India-US Relations
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relationship should be evaluated on facts not on airy fairy feelings and bombastic words.
US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is engaged in about 200 activities in India and its portfolio has the potential to unlock $37 billion in financing in various sectors .
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Working on 200 projects worth $ 37 billion in India: USTDA Director Enoh T Ebong
Speaking to journalists in Delhi, she said, “There are 200 activities in India across clean energy transportation, digital infrastructure, and health care. We estimate that portfolio will unlock $ 37 billion in financing if these projects are implemented.”
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nuland’s travel to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Qatar
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will travel to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Qatar from January 28 to February 3, 2023.In Nepal, Under Secretary Nuland will engage with the new government on the broad agenda of the U.S. partnership with Nepal.
While in India, the Under Secretary will lead the U.S.-India annual “Foreign Office Consultations” which cover the full range of bilateral, regional, and global issues. She will also meet with young tech leaders.
In Sri Lanka, Under Secretary Nuland will mark the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Sri Lanka relations and offer continued U.S. support for Sri Lanka’s efforts to stabilize the economy, protect human rights, and promote reconciliation.
And finally, in Qatar, the Under Secretary will discuss global issues under the framework of the U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue. She will also engage counterparts on Qatar’s critical support for the relocation of Afghans with ties to the United States and our bilateral arrangement on the protection of U.S. interests in Afghanistan.
Experts are citing these talks as the biggest thing since the 123 agreement . Let's see what we get out of this .
FACT SHEET: United States and India Elevate Strategic Partnership with the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)
President Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022 to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries.The United States and India affirm that the ways in which technology is designed, developed, governed, and used should be shaped by our shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights. We are committed to fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem, based on mutual trust and confidence, that will reinforce our democratic values and democratic institutions.
Today, the two National Security Advisors led the inaugural meeting of the iCET in Washington, DC. They were joined on the U.S. side by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Director of the National Science Foundation, the Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, and senior officials from the Department of State, Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, and the National Security Council. On the Indian side, the Ambassador of India to the United States, the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, the Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, the Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister, the Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organization, and senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the National Security Council Secretariat participated. The two sides discussed opportunities for greater cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, co-development and coproduction, and ways to deepen connectivity across our innovation ecosystems. They noted the value of establishing “innovation bridges” in key sectors, including through expos, hackathons, and pitch sessions. They also identified the fields of biotechnology, advanced materials, and rare earth processing technology as areas for future cooperation.
The United States and India underlined their commitment to working to resolve issues related to regulatory barriers and business and talent mobility in both countries through a standing mechanism under iCET. This followed the January 30 roundtable hosted by the U.S.-India Business Council with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and other senior U.S. and Indian officials and brought together more than 40 CEOs, university presidents, and thought leaders from both countries to accelerate opportunities for increased technology cooperation.
To expand and deepen our technology partnership, the United States and India are launching new bilateral initiatives and welcoming new cooperation between our governments, industry and academia in the following domains:
Strengthening our Innovation Ecosystems
- Signing a new Implementation Arrangement for a Research Agency Partnership between the National Science Foundation and Indian science agencies to expand international collaboration in a range of areas — including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and advanced wireless — to build a robust innovation ecosystem between our countries.
- Establishing a joint Indo-U.S. Quantum Coordination Mechanism with participation from industry, academia, and government to facilitate research and industry collaboration.
- Drawing from global efforts to develop common standards and benchmarks for trustworthy AI through coordinating on the development of consensus, multi-stakeholder standards, ensuring that these standards and benchmarks are aligned with democratic values.
- Promoting collaboration on High Performance Computing (HPC), including by working with Congress to lower barriers to U.S. exports to India of HPC technology and source code.
Defense Innovation and Technology Cooperation
- Developing a new bilateral Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap to accelerate technological cooperation between both countries for the joint development and production, with an initial focus on exploring projects related to jet engines, munition related technologies, and other systems.
- Noting the United States has received an application from General Electric to jointly produce jet engines that could power jet aircraft operated and produced indigenously by India. The United States commits to an expeditious review of this application.
- Enhancing long-term research and development cooperation, with a focus on identifying maritime security and intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) operational use cases.
- Launching a new “Innovation Bridge” that will connect U.S. and Indian defense startups.
Resilient Semiconductor Supply Chains
- Enhancing bilateral collaboration on resilient semiconductor supply chains; supporting the development of a semiconductor design, manufacturing, and fabrication ecosystem in India; and leveraging complementary strengths, both countries intend to promote the development of a skilled workforce that will support global semiconductor supply chains and encourage the development of joint ventures and technology partnerships on mature technology nodes and packaging in India.
- Welcoming a task force organized by the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in partnership with the India Electronics Semiconductor Association (IESA) with participation from the Government of India Semiconductor Mission to develop a “readiness assessment” to identify near-term industry opportunities and facilitate longer-term strategic development of complementary semiconductor ecosystems.
- This task force will make recommendations to the Department of Commerce and the India Semiconductor Mission on opportunities and challenges to overcome in order to further strengthen India’s role within the global semiconductor value chain, and will also provide input to the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue. The task force will also identify and facilitate workforce development, R&D including with respect to advanced packaging, and exchange opportunities to benefit both countries.
Space
- Strengthening cooperation on human spaceflight, including establishing exchanges that will include advanced training for an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)/Department of Space astronaut at NASA Johnson Space Center.
- Identifying innovative approaches for the commercial sectors of the two countries to collaborate, especially with respect to activities related to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project. Within the next year, NASA, with ISRO, will convene U.S. CLPS companies and Indian aerospace companies to advance this initiative.
- Initiating new STEM talent exchanges by expanding the Professional Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program (PESEP) to include space science, Earth science, and human spaceflight and extending a standing invitation to ISRO to participate in NASA’s biannual International Program Management Course
- Strengthening the bilateral commercial space partnership, including through a new U.S. Department of Commerce and Indian Department of Space-led initiative under the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group. This initiative will foster U.S.-India commercial space engagement and enable growth and partnerships between U.S. and Indian commercial space sectors.
- Welcoming the visit this week by the ISRO Chairman to the United States, as well as a visit to India by the NASA Administrator later in 2023.
- Expanding the agenda of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group to include planetary defense.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Talent:
- Noting a new joint task force of the Association of American Universities and leading Indian educational institutions, including Indian Institutes of Technology, which will make recommendations for research and university partnerships.
Next Generation Telecommunications:
- Launching a public-private dialogue on telecommunications and regulations.
- Advancing cooperation on research and development in 5G and 6G, facilitating deployment and adoption of Open RAN in India, and fostering global economies of scale within the sector.
The United States and India look forward to the next iCET meeting in New Delhi later in 2023. The National Security Councils of both countries will coordinate with their respective ministries, departments and agencies to work with their counterparts to advance cooperation, and to engage with stakeholders to deliver on ambitious objectives ahead of the next meeting.
FACT SHEET: United States and India Elevate Strategic Partnership with the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) | The White House
President Biden and Prime Minister Modi announced the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022 to elevate and expand
U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group Advances Bilateral Space Collaboration
Officials from the United States and the Republic of India gathered, January 30-31, at the Department of State for the eighth meeting of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG). The meeting was co-chaired by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer R. Littlejohn and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations Karen Feldstein for the United States, and Mr. Shantanu Bhatawdekar, Scientific Secretary of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for India.The CSJWG discussions covered collaboration in Earth and space science as well as human space exploration, global navigation satellite systems, spaceflight safety and space situational awareness, and policies for commercial space. Participants also considered implementation of guidelines and best practices developed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.
The United States and India have strong bilateral cooperation in space. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, planned to launch in 2024, is expected to systematically map Earth, using two different radar frequencies to monitor resources such as water, forests and agriculture. The mission will provide important Earth science data related to ecosystems, Earth’s surface, natural hazards, sea level rise and the cryosphere.
Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council Chirag Parikh, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Department of State Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina and Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu gave welcoming remarks on behalf of the United States. The U.S. delegation included officials from the Department of State, NASA, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce. Mr. S. Somanath, Chairman of ISRO, and Ambassador of India to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu delivered remarks on behalf of India. The Indian delegation included representatives from ISRO, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Ministry of External Affairs.
U.S. explores working with India to increase economic competition against China, says Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Wednesday that the U.S. is considering collaborating with India on certain manufacturing jobs in order to boost competition against China.Raimondo told Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “Mad Money” that she will visit India in March with a handful of U.S. CEOs to discuss an alliance between the two nations on manufacturing semiconductor chips. The Commerce Secretary also revisited some of President Joe Biden’s comments on American manufacturing from his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
“We stopped making things,” Raimondo said. “I think, in 1990, there were like 350,000 people working in the chip industry in America. Now it’s like 160,000.”
Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law in August, supplied $52 billion for U.S. companies to invest in chip manufacturing. The U.S. semiconductor industry employed more than 277,000 workers in 2021, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, but it made 0% of the world’s supply of semiconductors as of September 2022.
In comparison, Taiwan and South Korea comprise 80% of the global foundry market for chips. TSMC, the world’s most advanced chipmaker, is also headquartered in Taiwan. But a collaborative effort between the U.S. and the Indo-Pacific “quad” region could lessen the global reliance on Taiwanese semiconductors. In September 2021, India, Japan and Australia announced plans to establish a semiconductor supply chain initiative to secure access to semiconductors and their components.
Raimondo said that India is “making a lot of the right moves.”
“It’s a large population. (A) lot of workers, skilled workers, English speakers, a democratic country rule of law,” she said.
But the Commerce Secretary said the southeast Asian nation must comply with labor standards as part of any deal, especially in light of India’s consumption of Russian oil. The G-7 countries, Australia and the European Union have issued price caps on the cost of Russian oil products to restrict the Kremlin’s access to a potential funding source for its war on Ukraine while still maintaining an oil supply on the global market.
“I’m running the Indo-Pacific economic framework,” Raimondo said. “So we have 13 countries including India. And we’re saying to them, look, sign up at the government-to-government level to labor standards, environmental standards, anti-corruption standards, rule of law standards. And in return, it’ll unlock U.S. business, U.S. capital jobs in India.”
Raimondo also said she supports reinvesting the money from Biden’s 1% excise tax on stock buybacks for big businesses into the economy. Buybacks appeal to some of the nation’s largest investors and corporations.
“I’m strongly with the President that we ought to raise taxes on the wealthiest and on corporations close some loopholes and take that money and make investments,” she said. “You want women to go back to work? Childcare (has to) be provided, it’s too expensive. So, we need to raise taxes in some ways and then make investments to make the economy stronger.”
U.S. explores working with India to increase economic competition against China, says Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says a collaboration between the U.S. and India can compete with the Chinese semiconductor monopoly.
Biden and Modi discussed importance of U.S.-India strategic technology partnership: White House
The Air India order is Boeing's third biggest sale ever in dollar value and second in terms of the number of planes
Somehow this has become a rites of passage issue for all westerners visiting India. No visit to India used to be deemed complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal . I think the same can be said about a ride in a rickshaw or a tuk tuk as they put it.
One of the western ambassadors even travels to work each day in a rickshaw he / she owns & drives. I forgot the details though. Another one owns the Hindustan Motors Oxford Morris derivative the Ambassador car in India & drives around in it . I forget if it was the German or the UK ambassador to India .