From left, India’s Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta and Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in Washington on Jan. 13. (Photo, as it appears on www.indianembassy.org)

NEW YORK : India and the United States are on the verge of inking a newSkies agreement that will remove all restrictions in the number of airline seats and destinations between the two countries.

The agreement, expected to be signed in February or March, is set to dramatically increase the options of air travelers to and from the U.S.

“We have to finalize details of a new agreement. Once that is done we expect to sign it in February or March when U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta is likely to visit India,” visiting Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told News India-Times in a phone interview.

“Broadly we feel the new agreement will favor us rather than the U.S. since no major airline flies to that part of the world,” Patel, who met with Mineta in Washington on Jan 13, said.

Patel said historically aviation has been seen as “elitist” in India, but for any developing economy “air services are vital and should be given the importance they deserve.”

“We need more connectivity in a country of a billion people, which is a sixth of the humanity. We need to progress from generation X to generation next,” he said.

The U.S. has signed similar agreements with 66 other countries.

Once the agreement is signed, airlines of both countries can fly to any city in each other’s territory, without restrictions on flights, airlines and charters.

There will be more direct flights to serve the approximately two million passengers a year traveling between the two countries.

While details are still being worked out, India has been seeking to be allowed to fly to more American cities besides the existing destinations of New York, Newark, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Mineta said: “We have before us the opportunity to give the people of India and the U.S. a modern ‘Skies’ agreement that will deliver tremendous benefits for the aviation industry and for consumers in both countries, building ties between our people and creating new jobs and opportunities.”

He noted that India and the U.S. are the world’s two largest democracies and two of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Trade between the two nations totalled $18 billion in 2003, a 13.5 percent increase from the previous year, and was growing at an even faster pace in 2004, said Mineta.

“Our goal is to do more than shake the cobwebs off a half-century old agreement,” the secretary said. “We seek to usher in a new era where consumers, rather than governments, determine what markets air carriers serve and what fare and service options they provide.”