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India and the United States are conducting a day of discussions, creating optimism that halted negotiations on a mutual pact will shortly restart.

A team led by a United States discussion lead is in the capital to meet officials from India's commerce ministry.

India stated that the meeting does not indicate the start of the next round of talks, describing it as a "exchange" about "trying to see" how an agreement can be reached.

Negotiations on a bilateral agreement had paused after the US President imposed hefty duties on imports, partly as a consequence for India’s buying of energy and defense equipment from Russia. India has defended its action, citing local power demands, and described the tariffs "inequitable".

The large levies, along with strong criticism of the country by the American leader and senior administration figures, have led to a rapid and unexpected deterioration in relations between the friendly countries.

India is a major exporter of goods, including garments, seafood and precious stones and jewelry to the United States, and the tariffs have already impacted output and livelihoods.

So the day’s discussions between Indian and US officials is being carefully monitored.

"This does not represent an formal session of talks but it will definitely be a discussion on the discussions and on attempting to determine how we can reach an pact between both countries," the head of the Indian delegation told local media.

A session of discussions was called off last month following the tariff announcement and the nation’s decision to stop buying Russian oil.

But over the recent period, hopes have risen – US administration officials have appeared more flexible, and India has stated that the negotiations are still on.

On the previous day, a American commerce official stated: "The nation is coming to the table. We will see how this works."

Via a social media exchange between the American leader and the Indian Prime Minister, the US leader said that the two countries were "continuing negotiations to address the trade barriers" between them. In response, the Prime Minister reiterated the positive outlook and said the two countries were "strong allies and ideal allies."

A potential appointee for the next American envoy to the nation also remarked that the pact "will get resolved in the coming period".

"We aren't that distant right now on the pact. In fact, they're discussing the specific details of the deal," he said during a official review last week.

But it is yet to be seen how the governments resolve key issues that had earlier blocked a bilateral agreement from materializing.

Farming and dairy, in especially, are key challenges.

For years, Washington has demanded increased entry to the nation’s agricultural industry, seeing it as a significant undeveloped market. But India has strongly defended it, citing food security, incomes and the welfare of millions of small farmers.

Last week, a United States representative repeated his earlier criticism of India's rigorous defenses, asking why a country of over a billion citizens wouldn't "buy one bushel of American maize".

But local analysts have argued that the nation shouldn't succumb to pressure to expand its farm sector, keeping domestic autonomy and food security in mind.