India, US Reach Agreement on Food Stockpiling: 10 Developments

"India and the United States have resolved their differences on public stockholding of food," Ms Sitharaman said. "This opens the way for implementation of the WTO trade facilitation deal."

At the end of July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled the plug on implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement struck in Bali last year, linking it to the issue of rural poverty in the country.

In a big win for India, the two countries have agreed to an indefinite "peace clause" on food security. It means that India can continue to provide food subsidies to its poor beyond four years.

India refused to bow to foreign calls to scale back a scheme to buy wheat and rice that it distributes to 850 million people. Critics have said the food stockpiling amounts to paying farmers to produce food, which is likely to lead to food surpluses that will get dumped on world markets.

India has wanted to keep the "peace clause," which protects its huge state food purchases, until the World Trade Organization can strike a definitive deal on stockpiling. As originally envisaged in Bali, the clause would expire in four years.

Ms Sitharaman said the new proposals would be reviewed by the World Trade Organization's General Council, and expressed the hope that approval would clear the way for India to sign a protocol enabling implementation of the trade accord.

"WTO General Council will receive India's proposal and US will support us," she tweeted.

"On the basis of this breakthrough with India, we now look forward to working with all WTO members and with Director-General Roberto Azevedo to reach a consensus that enables full implementation of all elements of the landmark Bali Package, including the Trade Facilitation Agreement," US Trade Representative Michael Froman said on Thursday.

Mr Foreman said the India, the US deal meant that the WTO trade facilitation agreement should be implemented without conditions. It made clear that WTO members would not challenge food security programmes under the WTO dispute settlement procedures, until a permanent solution had been agreed upon and adopted, he said.

New Delhi's blockade plunged the WTO into its worst crisis in two decades and backroom efforts were made to break the deadlock; a senior trade ministry official visited Geneva for talks with key WTO members.