its closest strategic partners
- Australia is one of India's Quad partners (alongside the US and Japan), and bilateral economic engagement is often paired with maritime security and defence cooperation announcements
The Melbourne business events sit within this CSP architecture — economic asks (investment, CECA) are being pursued alongside parallel defence and critical-minerals cooperation, consistent with India's practice of bundling strategic and economic tracks with its closest Indo-Pacific partners.
- Australia-India CEOs Forum event: Melbourne, attended by 200+ business leaders from both countries
- ECTA signed: 2 April 2022; in force: 29 December 2022 — India's first FTA with a developed economy in over a decade
- India's FDI equity inflow, FY 2025-26: approximately US $58.8 billion (total FDI inflow ~US $94.5 billion)
- ~90% of India's FDI inflows come through the Automatic Route
- India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established: 4 June 2020
- Inaugural India-Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue: New Delhi, September 2021
- Bilateral trade target: AUD 100 billion by 2030 (current bilateral trade ~US $24 billion, 2025-26)