The deal eliminates more than 85 per cent of tariffs on exports to India.
Economist Bhanu Bhatia from Charles Darwin University says strengthening the trade relationship will reap many benefits.
“There has been tensions that have been increasing China so to stabilise things around our region Australia does need to form other partnerships. Economically, India is a growing market, its’s one of the biggest economies and it’s going to become bigger and bigger. Huge middle class in India and a relatively young population so all of that is going to create huge demand for Australian products and services.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has just released its latest population data based on country of birth.
In 2021, 29 per cent of Australian residents were born overseas, with English-born migrants accounting for the largest group.
But the number of residents born in India saw the largest increase since 2011.
“It’s great to see that increasing trend because in India traditionally when people thought of migration, especially in terms of skilled migration, they thought of UK, US, Canada,” says Ms Bhatia.
