India, Feb. 3 -- Even as India and US officials held negotiations over the past year to seal a trade deal between the two sides, the Indian government has taken several steps to focus on making the Indian economy resilient and future-ready.

The trade deal announcement was first made by US President Donald Trump, who said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed during a phone call to stop buying Russian oil. Modi, without using the term "trade deal", thanked President Trump "on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India" for the "wonderful announcement" of slashing tariffs from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. Track India-US trade deal live updates

In total, the moves will reduce the overall levies on many Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 ...