The White House on Monday released a revised fact sheet titled ‘The United States and India Announce Historic Trade Deal (Interim Agreement),’ which removed a reference to pulses and seemed to soften the language on India’s purchases.

The move assumes significance because Delhi – in a politically sensitive shift – has agreed to partially open its heavily protected agriculture sector to American imports, which is likely to lower animal feedstock and food costs in the country while testing the Narendra Modi government’s balancing act with farmers.

It also assumes significance in the wake of allegations from the Opposition that the Modi government has compromised the interests of India’s farmers in the deal with Washington.

The revised fact sheet on the interim trade deal has dropped “pulses” from the list of American products on which India is expected to eliminate or reduce tariffs.

“India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products,” the revised fact sheet says.

The initial version said India would eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, “certain pulses”, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and other products.

The joint statement issued last week on the interim trade deal had not mentioned “pulses” among the items on which India would eliminate or reduce tariffs.

The White House move underlines that the actual contours of the deal may still not be cast in stone.

The revised fact sheet was issued following a joint statement by India and the US outlining the framework for an interim agreement on reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.

“India intends to buy more American products and purchase over $500 billion of US energy, information and communication technology, coal, and other products,” the revised fact sheet says.

The earlier fact sheet had also stated that India had committed to buying more American products and to purchasing over $500 billion worth of US energy, information and communication technology, agricultural, coal, and other products.

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal has defended the selective opening up of the economy, describing the measure as a “calibrated” one that took into account the interests of Indian MSMEs, farmers, consumers and industry.

“We have not given any concession on wheat, rice, dairy, poultry, meat, maize, millet, sugar, soybean,” Goyal has said.